a 'friendly' nudge...

[Peter Maydell]

I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool Street).
This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and large the
traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However, as I was
stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the driver was
expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing happen often
in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are generally not
too bad IME...

PS: was that by any chance Nigel Cliffe of this newsgroup that passed
me going through Bentley late afternoon?

-- PMM

[Pete Biggs]

Peter Maydell wrote:
> I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool
> Street). This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and
> large the traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However,
> as I was stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged
> from behind by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the
> driver was expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing
> happen often in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are
> generally not too bad IME...

I've never seen one contact, but I've very often seen London buses horribly
close behind moving cyclists. I tried to remonstrate with a driver for
doing this to me once, but the arsehole didn't seem to have a clue as to
what I was trying to get through to him.

~PB

[Mark T[_2_]]

Peter Maydell writtificated

> However, as I was
> stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
> by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude

Learn where the emergency engine stop button is on the buses. Use it.
Cycle on.

[Sue White]

Pete Biggs > whizzed
past me shouting
>Peter Maydell wrote:
>> I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool
>> Street). This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and
>> large the traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However,
>> as I was stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged
>> from behind by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the
>> driver was expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing
>> happen often in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are
>> generally not too bad IME...
>
>I've never seen one contact, but I've very often seen London buses horribly
>close behind moving cyclists. I tried to remonstrate with a driver for
>doing this to me once, but the arsehole didn't seem to have a clue as to
>what I was trying to get through to him.
>

The bus driver doesn't want to stop in a hurry because it throws
standing passengers around, so he's trusting you not to give him any
surprises. Why not wobble about a bit and make him anxious?

--
Sue ];(:)

Why aren't we demanding regular retests for motor drivers?
It's obvious a lot of them would fail so that'd solve the congestion problem too.

[Phil Cook]

Mark T wrote:

>Peter Maydell writtificated
>
>> However, as I was
>> stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
>> by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude.

Rude is putting it mildly. You should have stopped, got all the
details of the bus and driver and reported him to the company that
runs the bus and TfL. There is no excuse for contact between a bus and
cycle.

>Learn where the emergency engine stop button is on the buses. Use it.
>Cycle on.

They have taken to putting it under the engine cover these days so
it's a little more complicated than when it was just a button on the
back.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

[Simon Mason[_2_]]

"Peter Maydell" > wrote in message
...
>I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool Street).
> This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and large the
> traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However, as I was
> stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
> by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the driver was
> expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing happen often
> in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are generally not
> too bad IME...


This happened to me last month in the centre of Hull at a red pelican. I
felt a nudge from behind and was very surprised to see that is was a bus.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/

[burtthebike]

"Peter Maydell" > wrote in message
...


This must be some definition of "friendly" with which I am not familiar.

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On 19 Apr 2008 14:30:46 +0100 (BST), Peter Maydell
> said in
>:

>I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool Street).
>This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and large the
>traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However, as I was
>stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
>by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the driver was
>expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing happen often
>in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are generally not
>too bad IME...

Might just be an accident, bus drivers are prone to getting very
close to everything at traffic lights. It's not happened to me in
many a journey across London, but I am far from being as experienced
in such things as others here.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

[Doki]

"Peter Maydell" > wrote in message
...
>I was cycling through London yesterday (Paddington to Liverpool Street).
> This is the first time I've cycled in London, and by and large the
> traffic wasn't so bad as I had feared it might be. However, as I was
> stopped at a red light in Cambridge Circus, I was nudged from behind
> by a bus, which I thought was a bit rude (perhaps the driver was
> expecting me to run the red...?) Does that kind of thing happen often
> in London, or was I just unlucky? Reading's buses are generally not
> too bad IME...
>
> PS: was that by any chance Nigel Cliffe of this newsgroup that passed
> me going through Bentley late afternoon?

I'm not in London, but bus driver's seem to be terrible. Most times when
I've almost been knocked off, and when I've heard of friends being knocked
off, it's been by a bus. I suspect the general bus driver immunity to the
law is a big factor in causing these things - much like taxi drivers, if
you're ever involved in an accident with them, they'll have 5 witnesses and
their own convenient idea of the truth.

[Nigel Cliffe]

Peter Maydell wrote:
> PS: was that by any chance Nigel Cliffe of this newsgroup that passed
> me going through Bentley late afternoon?

Friday ~ 4.30pm ? You on an old folder, me on old purple gents upright ?

Other than that, I don't recall cycling past anyone I didn't recognise in
the Bentley area in the last few days.




- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

[Peter Maydell]

Nigel Cliffe > wrote:
>Peter Maydell wrote:
>> PS: was that by any chance Nigel Cliffe of this newsgroup that passed
>> me going through Bentley late afternoon?
>
>Friday ~ 4.30pm ? You on an old folder, me on old purple gents upright ?

Yep, that's the one. Dunno if you remember me, but I worked for you for
a couple of summers at BT labs a decade ago. Wasn't quite sure enough
that I recognised you to say so at the time...

-- PMM

[Nigel Cliffe]

Peter Maydell wrote:
> Nigel Cliffe > wrote:
>> Peter Maydell wrote:
>>> PS: was that by any chance Nigel Cliffe of this newsgroup that
>>> passed me going through Bentley late afternoon?
>>
>> Friday ~ 4.30pm ? You on an old folder, me on old purple gents
>> upright ?
>
> Yep, that's the one. Dunno if you remember me, but I worked for you
> for a couple of summers at BT labs a decade ago. Wasn't quite sure
> enough that I recognised you to say so at the time...

I remember you from the labs, but didn't recognise you as I rode past,
otherwise I would have chatted about things. I was also in a bit of a hurry
and thinking about other stuff.


I'm no longer employed by BT, the voluntary redundancy offer was too
tempting.


regards,

- Nigel



--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/