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#1
06-07-2017, 08:37 PM
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I almost got injured by a school bus today
Yes, a school bus. I live in fairly wealthy near exurbia, and have to put up with the usual life threatening situations the texting, speeding, distracted, drank a little too much for lunch, the macho, the homocidal, and just plain stupid deal out for me on my rides. Hey, outside of rush hours, it's not that bad, usually. But today a SCHOOL BUS decides to pass me on a sketchy stretch of a local two lane highway, beep at me (so, this person saw me. Intent was all there) and turn right in front of me when I was in the intersection, almost running me over with the rear wheels. A SCHOOL BUS. With kids in it! What is this world coming to?
Email letter has been sent to the town's transportation manager, along with time, place, and plate number. I'm pursuing this one. I have learned to shrug off most of this stuff for, if anything, my peace of mind, but this will not be forgotten. A school bus.
__________________
It's not a new bike, it's another bike. 
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#4
06-07-2017, 10:25 PM
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Yes, you are right at being mad, I do agree with the rant but just wonder ok? and asking you this because I do both things cycling and driving a school bus ok?
Before I start, there's 3 sizes of buses... are we talking transit 20 tons bus?? 1 - how far from the edge of the road you were riding?? asking this because if you were taking like half of the lane well.... ive been with riders that love to ride in the middle of the line because they feel is their right... not that they are wrong but well... you see the point... the closest to the edge of the road the better when there's no room, amazingly enough we bike riders need to play safe because a driver wont care... 2 - He beep beep you to move, well most like you to let you know you were going to be passed and ask you nicely to move... not justifying the guy but beep somebody is not out of any county SOP's.. 3 - Ok.. he passed you and turned to the right, from what you are saying and I understand you were already in that intersection when he went around you and passed you? or he passed you and when the bus was in the intersection he turned while you were around half way of the bus, like if you were arriving to the intersection? Asking this stuff because they might do an investigation and they will call you with the same questions. If you were in the intersection 1st then the guy f... up IMO. he should had waited for you or even asked you to move??? I drive a transit school bus and those things eventhought are fun to drive are hard to know exactly where the turning points will be accurately, specially if the driver is new or if the bus is old. Not defending the driver ok? If he passed you in that tight spot and then you were like half way of the bus and then he put the turning signal then they will argue that the blinker was on and that you did not stop, busses and trucks have half way lateral blinkers for situations like this for a reason.If pretty much you were half of the bus and both arrived to the intersection almost together and he had the blinker on well... I dont blame you if you didnt see the turning light but at that point you should have stopped... sounds unfair but if the blinker was on and you were not 1st at the corner... for sure he assumed you saw the lateral blinker light and just took the turn. If you were sitting there in the corner waiting for the light to change and he went around you then he f-ed up. no idea which type of bus was, experience of the driver is accountable aswell IMO. Call transportation in your city or county, they will ask you for the bus number or the tags, thats all they need. But the questions I did, they will have them aswell so I would sit an I would write a detailed report of what happened, add times and distances and even a drawn if you can, that will help. The dude wont be fired IMO, they will ask questions and investigate the incident. Well could be that the driver was late and this is the consequence, you never know till you read the report of the driver... if he was late plus you were in the corner already... well... big mistake from his part... Even well could be a problem in both sides you know, and this is when it gets tricky because you have to be honest with yourself and recognize... "I made a mistake aswell"... but is important for them to know as much as posible because at the time of training this situations help new drivers, training meetings etc. As a bike rider, never loose the cool because sometimes blind you of seeing even your own mistakes, again not blaming you ok? Good luck....
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#5
06-07-2017, 11:34 PM
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It was a big bus. And no, I made no mistakes. Honest. All of a sudden in a tight place, and I'm basically on the white line, I've got a bus exhaling a very big noise (downshifting? Air brake) then quickly a honk of the horn, just as I enter the intersection, and, bam, he turns right in front of me.
Listen, I'm 64, been driving all of my adult life, cycling thirty years. This was not a good situation. School bus drivers never drive like this. Late? Gimme a break. That justifies almost crushing me under the rear wheels? That's how cyclists get killed a lot in Manhattan, not the burbs. In the end, it will just be a little mark in his/her record, I guess. But, enough of those marks, and it's time to look for a new job, and I did a lot of cyclists and motorists a favor, if that happens. Hell, the Mexican and Central American landscape truck drivers around here, who are numerous, and working all day, show me ten times more respect. Maybe we need the threat of deportation along with the numerous and random drug tests I hope they're subjected to at the school bus company to mellow these drivers a bit.
__________________
It's not a new bike, it's another bike.
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#6
06-07-2017, 11:35 PM
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Quote:
__________________
It's not a new bike, it's another bike.
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#7
06-08-2017, 01:02 AM
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glad it wasnt more serious
i can believe it and its nothing to joke about for sure.by all means pursue it with the local authorites and use this story below if it helps.
a guy I knew here in Dallas was killed by a school bus in 2003,just about every cyclist knew him around the dfw area really.sad story indeed. http://www.biketexas.org/en/about/me...larry-schwartz
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#8
06-08-2017, 05:18 AM
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Write down a report as much as detail as you can, with times, distances, speeds and even a drawing of what happened, then send all of that to your local transportation dept. so they investigate what happened.
Yes is not funny what happened, you can run over somebody and do not know till the cops get to your home to pick you up at night. Yes that will be in the driver's record but I dont think the driver will be fired but maybe will be put in training again...??? Pursue this as calmly as possible because not only helps cyclist, it will help them and everybody. If you were there already well... the driver screwed up big time.
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#9
06-08-2017, 07:24 AM
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Quote:
__________________
Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo
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#11
06-08-2017, 08:13 AM
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Yup the school buses are the worst. Pretty typical in my area to get buzzed by them. I almost got T-Boned by one coming out of the elementary school parking lot on my way to work. She saw me at the very last second as I stood to sprint out of the way as she slammed on the brakes the front bumper was within inches of my life.
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#12
06-08-2017, 08:21 AM
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We were buzzed pretty closely by a school bus this morning as well. Three of us, riding in the shoulder with a parked/stopped car 200 yards up ahead occupying the shoulder, the bus still decided to pass us. We had maybe 12-18 inches.
When I lived in Boston and commuted to a job in Waltham, I was run off the road by a bus. I caught up to them because the school was only 1 mile up the road and went berserk yelling at him. He said I should do a better job of looking behind me. I called the bus company and the school administration to report him. Doubt anything came of it. I've been riding the mtb more this season. Probably going to continue to do more off road as the drivers get worse and worse.
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#15
06-08-2017, 09:31 AM
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Yah your mistake is not knowing school bus drivers are insane and giving tons of extra room and care to stay away from them when you see them.
I've had lots of times I've seen them do something stupid but my craziest story comes from HS when I was riding the bus. The frigging bus driver got mad at a dude in a BMW. She followed him to his office (Polaroid Corporate HQ, dating myself, but it was pretty close to our HS) and confronted him (getting out of the bus in a crazy road rage) in the parking lot while we all sat on the bus getting later and later for school. Pretty sure I already had my driver's license when this happened, but I never had a car till I graduated from college. But I'd been driving enough to know she was totally out of line and I don't think the guy in the BMW had even done anything wrong.. I can't believe she didn't get fired, but then again who would have said anything to the bus company, they wouldn't have believed any of us and unless the guy figured out how to report her or Polaroid security did then her boss would never have known. (Yes she somehow went through security with the bus.)
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