Humour - Don't pick on a bus!

skiddlydiddly

Or a big tail.

I can see both sides, it seems some bus drivers pull out regardless.But then, any competant driver should be able to anticipate that the bus driver is eventually going to pull out and look for the telltale signs such as passengers getting on/off, driver checking his mirror or looking out of the window for a gap, the back of the bus dropping down, more black smoke coming from the exhaust etc.
These are things any experienced driver should be aware of, rather than just overtaking regardless because its your right of way.Afterall, buses in general mean less cars on the road so better for us all.Plus, your average car is going to lose any argument with something weighing what, 7-8 tons?

DebtHater

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

These are things any experienced driver should be aware of, rather than just overtaking regardless because its your right of way.Afterall, buses in general mean less cars on the road so better for us all.Plus, your average car is going to lose any argument with something weighing what, 7-8 tons?

Again, its the minority who give the majority a bad name. Yes, there are some bus drivers who dont deserve the title of "professional driver", but then again there are some very sensible bus drivers out there too.

And regarding the weights, a single-deck Stagecoach bus can be anything up to 9/10 tonnes unladen, and anything up to 42ft long. They are usually the same width, its about 8ft 6 wide.
A double deck can be up to 12.5 tonnes unladen, and 14ft 10" high, the same length of up to 42ft, although some of the newer ones are 39/40ft long.
They are big vehicles, and the main problem is the general public just dont understand how much room a bus/lorry actually needs.

Mr_Oink

You know something? I guess if there were some statistics on 'who is most likely to drive like a knob and do something !!!!!!' amongst HGV, PCV and car drivers - the car driver would probably come out on top every time. Mind you - the 7.5 tonne 'vans', mini-skip and aggregate lorries would come a very close second :-)

But hey - I drive like a knob anyway, so who am I to judge other knobs?!

Mr_Oink

DebtHater wrote: »

Again, its the minority who give the majority a bad name. Yes, there are some bus drivers who dont deserve the title of "professional driver", but then again there are some very sensible bus drivers out there too.

Thinking about that statement I guess you could add some weight to it when you consider:

A bus can have anything up to around 90 people on it, none of which are wearing any seatbelts - yet injuries as a result of RTA's seem to be tiny in the UK. I'm struggling to find data on it. Trips and falls on buses gets a mention, but RTA injuries and deaths appears to be a non statistic. With that in mind it does tend to suggest they drive well on the whole - despite the whining to the contrary.

mikey72

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Thinking about that statement I guess you could add some weight to it when you consider:

A bus can have anything up to around 90 people on it, none of which are wearing any seatbelts - yet injuries as a result of RTA's seem to be tiny in the UK. I'm struggling to find data on it. Trips and falls on buses gets a mention, but RTA injuries and deaths appears to be a non statistic. With that in mind it does tend to suggest they drive well on the whole - despite the whining to the contrary.

Probably because buses have either parking accidents, at low speed of a few mph, as they are typically very slow urban vehicles, or else as coaches they fall off a mountain road at 60mph, without much inbetween.

Ask your brother in law, he reckons he racked up about 5 accidents each year for the past 15 years. Even as a non fault it doesn't show he's the most observant driver, yet alone driving quite well.
I'm amazed he manages to get car insurance, 25 no fault accidents in the last 5 years would be interesting on "go compare".

Mr_Oink

mikey72 wrote: »

Ask your brother in law, he reckons he racked up about 5 accidents each year for the past 15 years. Even as a non fault it doesn't show he's the most observant driver, yet alone driving quite well.I'm amazed he manages to get car insurance, 25 no fault accidents in the last 5 years would be interesting on "go compare".

Me too amazed by it. Still, I do find it funny.

That's opened up an interesting point. If a bus or lorry driver has an accident at work, do they need to declare it for their car insurance? On the one hand the question an insurance company usually asks is vague 'have you had any accidents or claims in the last x years where you have been held responsible?' does that mean on personal policies held, or during your work on a commercial employers policy??? Good question!

DebtHater

Mr_Oink wrote: »

the 7.5 tonne 'vans', mini-skip and aggregate lorries would come a very close second :-)

And do you know why that is? Its because alot of those drivers are on pay schemes such as "paid by the load"..... so they figure that if they charge around, they can earn extra in that day because they are fitting in more and more loads. In the last week, I have seen 3 aggregate lorries jumping red lights, one of them treating the red light as a give way instead. Its crazy

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Thinking about that statement I guess you could add some weight to it when you consider:

A bus can have anything up to around 90 people on it, none of which are wearing any seatbelts - yet injuries as a result of RTA's seem to be tiny in the UK. I'm struggling to find data on it. Trips and falls on buses gets a mention, but RTA injuries and deaths appears to be a non statistic. With that in mind it does tend to suggest they drive well on the whole - despite the whining to the contrary.

If a bus driver drives according to his training, there will be no accidents in or out of the bus. Its fact. We are constantly told "mirrors, mirrors, mirrors" and we keep getting told the saying "My mirrors are my friend, but if I turn my back on them, they will f&@k me up!" LOL

mikey72

They ask
"any accidents or claims"
responsibility isn't a question until later.
Anything must be declared, including accidents in company vehicles.
Further on there are questions regarding fault, injury etc.
No doubt he thinks it doen't apply, and doesn't declare it.
It'll only be a shock when he makes a car claim himself, and his name rings every bell and flashes every light they have, when they cross reference him against all the other motorists previous claims they have him on record for.

Mr_Oink

mikey72 wrote: »

They ask
"any accidents or claims"
responsibility isn't a question until later.
Anything must be declared, including accidents in company vehicles.
Further on there are questions regarding fault, injury etc.
No doubt he thinks it doen't apply, and doesn't declare it.
It'll only be a shock when he makes a car claim himself, and his name rings every bell and flashes every light they have, when they cross reference him against all the other motorists previous claims they have him on record for.

He's been in the situation (no surprises) for a claim on his car and, despite his 'history' of driving buses they paid out without any issue. That was last summer.

Not sure how it pans out. Stagecoach provide their own 'cover' so, as such it's not a 'claim' as far as I understand it. I'm not sure if other national providers (First/Arriva) do this or not, or if HGV and logistics companies do this. I've sent him an email to ask him who his insurance company is and if he has checked this.

Knowing insurance companies, they would not miss a trick to put up the price of a policy - but I'm not sure commercial driving for an employer with suitable liability cover is relevant myself - it would be some can of worms.

mikey72

Mr_Oink wrote: »

He's been in the situation (no surprises) for a claim on his car and, despite his 'history' of driving buses they paid out without any issue. That was last summer.

Not sure how it pans out. Stagecoach provide their own 'cover' so, as such it's not a 'claim' as far as I understand it. I'm not sure if other national providers (First/Arriva) do this or not, or if HGV and logistics companies do this. I've sent him an email to ask him who his insurance company is and if he has checked this.

Knowing insurance companies, they would not miss a trick to put up the price of a policy - but I'm not sure commercial driving for an employer with suitable liability cover is relevant myself - it would be some can of worms.

At least he's consistently bad then.