Cycling

Bus W*****s In Bristol & Reading

The above expression was coined of course by The Inbetweeners to great comic effect but what follows is at the other end of the spectrum of mirth.ย A Bristol bus driver has been sentenced to 17 months in prison afer using his bus as a weapon to knock a cyclist off the road. Watch the video and read the full story on the BBC website. Beyond belief. I will use the opportunity of this dreadful story to to mention my own bus w*****. I never mentioned the incident on this blog at the time it happened – two weeks ago tomorrow – as I thought I would give Reading Buses time to take some action. But they have been silent ever since I spoke to their customer relations department on Friday 3rd February and sentย the follow-up email below on the 5th February;

“At around 7:10 am I was cycling north through Caversham. I crossed the river using Reading Bridge and turned left at the junction with Gosbrook Road. As I neared the Fox & Hounds pub (just opposite the turning right into Westfield Road), I had been caught up by one of the โ€˜Vitalityโ€™ buses. The road is quite narrow at that point and I needed to turn right to go up Westfield Road. I signalled to turn right and moved into the centre of the road. There was an on-coming vehicle and I was not able to turn right immediately however the bus behind me didnโ€™t appear to be slowing down. I gestured with my hand (politely!) that he should do soย but I felt obliged to slightly overshoot the turning. I then turned right and once on Westfield Road made a swirling motion at my right temple to indicate that I thought his actions were crazy. He seemed, from my perspective, to be far too close to me before I had turned. The incident at that point finished and I continued to the top of Westfield Road where as the light was red, I waited opposite the Prince of Wales pub. The same Vitality bus passed the pub heading up Peppard Road after having climbed Prospect Street. He looked at me and โ€˜gave me the fingerโ€™.”

Any comment Reading buses? I’m still waiting for a reponse…

Categories: Cycling

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What do you think?