krobinson103

There is probably absolutely nothing I can do about this...

I'm riding on a heavily trafficed street every Monday and Friday. The cars on my left are driving faster than I can easily maintain so I'm stuck in the right lane. This lane contains buses that drive 200m, stop, wait for up to 2 minutes, drive another 200m, stop, repeat. They travel slower than I do because of all the stops. Now, yesterday I got sick of waiting behind buses. So everytime it stopped I passed and went on my way. Every time I passed and the bus catches up it executes a dangerous pass and lays on the horn the promptly swerves in front on me and ... stops - causing me to make an emergency stop of plant my face in the back of said bus. So I pass again. Wash, rinse repeat 5 times. Now if the idiot thought about it he is saving NO time by passing as I am keeping a constant speed between 25-30kmh and I always get there before he does. Also I have a perfect right to ride on the street - indeed the path is so full of people I might as well get off and walk despite the 'bike' lane paintings every now and then.

So... I get to eat fumes and be late for work, or play a dangerous game of leapfrog with buses. I HATE THAT STREET!

Fiery

How about giving it a little sprint after you pass so that it doesn't catch you before the next stop? After that you should be safely in in front while keeping your usual speed.

krobinson103

Its worth a try... but Korean bus drivers go 50mph betaeen stops then slam on the brakes. One reason I never ride the bus. They drive like maniacs and in a bus full of un restrained people this is really bad.

chriskmurray

I am not sure how the bus companies in Korea would handle it but is there any chance you and a bunch of friends could call in and make complaints about the driver?

myrridin

If you don't like sharing the road, find another route.

mconlonx

Ride faster.

acidfast7

use the dedicated bike lane adjacent to the parked cars

treadtread

Is it possible to avoid that street. Or slow down before you reach that street, save up some energy and take the fast lane there.

fietsbob

Bus got a bike rack on it?

(if you cannot beat them, Join them)

Busses around here have a fold down 2 bike, rack, on the front.

Ira B

Did you consider that maybe a whole bus full of people trying to get to work on time might deserve a tad little bit of consideration over one dude on a bicycle?

Just say'in.

krobinson103

Share the road means not trying to kill people on it. passing then stopping suddenly constitutes bad driving. The bike lane is the parking area and riding the bus is plain suicidal. I'll stick to riding. Pefhaps faster is the only option given the place I need to go is on said street. The rule here is 'bigger is king' since buses are big they don't stop on the red, or give way to anything. Especially if it has 2 wheels. I had a bus try to run me off the road on my motorcycle once. The cops don't enforce tbe rules so its the eild west on the roads most days.

CB HI

Dangerous bus driving is NOT sharing the road.

CB HI

Did you consider the bus is not saving any time by driving like an ass. It would be just as timely for the bus driver to drive safely. How much time do you think it will cost the bus passengers when the bus driver has his inevitable collision?

Just say'in.

acidfast7

Have you ever been to Asia? It's just not the buses.

SouthFLpix

Damn, it sounds like you might benefit from a 'racing bike' to keep ahead. The bus drivers we have here are not too bad. That 50 mph then slamming brakes type of driving sounds like it would a huge gas guzzler.

chriskmurray

If the cops don't enforce the rules...... Vigalanty street justice from a few of your cycling friends... Only joking by the way.

Ira B

I have considered it. I happen to be a transit operator (fancy for bus driver)
Really can't speak to how a transit bus is operated in that country but here, at least for my employer, safety THE number one factor, with the schedule being a close second.
Driving a bus full (40-70 people) who are all going to be late for work if I do not get them to the dock before the ferry leaves really is a big deal and it can come down to one or two min. And yes, My passengers and I have been late because of one half wit bicyclist hanging out in the car lane in an area that is unsafe to pass them.
I say this as a certified bicycle nut and life long bike commuter.

Ridefreemc

All he or she needs to do is let you go once and you are way ahead. Call in and lodge a complaint about the horn and aggressive driving.

JohnJ80

Actually that sounds more like a dangerous bus driver than anything. I'd complain to the bus company on the basis of safety. You're a vehicle. So is the bus. You both have to abide by the rules of the road. Cutting someone off and executing dangerous passing maneuvers and honking can be considered harassment in many municipalities.

We've all experienced but ignorant drivers who do not understand the rules of the road when it comes to cyclists. Sounds like this one just happens to be driving a bus.

J.

nelson249

That's nice. My response to the commuters who missed a ferry by a minute or two because you were delayed because you had to pass a cyclist in a safe manner is for them to leave home sooner. Traffic happens (especially at rush hour), whether on two wheels or four. I am very tired of the implication that because people are in a hurry to get to work their convenience trumps the safety of others.

krobinson103

+1 All I need is for the bus to stay behind me once and the stops it has to make means it won't catch up. I just don't get the 'I have to win the traffic race' mentality. Especially when you are responsible for a bus load of people.

JohnJ80

Exactly. And I'd have to believe that if the bus driver got in a fatal accident with a cyclist that would be the end of the job too. Also, I'd think that an accident would also cause those bus riders to be a lot later than a "minute or two."

Public employees - cops, bus drivers, DOT, etc... - ought to set the bar for the integration of cyclists into the traffic flow. In almost every industrialized nation and virtually all the states in the US, policy is to increase bicycle ridership. It's a policy that pays back in benefits in fuel costs, congestion, pollution, and healthcare. If ANYONE ought to be respectful of cyclists, it ought to be public employees who are supposed to be following the policy of the administration.

I'd put this down as a rogue driver and I'd call it in. This can't be what his supervisors want his job performance to be.

J.

Mr. Hairy Legs

I've been nearly run off the road by bus drivers like this. The last thing I am ever going to do is pass them so they can do it to me again. Patience is the key...

Ira B

I largely agree with you but am also saying that being a decent and considerate person requires that sometimes you have to be considerate even when others are not.
When on the bike I always try to avoid impeding motor traffic as much as possible. If nothing else it helps to present bicycles in a more positive light as opposed to just presenting them as a piss off to drivers.

krobinson103

Add 15 minutes to the commute and swallow diesel fumes the whole way? Thats just being passive and letting the driver get away with aggressive behavior,