London Banter - View Single Post - Anti-bike signs on Bendibuses

Martin Underwood · March 24th 06, 09:59 PM posted to uk.transport.london

Colin Rosenstiel wrote in
:

In article ,
(Martin Underwood) wrote:

Colin Rosenstiel wrote in
:

Some Bendibuses (including some or all on routes 29 and 73) have a
yellow triangle sign on the rear with a black bicycle with an X
across it.

a) What is it supposed to mean?

b) Why this anti-bike attitude from TfL?

Could it be a "don't overtake this vehicle on the left when it's
turning left" sign? I've seen this on various large vehicles such as
dustbin lorries, concrete mixers and HGVs: as I was waiting behind a
concrete mixer this very morning I saw one of these signs. And very
sensible too: anyone on a bike who overtakes on the left a car/lorry
that has indicated that it is turning left wants their head looking
at.

It doesn't say anything about turning. However, if it's stopped at a
bus stop you're stuffed either way. Because they are so long you
can't pass either side in the time it is stopped.

However, any vehicle that can't see if it safe to turn left without
injuring someone on its nearside should be banned from the roads. If
it was a railway vehicle it would be as unsafe. Two Cambridge
cyclists have been killed in the last year because of such unsafe
vehicles.

The cyclist shouldn't *be* on the nearside of the vehicle when it is
indicating to turn left. As a car driver I usually pull close to the kerb
when I'm turning left if I've just overtaken a cyclist, so as to block him
making this dangerous manouvre; as a cyclist I never overtake anything on
the driver's blind side!