muz

My wife's just phoned me, quite upset, because a woman has just knocked the door and told her a bus driver's just pulled up and taken pictures of her car saying he's going to report her to the police. Here's the situation;

Her car was parked right outside her house which has a bus stop bang outside it, about a foot away from where the front of the car was parked.

The bus stop is NOT marked on the road, just a route sign, and there is no sign stating only buses can park there.

He also said he's reporting her because the car is parked too close to a junction as well.

Now, the car is about 3-4 metres down from a junction on the opposite side of the road, not the 10 stated. However, it's a residential 30 area which is street lit so if I know the Highway Code right, that's not an offence in it's own right, is it? It would only be used to support a claim if an accident happened as a result of parking there.

Now I don't condone bad, inconsiderate parking, but I can't see how she's done anything wrong here? If I am I'll hold my hands up and tell her not to park there again.

Apparently, he's going to have a word, as well, next time he sees the owner so if like to know if I'm in the right to tell him to fuck off.

muz

Just to add, on a side note, the reason why she has to park this close to a junction is because the council have installed a dropped kerb on the space she used to park and I have told her not to block it. Otherwise, if she blocked this then she would be sufficiently clear of the junction, but then she would be inconveniencing people.

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

If there is no bus stop markings and just a pole with bus sign then i suspect she will be fine on that front. Parking near the junction is interpreted differently by different councils depending on where it is.

ben_frst

Just tell the bus driver to fuck off anyway its not his job to enforce the law. I would then report him to his boss and demand an apology just for the extra kick in the nuts.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

the bus driver doesn't need to be taking pictures

he simply reports it via the radio that there is an obstruction and then it's up to the guys in the control centre to deal with it

in london with tlf control it's very easy to get a car moved, i've done it twice in the past 3 weeks, longest it took to get moved was 18 minutes when the feds turn up and simply remove it via a truck

on the flip side, parking there and making a nuisance because for everyone else on the roads knowing that the bus will block the road because you've parked inconsiderately could be seen as a "fuck you jack, i can't park where i used to so i'm just going to park like an asshole and who cares if the roads blocked"

if they think that's the way you are working they'll soon paint a bus stop there and then that'll fuck everyone up because bus stops (tfl ones in any case) tend to be large enough to accommodate 2 buses, so that's going to be roughly 50-60 feet worth of no parking

but yes, going back to my first point, the driver is being an arse because there are proper ways to do stuff

klumpy

Does it work the other way too?

Near my house the bus stops right in the middle of a T junction. Its not a proper bus stop either (no signs or markings) and the road is curved so when I want to turn into the junction I can't see if there is anything coming.

I tried complaining but nothing happens.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

It should work the other way as I've put in compliants and got feed back

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

Its all one sided with the buses round my way. They seem to act like complete cunts half the time and think just because people should give way to let them out a bus stop they can irresponsibly just pull out while people are halfway overtaking them. No you cunt, you have to wait. The highway code doesnt allow you to punt people off the road. You see literally the indicator go on and immediately they swerve into the road.

Yes a lot of people wont let them out but "might is right" simply doesnt excuse dangerous driving and dangerous pulling out.

Same with them doing the cunts trick in busy traffic of refusing to use the provided bus stop layby as it will be hard to pull out so stop in the road holding everyone up instead. Blatently causing an obstruction. if its illegal for me it should be for buses too.

One that really annoys me round here is we have a 2 lane dual carriageway (30 limit) with a turn right lane. The buses have a stop 150m before the start of the turn right lane. However, the bellends frequently instead of pulling into the turn right lane, will zoom past the que of traffic and cut in right by the traffic lights forcing their way in over hatched markings.

2 recent examples:



Even in busy rush hour, this is the quiet direction and the que never goes back before the bus stop. Might is not right. If i frequently cut in like that, I garuntee a copper would give me a careless driving charge so again why one rule for us and one for the buses???

And then to make it worse, theyve impatiently cut in a que of traffic and then the bus wankers drive off at 20-25mph holding up the whole world!! Your buses are quite capable of doing a steady 30mph safely so why drive so fucking gay slow?

dojj

iTrader: (3)

your rant warren is ok when you are talking about cutting folks up, but the rest is not true at all

you are supposed to let the bus out, so the driver puts on the indicator and yet no one lets them out, so they pull out, no one lets them out, so they pull out and off they go, and then someone will stop because they don't want to get smashed by a bus

which is why they stop in the traffic to let people on and off, because no cunt will let them out again

ironically i was going to post about this sort of stuff only yesterday, don't play chicken with me when i'm driving a bus, you WILL lose, if i have right of way you are going to be backing the fuck up, and yet no one realises this when they drive up towards me and then have to reverse back 200 yards because that's where the last gap was they could pull into

no, i'm not going to be pulling my bus into a gap you can't get a smart car into

as for the "bus wankers doing 20-25 mph" buses are designed to do roughly 25 mph, 30 mph is what many london buses are limited to although ours are supposed to be limited to 39 mph i've seen one speedo get to 58 mph

buses aren't lorries as they are built on bus chassis' rather than coaches which are built on lorry chassis so they can go faster, buses are designed to have a better turning circle to negotiate tight spaces like bus stops with cars parked in them or other car drivers who think they are the most important things in the world and getting to their destination means that they'd rather commit suicide in front of my bus than wait 5 seconds longer, had one yesterday, overtaking a queue of traffic that had been waiting for me to go past, and the no one would let the cunt in when he had no where to go but to reverse back up the hill for 15 or so car lengths

or the passengers who, when you aren't supposed to let them off get all abusive, again, yesterday i had one who kicked off about "you don't know how to do your fucking job, there's a fucking bus stop there, so stop the fucking bus" in a hail a ride section

there was no stop, but if he'd said "excuse me driver, would you mind letting me out here please?" i would have stopped and not had a problem in the next available safe stopping place, and not 600 yards down the road from where he wanted to get off

and when everyone KNOWS that the bus is going to pull over in 30 seconds, why can't you just sit there at 25 mph behind it until it's safe to pass?

i see the same cars in front of me a mile up the road who were so fed up of sitting behind me doing 28 mph that they've gone the wrong side of a set of lights just to overtake me, why?

and don't get me started on motorcyclists, they have a whole new level of suicidal tendencies when they get stuck behind a bus, riding on pavements, in the cycle lane when i'm turning left, trying to get through gaps that aren't there

i could go on but i'm sure you get the point now

Lee Grout

I was always under the impression (from when I past my test) that you can't park within 10 feet of a junction. Obviously to allow cars going in/out of said junction. In your case I think the junction business is irrelevant. Not sure on the bus stop though.

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

From highway code:
2 wrongs dont make a right. It doesnt say you "MUST" give way to a bus iindicating to pull out so technically they are not breaking a specific law not letting you out. However im sure with other driving standards a copper sees then it might construe careless or inconsiderate driving.

However note the phrase "when you can do so safely". Pulling out your bus on someone already part overtaking you or indicating and swerving when someones too close to slow down isnt safe is it?? again 2 wrongs dont make a right.

Plenty of times ive gone past a bus in a layby with NO indicators on and either just as im a few meters from passing the rear end or while driving past the CUNT whacks on the indicator, while simultaneously pulling away. Either he hasnt looked in the mirrors or did look and thought "fuck you, you will have to stop".

That is dangerous driving by the bus, nothing less.

The only reason i havent hit a bus is because at 30mph, i can do an emergency stop quicker and in a shorter running distance than most buses can pull out.

The old guy a few doors down on my street wasn't so lucky when a bus decided to change lanes on a dual carriageway while he was halfway past the bus and he got rammed by the bus. The bus company defaults to the car is at fault and the insurers advised it would likely go against him. Luckily the car behind had a dash cam so he got it as non-fault.

As professional drivers you should hold the moral high ground by being beyond reproach with your driving standards despite the cunts around you.

rhinopower

Nothing will come of it, i've lost count of the amount of bus drivers giving me grief in london for parking in 'their spot' whilst i've been making a delivery. They've taken pictures, got on their radio, and even when a traffic warden has turned up i've told them I'm going now anyway. Best thing to do is tell them to fuck off

dojj

iTrader: (3)

bad driving is bad driving wazza, regardless of who's in the wrong, but the amount of car drivers who do exactly the same thing, ie cutting up a bus to nip into a junction in front or trying to get past in the filter lane is much much worse

every london bus has at least 10 cameras fitted, 3 of which are aimed towards the driver, one in the cab, one in the front showing the driver head on and one on the passenger side showing what the punters are seeing, and all this is not only recorded to the bus, it can also be live streamed to not only the bus hq but also centrecom at any given time to "spy" on the driver so if anything happens, they download the footage and trawl through it to find out whats happened

maybe yokel bus companies are yet to feel that sting and so their drivers take the piss a bit more, plus they are older buses so are going to rattle more than a baby rattle factory being hit by a tsumani

rhinopower

Funny that dojj, one of the main london bus companies smashed the wing mirror off my lorry squeezing past, couldn't see the reg number from the distance i was from my lorry but despite calling the bus company with the bus stop, route number, and time it happened, there was no footage of it happening so couldn't of been them!

dojj

iTrader: (3)

there's no need to take pictures and if it's a delivery vehicle i don't even bother with the radio as it'll have moved by the time you come back

but if you get a ticket the bus video will back it up IF the driver writes out an incident report

Oranoco

Nothing will happen, parking (other than endorsable offences like parking on zig zags of a pedestrian crossing) is decriminalised and the duty of the council to uphold. Police will likely tell the driver to fuck off anyway.

Cossy Mike

iTrader: (4)

That's because your making a delivery, your allowed 20 mins.

Everything Dojj says is true....I also work in the same industry.


No yellow paint on the road and NO fine etc.....

However, council will paint lines there if the stop is frequently blocked.

Very easy for a driver to report, put time/date/road on cctv form and the cctv from front of bus goes direct to Police who have to act

Oranoco

It's not for the police to act as I stated above the council enforce the parking and it will be the PTU team (Passenger Transport Unit) who will look at it with regards to making any alterations and adding markings, which will be classed as a restriction and require consultation and advertising

St3V3_C

OP - post some pictures of where she's parking.

stevieturbo

Report the driver for abusive behaviour, and you think he's taking photos of your children, or local children near where she parked....that'll soon stop the happy snapping

As for giving buses priority ? FUCK THEM. Simple as. They block the roads, they are dangerous, other road users heavily subsidise them to enable them to block the roads..etc etc
If the road isnt clear and safe for them to proceed, then they need to sit stopped until it is. They should not be barging out, just like any other road user isnt allowed to be so ignorant and dangerous.

And if people witness a bus driving dangerously, over chevrons etc etc, report them. These people have many lives in their hands, so their driving should be exemplary, to a very high and safe standard.
If it isnt, then they shouldnt be driving a bus in the first place.

matts1

I would guess the guy does the same route over and over and your misses car makes his like a bit difficult and so he has got his arse in his hands.

I would make sure you get his details if he comes a knocking and report him if he is unreasonable and a pr*ck as he may decide to accidentally catch/bump her car.

On the flip side though, if she is causing a nightmare in where she is parking then maybe a bit of give and take is needed? I see people parked all the time that are technically doing no wrong but could park differently and make life easier for others, but it is the 'their problem' attitude.

Rod-Tarry

What the Highway code states.

Rule 243

DO NOT stop or park:

• near a school entrance
• anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
• at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
• on the approach to a level crossing/tramway crossing
• opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
• near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
• opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
• where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
• where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles
• in front of an entrance to a property
• on a bend
• where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities except when forced to do so by stationary traffic.

Please dont blame me I didnt write them. Im sure the PF Lawyers will say they dont mean what the say & police are facist pigs if they dare enforce them .

Fullflush

Sounds like your missus is in the wrong to be fair

stevieturbo

Seems over here they meet all of those criteria...even if a little off topic lol

mikej857

Being a London bus driver myself I agree with everything Dojj has posted, you'd be surprised how many accidents I avoid daily because of other road users inpatients

Anyone who thinks bus drivers deliberately block the roads should do the job for a day and see exactly what and why we do what we do

rhinopower

Are you the arsehole that smashed my wing mirror and drove off, or the one that undertook me on camden high street next to the tube station and ran me off the road on to the path?

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

stopping in the middle of the road when you have a perfectly good empty bus layby IS blocking the road however you try and cut it.

Like i said before, just because a lot of drivers don't give way and let you out doesnt make it legal to obstruct the highway. 2 wrongs don't make a right.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

I try not to block the road, your onion of a bus blocking the road isn't necessarily the correct view as the driver of a car, setting as a bus driver is going to be worried about the passengers getting on and of safely

Fullflush

Warren in thinking the whole world revolves round his opinion shocker..... again!

muz

I haven't got a picture as I'm not at home at the moment.
The car can't be a regular proble, day in, day out, as I normally have the car with me, away from the property Sunday-Friday and Saturday the cars usually being used.
I have told her not to park so close, but in regards to what Rod has posted, the Highway Code is not law. I'm sure you know that. Hence why I asked if anyone knew the LAW. "do not park at or near a bus stop" well, that's open to interpretation. How close is near to? How does One define "parked at" if there are no physical lines?
I'm also pretty positive from when I studied law that DO NOT and MUST NOT mean different things. DO NOT being advisory and MUST NOT being an order.
It's more the fact that the bloke pulled up at the bus stop, even though no passengers were getting on or off, and took photos that got me and said next time he's "having a word" like he's some one man crusader enforcing parking laws.

stevieturbo

Get a grinder and cut the bus stop pole down ?