Aug 03 2008
Sharing the Road
Yesterday while I was cruising along through the neighborhood in the bike lane, I had a C-Tran bus riding along side my rear wheel. I could catch glimpses of the bus in my peripheral vision and could hear it in close proximity while it was hugging the white line of the bike lane. As you can see there is plenty of room on this street for the bike lane, other vehicles, and the bus.
When we reached a four way stop the drive pumped the air brakes several times before stopping with the curb side of the bus on the line. I nailed the stop without clipping out and accelerated across the intersection before the bus could get moving again. As I heard bus coming up behind me I swerved in the bike lane to give the driver a wakeup call and by the obvious sounds of his brakes and the passing of the bus in the other lane, it was obvious the driver got the message.
Sadly there were not any passengers waiting to be picked up and I was unable to catch up to the bus. I would have loved to pull out my camera and send a picture of the bus drivers face to the company when I emailed my complaint for intentional crowding and intimidation.
People like that make me wonder, what is their issue? Its not just buses, because I have experienced similar situations with cars and trucks too. I think I need to get shirt made that says, “Share the Road and GET OFF MY ASS.”
Traffic is crazy here in Washington D.C. I have found that School Bus drivers tend to be the worst. It’s sad to think they are driving our children around. Many people are also surprised when I tell them that I find the most considerate drivers toward cyclists are Taxi drivers. At least that is my experience.
cyclingreds last blog post..Bike vs Car July 2008