Are they taught to deliberately block both lanes when they stop at traffic
lights, so that no-one else can overtake them? I followed one tonight, and
he did it at every junction. I don't really understand this mentality - as
the driver of a vehicle which is very slow up hills, I go to a fair effort
to make sure that other vehicles do have opportunities to overtake me,
putting my left indicator on whenever there is a motor bike behind me and so
on, partly because when you drive as much as I do, little tasks like that
help keep driving enjoyable. Maybe bus drivers are frustrated Formula One
drivers, or maybe it's a Livingstone policy to make buses more competitive
with other forms of transport by making sure buses slow everything else down
to bus speed.

Incidentally, a bus full of passengers tried to do this a few months ago,
but he accidentally left *just* enough room on the inside for me to sneak up
next to him, so I did that, being careful to check that the passenger
door(s) were not open. He looked very annoyed when I appeared next to his
passenger door. So, although the lights were still red, he pulled forward
about 6 metres over the stop line and swung to the left, in order to make
sure I couldn't beat him away from the lights. As I overtook him at the next
bus stop, he shouted criticism about my driving!

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 02:42:20 +0100, "John Rowland"
wrote:


Are they taught to deliberately block both lanes when they stop at traffic
lights, so that no-one else can overtake them? I followed one tonight, and
he did it at every junction. I don't really understand this mentality - as
the driver of a vehicle which is very slow up hills, I go to a fair effort
to make sure that other vehicles do have opportunities to overtake me,
putting my left indicator on whenever there is a motor bike behind me and so
on, partly because when you drive as much as I do, little tasks like that
help keep driving enjoyable. Maybe bus drivers are frustrated Formula One
drivers, or maybe it's a Livingstone policy to make buses more competitive
with other forms of transport by making sure buses slow everything else down
to bus speed.

Incidentally, a bus full of passengers tried to do this a few months ago,
but he accidentally left *just* enough room on the inside for me to sneak up
next to him, so I did that, being careful to check that the passenger
door(s) were not open. He looked very annoyed when I appeared next to his
passenger door. So, although the lights were still red, he pulled forward
about 6 metres over the stop line and swung to the left, in order to make
sure I couldn't beat him away from the lights. As I overtook him at the next
bus stop, he shouted criticism about my driving!


Yes, they do this deliberately *because* of the idiot car drivers that
try to perform unsafe or selfish manoeuvres at traffic lights.

Cyclists have been forced to adopt a similar stance, gone are the days
when the cyclist could adopt a path approx 1 foot from the pavement
and know that cars would give him a decent berth; so they have to
force the issue and ride in the middle of the lane at any tight spots,
to prevent any morons trying to cut through where it is too narrow.

Peter Frimberley wrote:

Yes, they do this deliberately *because* of the idiot car drivers that
try to perform unsafe or selfish manoeuvres at traffic lights.

There is nothing idiotic, unsafe or selfish about using 2 lanes at
traffic lights where 2 have been provided. And it is perfectly
legitimate for the vehicle that arrived later to move away first.

Cyclists have been forced to adopt a similar stance, gone are the days
when the cyclist could adopt a path approx 1 foot from the pavement
and know that cars would give him a decent berth; so they have to
force the issue and ride in the middle of the lane at any tight spots,
to prevent any morons trying to cut through where it is too narrow.

Totally different situation. If a cyclist did not allow motor vehicles
to overtake by adopting such a position where it was safe to overtake,
the cyclist would be guilty of cycling without due care and attention
and consideration for other road users.

In a similar vein, any bus that straggles two lanes or refuses to use
bus laybys to prevent vehicles from overtaking is, in my opinion,
guilty of driving with undue care and attention and consideration for
other road users.