Almost An Accident
650
Member
1065 days
deepbluex posted 1 year ago.
The situation is that she saw you, was aware of your location, and still made the judgment call to choose to pit her multi-ton bus against you instead of the car. Was it the right choice? a guaranteed car v. bus accident or risk squashing a cyclist? As an emergency maneuver where good options are few, it's a toss up. However, continuing on her way as if nothing had happened makes this an unacceptable, borderline sociopathic act.
I would at least make her supervisors aware of this incident since the safety of young children are borne on this maniac's shoulders.
454
Member
1236 days
Tamara posted 1 year ago.
I would ABSOLUTELY inform the school district with a phone call tomorrow followed up by a letter. There is NO excuse for consciously choosing to aim for an unprotected cyclist/pedestrian over a car. The right answer would have been to slow down and let that other car get ahead of her. But to make a statement like that is appalling. Frankly, a letter to the editor (naming the bus number) pointing out the idiocy of this driver would probably get a few parents in your corner, too. After all, who wants their kids driven by some idiot? Thank God you're okay.
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." ~George Sheehan
2727
Member
1280 days
Anton posted 1 year ago.
I would absolutely call the school system...and if you get no satisfaction, have your lawyer call the school system....they (school systems)HATE that!
Congrats on the new baby....be careful out there Mom.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
359
Member
747 days
mdd posted 1 year ago.
I would turn in the old lady driving the bus ASAP. People like this need to be exposed because you can not have psychos driving children around!
204
Member
1105 days
sldotter posted 1 year ago.
do you want your child riding the bus with this lady? I wouldnt want mine!
Trevor Douglas YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!
11
Member
665 days
sloaccord posted 1 year ago.
just to play devil's advocate, what should she have done?
let's examine the options, assuming these three things:
-the bus is at a speed where stopping is not an option.
-the bicyclist has nowhere to go other than the grass.
-the car is not giving the bus driver room to continue it's current path.
i agree with deepblueex. i wasn't there, which makes my opinion worthless, but it sounds like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. but that doesn't excuse that she should have stopped to see if you were okay.
201
Member
637 days
TriOnLife posted 1 year ago.
sloaccord;61689 wrote:
just to play devil's advocate, what should she have done?
let's examine the options, assuming these three things:
-the bus is at a speed where stopping is not an option.
-the bicyclist has nowhere to go other than the grass.
-the car is not giving the bus driver room to continue it's current path.
Another option:
- the bus honks the horn while gently apply the brakes. Chances are the car could have made a maneuver that would have avoided an accident
I would report her to both the school district and the bus company (generally not the same organization). She apparently doesn't excerise good judgement when confronted with a hazardous situation.
- A 21st Century Mom who is tri-ing to get better instead of just getting older
www.breakingthetape.com/21stcenturymom
771
Member
1306 days
Jstyle posted 1 year ago.
Or she could have just not passed until she had room. She is a bus driver and safety should always be her number one concern. I would most certainly say something.
21
Member
795 days
bpm3434 posted 1 year ago.
I totally agree with Jstyle, she totally shouldn't have been passing you in the first place.
31
Member
751 days
I du tri posted 1 year ago.
I would certainly contact the school district. I agree that:
1) she should not have been passing you in the school zone anyways. Are we allowed to pass cars in a school zone?
2) would she have made the same decision if a group of kids were walking on the side of the road???? I pray not.
I think she needs evaluated by the school district. I would also put a write up in the local paper. If anything it may make other people more aware of cyclists.
"Do just once what others say you can't do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again."
398
Member
1112 days
TBRAVO posted 1 year ago.
I would definitely report the driver.
Bus drivers are taught to drive defensively and protect the children in the bus; but choosing to endanger the life of a cyclist over a minor fender-bender with another car is a bad call. The driver should be re-evaluated by the school district or bus company that employs her. A less experienced rider could have been killed by her behavior.
- T
290
Member
975 days
ggalvao posted 1 year ago.
I think that the matter here is not about whether she is right or wrong. What matters most is that she consciously TOLD YOU that she CHOSE the possibility of hitting a HUMAN BEING instead of hitting a car!!!!!!!!!!
That is outrageous!!! I've been hit by a car already and I know what it feels on your skin!
My Blog: http://ggalvao.trifuel.net/
I don't know what it is but lately I have had a couple of really close calls on the bike. Today's event is really what annoyed me.
I just left my house and got on a local road to start my ride. It's a local road and I'm riding through a school zone when a big yellow school bus passes me. Halfway through the bus passing me, it cuts over and goes into the shoulder forcing me to go on the grass and almost wipe out because it just recently rained and the grass was really muddy.
Anyway, a guy behind the bus slowed down and asked if I was ok once I recovered and got back on the road and also wanted to know if he wanted me to call the cops because he thought it was ridiculous what the bus driver did. I said no and caught up to the bus at the light. I pulled up to the window and the lady opened it and proceeded to tell me that there was a car in the lane next to her so she decided that she would run me off the road instead of hitting the car. I could not believe she said this to me so I asked her why she did not even apologize to me and that basically she's a complete moron. Since my son was born 5 days ago, I decided to cut my losses short and rode away without talking anymore because I was pissed off.
So basically, I wanted to know from you guys if I should have called the school district and ratted the bus driver out for almost really hurting me and causing a really bad situation.
I have been in a ton of different bad situations on the bike and I have never written about any of them but the fact that this stupid woman was a school bus driver and made that ridiculous comment to me really got to me.
Sorry for the venting. I guess becoming a father really makes me think about the dangers we face out there. Please be careful when you guys ride. Hopefully you won't have to deal with something like this in the future.
______________________________________
Clydesdales have more fun!!!