Bus v. Taxi on Marcus Clarke

Ryan said :

I’ve seen it happen a fair bit too, but a lot of drivers leaving that stop do seem to take care giving way. I think part of it is the ‘OMG A BUS I HAVE TO GET AHEAD OF IT!!’ mentality that many driver seem to have. If I’m driving along Commonwealth Ave and see a bus leaving the stop and needing to get over to the right, I’ll slow down a bit and let them in. Worst case scenario – I’m stuck behind it for a few hundred metres until it’s in the bus lane. It’s really not that difficult.

Hmm, not an unsurprising response from a bus nerd. But yes many bus drivers do take care, however many don’t and it has nothing what so ever to do with get ahead of a bus mentality, in peak hour at least which I was talking about. In peak hour it is more a case of see a bus brake heavily otherwise it will just come across.

Tooks said :

Taxi drivers are some of the worst drivers you’ll ever see. Abysmal.

Saw one do a three point turn at the intersection of Corinna and Brewer Sts in Woden today, Nearly caused an accident in doing so and then misjudged his turning circle and nearly reversed into a car waiting to turn into Brewer in correcting his mistake, all because going around the block to get back to his taxi rank was obviously too much trouble.

JC said :

Gershwin said :

And some of the bus drivers aren’t so hot these days either. On one this week that almost forced a car off the road changing lanes on Adelaide Avenue because the bus driver simply didn’t see him until he was half on the grass.

Pretty common on Adelaide Ave, especially Woden bound where buses stop opposite the Hyatt and then need to cross two lanes of traffic to the line up with the bus lane through the Parl house tunnel and Adelaide Ave. In peak in particular you see them just indicating and moving across often in one movement.
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I’ve seen it happen a fair bit too, but a lot of drivers leaving that stop do seem to take care giving way. I think part of it is the ‘OMG A BUS I HAVE TO GET AHEAD OF IT!!’ mentality that many driver seem to have. If I’m driving along Commonwealth Ave and see a bus leaving the stop and needing to get over to the right, I’ll slow down a bit and let them in. Worst case scenario – I’m stuck behind it for a few hundred metres until it’s in the bus lane. It’s really not that difficult.

BethiePrice said :

KB1971 said :

Its not you, I had a taxi tailgate me along Bunda St & then tooted the horn when the car in fromt didnt move instantly the lights turned green this arv. He certainy was in a hurry.

That’s not taxi 133? I was following him home (Morsehead Drive) and amazed at his tailgaiting antics in the left hand land when there was clearly space in the right hand lane to overtake. He was obviously in a mad rush to get to the airport…

Dunno, he was too close to read his plate……..

KB1971 said :

Its not you, I had a taxi tailgate me along Bunda St & then tooted the horn when the car in fromt didnt move instantly the lights turned green this arv. He certainy was in a hurry.

That’s not taxi 133? I was following him home (Morsehead Drive) and amazed at his tailgaiting antics in the left hand land when there was clearly space in the right hand lane to overtake. He was obviously in a mad rush to get to the airport…

It’s quite interesting watching how taxi drivers drive. I remember being in a taxi in Melbourne late last year with an older driver, and he sat back in a relaxed manner and serenely drove along at the speed limit. Yet the trip into town was really quick, because the driver always seemed to know what lane to be in to keep moving, and how hard to accelerate to get into gaps in the cross traffic at intersections. When we got to the destination I thanked him for a smooth ride, and he said that experience has shown him that the best way is to let the traffic carry your rather than fighting it.

Of course, he is in the minority. Most other taxi drivers have me scared for my life at least once per trip!

Try driving past the Airport each day where all the taxis line up in the right lane at the Pialligo lights and then try to race off the lights and cut everyone off to turn into the airport. I refuse to change my speed to let them in and have made more than a few either slow down to get behind me or continue up to the roundabout and go via Brindabella Park. I turn off to get my wife a BBP anyway so they normally end up behind me either way.

Being a taxi driver does not give you any super powers or mean you have right of way regardless of the road rules and what other traffic is around you.

JC said :

May indicate and move and heaven help anyone who may already be beside or close to the bus.

Without excusing the behaviour, this is a good reason not to drive level with a bus – I always get in front or stay behind.

dtc said :

Isn’t that where the lanes merge? So another example of merger failure

looks more like mirror fail, the taxi just didn’t looks before he took off out of that park there…. stupid i’ve had so many near misses when people just don’t look >>

Taxi drivers are some of the worst drivers you’ll ever see. Abysmal.

Gershwin said :

And some of the bus drivers aren’t so hot these days either. On one this week that almost forced a car off the road changing lanes on Adelaide Avenue because the bus driver simply didn’t see him until he was half on the grass.

Pretty common on Adelaide Ave, especially Woden bound where buses stop opposite the Hyatt and then need to cross two lanes of traffic to the line up with the bus lane through the Parl house tunnel and Adelaide Ave. In peak in particular you see them just indicating and moving across often in one movement.

I guess many drivers think the give way sign on the back of the bus means they can do things like this, when it doesn’t. In fact the give way sign only applies to the bus joining the left hand lane of traffic (source rule 77 of national road rules), in other words pulling out from a stop. A lot of bus drivers also don’t give sufficient warning either, which is another condition of this rule. May indicate and move and heaven help anyone who may already be beside or close to the bus.