My partner was deliberately nudged (front of bumper into back wheel of bike) by a bus driver approaching a red light in Nottingham today. If she had come off she would have been under the wheels!
Now I wasn't there but from what she says this was a deliberate action, and when challenged the f***er just shrugged in a "what do you expect" manner.
Now I would maybe have dealt with that in a more "immediate" manner, but we are we are where we are, so how do we ensure that this chap doesn't do this again?
She was naturally shaken up, but we know the exact time, bus number and location, so I guess the fella can be traced. (No. 30, Ilkeston Rd Nr The White Horse, at about 12.45 this afternoon).
I am thinking of
letters, phone calls e-mails etc. to:
The head of the bus company
Bus comapny HR
Bus comapny H&S
Local Paper
Contact the old bill and report dangerous driving (or other offence?)
She also works for the city council, so I'm thinking via her work structure too, a formal grievance?
Any advice, anecdotes or suggestions appreciated.
Cheers,
Alex
Report it, phone the ops co, see what happens.
Forget the paper, try the LA see who funds the service.
Life's shit, learn how not to get in that position.
Being very cynical - if you get nudged, fall over and lie on the floor screaming in pain. When they try and move you scream more in pain, ask for Police and Ambulance. Still lie on the floor. Give a statement. Get the incident number. Go from there.
Perhaps also consider a well-written letter to the NEP. Nottingham trys to sell itself as being a 'cycle-friendly' city and the NET buses are operated by the city council.
BTW - Are you 'Palace Fan' as in Crystal Palace? If so, with the two of us being in Nottingham, who pray tell is going to be sat at Selhurst Park during home games next season?
😉
That's an NCT bus isn't it?
They seem to have a bunch of drivers who really don't like cyclists - I got one trying to run me over on purpose near the Vicky centre, and others have given me hassle before. It is weird - Trent Barton drivers are generally quite polite, whereas NCT appear to have a real problem with aggression.
Then I guess it is the same as the bus service - Trent Barton drivers say hello, give change, and say thanks when you get off, NCT drivers hide behind a sheet of glass, if you're lucky you get a grunt, if you're unlucky you get shouted at for not having exactly £1.60, or for taking too long getting your money out, and they are just generally grumpy.
I would not bother with the police - they don't care unless there were a)lots of witnesses and b)you got injured. The other things might be worth a try.
Joe
Was she knocked off? or just nudged.
I was run into by a lorry in front of a few coppers and a load of PCSOs who were doing some kind of traffic survey. They saw the whole thing, I gave a statement....**** all happened about it.
Unless she was knocked off, you'll be wasting your time.
A lot of buses have onboard CCTV now; our local buses are covered in them. Worth checking out.
Make sure you at least contact the company. If nothing else, they'll have a word with the driver.
My advice?
Let her sort it out for herself. Women can think and act for themselves these days.
>Girlfriend Knocked off Bike
and
>[b]If[/b] she had come off she would have been under the wheels!
Does not compute.
failure to stop at scene of accident & provide details - old bill!
NCT does have cameras fitted to buses. Get onto it pronto before the recording is "lost". Make the call to NCT and a call to the Public Transport dept of the City Council. I know for a fact, they have at least one keen cyclist in there.
Play on the cycling friendly PR of the city council as well. It's something they push, so why shouldn't you?
I doubt it was deliberate, just crap driving.
oh that's all right then...
[i]failure to stop at scene of accident & provide details - old bill! [/i]
Except the bus driver presumably did stop for the conversation to happen, and there's nothing to indicate a request to provide details failed.
Can still amount to failure to stop dependent on the nature of the conversation and how long he stopped for - in the words of Butterworths:[i]
The driver must stop at the scene and remain there for such time as is sufficient to enable any person who has a right to do so and a reasonable ground for so doing to obtain from the driver directly and personally the information which is required under the section2. This means remaining near the vehicle for a sufficient period to allow a person having reasonable grounds for doing so to ask for the driver's details3. The driver does not have to wait indefinitely. Every case must be a question of what at that time and in that situation was reasonable[/i]
Sadly the CCTV on the bus will have been wiped. It just keeps an hour of footage, and the drivers have a button to keep 1 hour of footage (30mins before button press, 30mins after) - this is from talking to the drivers after spending far too much time commuting into Nottingham.
Some of the NCT drivers are alright, but then I very rarely get on a city bus. The NCT ones I get on go out into deepest Nottinghamshire. (have a guess where I'm from)
Find the driver and have him beaten to a pulp?
umm confused here. was she actually knocked off as per your title or just nudged as in your description?
What 'restitution' are we looking for here?
A telling off?
A sacking?
The sins of the fathers to be visted on the next 7 generations?
Sounds like she had a bit of a rough time, but should give it up and get on.
In the old buses vs cyclists thing, Nottingham City Transport employ some real nob-head drivers. At the very least, the driver needs a rollocking.