31 July 2010

Giving way to ACTION buses

| busdriver
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In the ACT if a bus have a give way sign on the back of it then you must give way to that bus when the right hand intercator is flashing!

I know that some bus drivers abuse it but you have to remember that as a bus driver you are resposible to get people to there places on time all the time. If 1 car or truck driver fails to giveway to us then that is 30 seconds late then if 2 cars fail to giveway then thats 1 minute.

Today I was pulling out of a bus stop and 30 cars failed to giveway and I was then late but lucky the runs that I do are easy to catch up.

So please giveway to buses when pulling out of a bus stop.

It only takes less than 1 second and it helps us a great deal.

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creative_canberran8:06 pm 12 Dec 11

It’s absolutely horrible how often I see this happen and how blatantly drivers fail to give way. I was on Athlon Dr the other day behind about 10 cars, all of whom passed and even sped up to get past the bus that had long had it’s indicator on. I was the one to stop.

I do have to note as others have though that some bus drivers also need to take greater care as pulling out as or just before their indicator is on causes a hazard.

A bus full of passengers is more important than me, so I give way whenever I have to and also whenever I see it needs to take my space. I’ve tried to tone down the almost overwhelming desire, that infects most car drivers, of the need to ‘get in front’, driving is much quieter now.

ok I’m new in here but bus drivers have given me the inclination to join this site a make a statement i drive trucks in the ACT and interstate and yes in the car and truck I’m quiet happy to give way when the’re pulling of a bus stop I’m quiet aware of whats going on in front of me.
BUT in specific reference to the BUS lane on Northbourne Ave Sth Bound at the Barton Hwy intersection why do BUS drivers think that i)This is an overtaking lane once past the Barton Hwy and ii)Think that giving way to the right hand indicator still applies when their moving.
Last week it was the forth time in say 12 months that I’ve had a Bus come past me right at the end of the three lanes either forcing me to brake heavily or move into the right lane marginally nearly having an incident with either the bus or another vehicle.
Where is there consideration for other road users or the safety of their passengers thencant they see that there is no room for a vehicle that size too merge with safety or is it the miracle of a right hand indicator that will create the space required.
IT is a bus lane yes but it does not give them the right in such a short distance to try using it as an overtaking lane.
I feel so strongly about this I aim when I get time too bring it up with both ACTION and ACT policing

The bus driver is putting the lives of his passengers first. Be bloody considerate, see the bus’s blinker and back off to let the bus out. TFE too easy – lack of consideration is one of the biggets causes of crashes especially in the ACT and we are ALL guilty of it at some time.

OP: If 1 car or truck driver fails to giveway to us then that is 30 seconds late then if 2 cars fail to giveway then thats 1 minute.

It only takes less than 1 second and it helps us a great deal.

Okay, so a car travelling at 80km/hr having to slow down rapidly to enable you to pull out, will only take 1 second, but the time it takes that same vehicle to pass your bus, is 30 seconds? A large bus is 15m long, this means 30sec would have vehicles travelling at approx 5km/hr past your bus. At 60km/hr, each car that travels past your bus, holds you in for under 1 second.

To put your question another way, you claim that one car delays you by 30sec, and 2 cars delay you by 1min. How long is the delay when you pull out into traffic without waiting for a space, and have an accident in your bus? Sure, youre legally in the right, as long as you only follow the laws of the ACT government, and not the laws of physics or time and space.

Traffic lights have an orange light to give you time to slow down from your travelling speed, in order to yield to traffic potentially in your way, why do buses think they demand more attention and quicker response than a set of traffic lights?

Gungahlin Al12:10 pm 03 Aug 10

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

It is a busy moment watching the bus intently plus also trying to keep watch on the cars behind you to make sure they understand why you may be about to slow pretty quickly.

What’s busy about it?

“I’m scanning well ahead, and hark, I see a gigantic orange vehicle down the road. Better slow down now just in case. Oh look – as if by magic, the red lights on the back of my car have warned the drivers behind me to slow down and back off.”

Watching the bus ‘intently’ while you barrel toward it is just stupid. What’s going through your head? “Bus – 80 – car behind me – bus – 80 – car behind me – busindicatohf*ck steering wheel”?

Thereby proving the point of my post Woody. Perhaps you missed the bit about speed differential? But we should all be thankful that in Woody-world Canberra has a superior class of driver who never ever gets caught out in tail-enders…

Gungahlin Al said :

Sigh…
How quickly we jump to the poles of any ‘discussion’ here, with the decent into insult quickly following.

Guess we’ve all been well trained by our media outlets that the world is entirely made of black and white, with nought in between.

(As an aside, reminds of the guy who said “There are two kinds of people in this world – those who think the world is divided into two types of people, and those who don’t.)

People here are so quick to bitch about the bus services not running in a timely manner, but here’s one of the reasons why – failure to observe this road rule that’s been around for some time now. And so what if BD’s maths don’t add up? Their point is well made, polite and respectful.

However (shade of grey here), I am bothered that the same rule applies for pulling out from a stop on an 80kph or over road. I confirmed with the friendly copper on ABC Radio’s law enforcement Q&A segment. His justification was that merely seeing a bus pulled up on the side should put you on alert that it may well pull out shortly and so you should be ready to toss out the anchors. And that may well be the law as it is written, but the speed differential between 0 and 80 (or more) kph makes this a flawed aspect of the law (in my opinion).

I face this situation at least once a week on the Federal Highway out front of the Kamberra Winery. Most bus drivers are sensible about it. A few are altogether too casual with other people’s wellbeing. It is a busy moment watching the bus intently plus also trying to keep watch on the cars behind you to make sure they understand why you may be about to slow pretty quickly.

Well said.

You can’t help noticing that most topics seem to descend into a polarising debate full of aggression and rude commentary. That’s fun some of the time, but not all the time. It’s like people are in a spinning drum, pushed to the wall by centrifugal force, unable and unwilling to meet in the middle and happy to hurl insults at each other in the anonymity of the internet. That too is fun some of the time – but not all the time.

Busdriver has a point, as do some of the people who observe that some bus drivers are less than perfect. I’m guessing there aren’t too many perfect drivers, bus or car, in Canberra.

Woody Mann-Caruso1:27 pm 02 Aug 10

It is a busy moment watching the bus intently plus also trying to keep watch on the cars behind you to make sure they understand why you may be about to slow pretty quickly.

What’s busy about it?

“I’m scanning well ahead, and hark, I see a gigantic orange vehicle down the road. Better slow down now just in case. Oh look – as if by magic, the red lights on the back of my car have warned the drivers behind me to slow down and back off.”

Watching the bus ‘intently’ while you barrel toward it is just stupid. What’s going through your head? “Bus – 80 – car behind me – bus – 80 – car behind me – busindicatohf*ck steering wheel”?

Just trying to work out whether the bus drivers are the Hatfields or the McCoys in this scenario…

I rode to work today. Eastwards across the street in front of old parliament house and the tent embassy. Near the next street to the left near Dept of Finance I saw a number 3 bus oncoming and facing me. I indicated to turn left (towards DOFA and the art gallery – sorry – don’t know the name of the street). Bus suddenly turns right too and barrells across in front of me. I slammed on my anchors to not hit its left front side.

Hmmm – the road rules he learnt are obviously different to mine.

Gungahlin Al12:32 pm 02 Aug 10

Sigh…
How quickly we jump to the poles of any ‘discussion’ here, with the decent into insult quickly following.

Guess we’ve all been well trained by our media outlets that the world is entirely made of black and white, with nought in between.

(As an aside, reminds of the guy who said “There are two kinds of people in this world – those who think the world is divided into two types of people, and those who don’t.)

People here are so quick to bitch about the bus services not running in a timely manner, but here’s one of the reasons why – failure to observe this road rule that’s been around for some time now. And so what if BD’s maths don’t add up? Their point is well made, polite and respectful.

However (shade of grey here), I am bothered that the same rule applies for pulling out from a stop on an 80kph or over road. I confirmed with the friendly copper on ABC Radio’s law enforcement Q&A segment. His justification was that merely seeing a bus pulled up on the side should put you on alert that it may well pull out shortly and so you should be ready to toss out the anchors. And that may well be the law as it is written, but the speed differential between 0 and 80 (or more) kph makes this a flawed aspect of the law (in my opinion).

I face this situation at least once a week on the Federal Highway out front of the Kamberra Winery. Most bus drivers are sensible about it. A few are altogether too casual with other people’s wellbeing. It is a busy moment watching the bus intently plus also trying to keep watch on the cars behind you to make sure they understand why you may be about to slow pretty quickly.

Clown Killer said :

It’s a bus FFS. They’re like whales. Big, slow and fairly predictable. I’f you can’t deal with the other traffic on the road, then get yourself down to the ACT Government Shopfront and hand your licemse back – you’re obviously too stupid to be on the road.

Good point, I just hope the bus drivers can take it in.

Holden Caulfield12:19 pm 02 Aug 10

54-11 said :

busdriver, I will always give way to a bus, provided they provide timely notice of what they’re doing. Just flashing the indicator and then pulling out is not quite the way to do it.

+1

I also agree that an improved attitude and ability to anticipate are aspects of general road use that more drivers should adopt. Well, all road users, really.

I used to crack the sads at those big orange limos too. Then I grew up.

Yes, some bus drivers do the wrong thing. This doesn’t give anyone the right to act like a knob whenever they’re near a bus. Get over it!

Clown Killer11:53 am 02 Aug 10

It’s a bus FFS. They’re like whales. Big, slow and fairly predictable. I’f you can’t deal with the other traffic on the road, then get yourself down to the ACT Government Shopfront and hand your licemse back – you’re obviously too stupid to be on the road.

Woody Mann-Caruso11:39 am 02 Aug 10

When I see a bus at a stop, I assume it’s going to pull out and ease off the accelerator. This gives me plenty of time to slow down if the indicators come on, or even if they don’t (had a headlight go out this morning myself – don’t see why it can’t happen to bus indicators too). If I see a bus that’s just come out from a stop (say, in front of the hospital), I assume the driver might want to change lanes (for example, to turn right on Hindmarsh) and give them some space. It’s all good, and I seem to arrive home on those days the same time I do when I don’t come across a bus. I always see the frantic ‘OMG BUS WILL GET IN FRONT OF ME AND MY HEAD WILL ASPLODE’ crowd at the next lights, too.

I wonder what the stats on car vs bus crashes are at bus stops? By some of the comments here, all bus drivers simply pull out whenever they feel like (mine don’t, and I don’t recall having one who did, but that’s just anecdotal). The crash rate must be through the roof with more t-bones than a Texas steakhouse. Anybody know?

vg said :

Bollocks. I can guarantee I’m a more highly trained driver than you are and I share the negative sentiment about the poor behaviour of some of our Action friends.

Not aimed at you vg, but I know some highly trained drivers I wouldn’t share a billy cart with.

justin heywood9:05 am 02 Aug 10

vg said :

My bus drivers do it nigh on every morning…..and I tell them

So, you are telling us that almost ‘every morning’ you give your bus driver a list of his errors? Do you sit behind him and back-seat drive as he goes along, or do you save it up and give him a list verbatim as you are getting off?

And what, pray, are is the bus driver’s usual response?

Give way to the bus pulling out from the curb, of course.
That bus crossing 2 lanes with the same motion, that was insane.
Luckily I was able to switch to his left.

“Part of the problem is that such a high percentage of Canberra drivers (including those that think they are good drivers) don’t have the ability to ANTICIPATE potential events ahead”

Bollocks. I can guarantee I’m a more highly trained driver than you are and I share the negative sentiment about the poor behaviour of some of our Action friends.

“It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic.”

My bus drivers do it nigh on every morning…..and I tell them

Very Busy said :

nhand42 said :

Very Busy said :

It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic.

Bullshit. That’s the only scenario I’ve ever seen from Canberra bus drivers.

In that case you have just given me the perfect example. You are the type of driver (and more, by the arrogant tone of your post) I am refering to in my previous post @28. Arrogant people are a major issue on Canberra roads.

You’re a nutcase if you think you can identify somebody’s driving style by their “tone” in a post on Riot ACT.

Bus Driver. I am with you, as long as they (Bus Drivers) give ample time for cars already passing the bus, to finish passing without being abussive to the car driver. The car drivers that are behind the bus when the bus has first put the indicator on, should give way assuming its not on a 80km/h stretch of road, where the breaking time is harder for cars to stop on a dime for an exiting bus. Although I see that roads like Athllon Dr Farrer have longer bus stops to account for this. However, as a Bus commuter myself in Canberra, what annoys me are those bus drivers that “dont” take advantage of the give way to bus rule, and sit and wait 3-4 minutes for every car to pass (e.g. Athllon Dr, Hyatt Hotel).

Very Busy said :

nhand42 said :

Very Busy said :

It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic.

Bullshit. That’s the only scenario I’ve ever seen from Canberra bus drivers.

In that case you have just given me the perfect example. You are the type of driver (and more, by the arrogant tone of your post) I am refering to in my previous post @28. Arrogant people are a major issue on Canberra roads.

Unfortunately Very Busy, I see it all too often along William Slim Drive, Gundaroo Drive, and Baldwin Drive. Baldwin Drive being the worst. The bus will put its indicator on to pull out of the bus stop, I move into the right hand lane to allow them to proceed with out getting in their way, what do they do, move straight across into the right lane with out looking, it nearly caused me to have a front on crash just last week.

William Slim, same deal I can not count the amount of times I have seen a bus start driving, move onto the road and NOT indicate. Same on Gundaroo Drive, they pull out without indicating, or indicate and move at the same time, that is not responsible driving.

The worst thing that buses do? Don’t give way at roundabouts, run red lights along Drakeford Drive… All in all while agree that the people of Canberra need their heads read, Bus drivers are not doing themselves any favors by driving like complete cocks who think they own the road.

In saying that, I believe it would be a small percentage of bus drivers that do this type of stuff, but it’s like dropping buttered bread, you only remember when it lands on the buttered side, never the times it lands the other way so you can eat it.

I can remember a number of good things that bus drivers have done, while driving, going beyond their duties, helping people get on the bus, helping kids that are being bullied, helping people on the side of the road. These guys do work hard, they do do a fairly thankless service and most of the drivers are pretty top blokes. But there are some f%cktards that work for them.

nhand42 said :

Very Busy said :

It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic.

Bullshit. That’s the only scenario I’ve ever seen from Canberra bus drivers.

In that case you have just given me the perfect example. You are the type of driver (and more, by the arrogant tone of your post) I am refering to in my previous post @28. Arrogant people are a major issue on Canberra roads.

Very Busy said :

Part of the problem is that such a high percentage of Canberra drivers (including those that think they are good drivers) don’t have the ability to ANTICIPATE potential events ahead. It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic. The more common scenario is that drivers see the bus stopped ahead and use absolutely no thought processes to anticipate that that bus will soon be needing to enter the lane of traffic. Several traits then come into play as car drivers are confronted with the indicating bus, including:

1. “Oh, I simply must not let that bus in. If it gets in then I will arrive at the next set of traffic lights 3 seconds later”.
2. “mmmm, that bus is just pulling out without warning, I can’t stop now, I’ll just ignore it”.
3. “What was that road rule again?”
etc etc etc

Those posts above that somehow blame bus drivers for just pulling out are not being honest with themselves or others. In reality cars are given plenty of time to slow down or stop but they choose not to because they do not like or agree with that particular road rule.

The right hand indicator of a bus pulling out of a bus stop should be treated no differently to a red or amber light at a set of traffic lights.

This!

Canberra traffic is dominated by the most appalling selfish attitudes. Don’t you dare try to change lanes in this town, I can guarantee that someone will try to prevent you.

Very Busy said :

It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic.

Bullshit. That’s the only scenario I’ve ever seen from Canberra bus drivers.

Part of the problem is that such a high percentage of Canberra drivers (including those that think they are good drivers) don’t have the ability to ANTICIPATE potential events ahead. It is rare that a bus driver just throws the right indicator on at the last second and barges out into the traffic. The more common scenario is that drivers see the bus stopped ahead and use absolutely no thought processes to anticipate that that bus will soon be needing to enter the lane of traffic. Several traits then come into play as car drivers are confronted with the indicating bus, including:

1. “Oh, I simply must not let that bus in. If it gets in then I will arrive at the next set of traffic lights 3 seconds later”.
2. “mmmm, that bus is just pulling out without warning, I can’t stop now, I’ll just ignore it”.
3. “What was that road rule again?”
etc etc etc

Those posts above that somehow blame bus drivers for just pulling out are not being honest with themselves or others. In reality cars are given plenty of time to slow down or stop but they choose not to because they do not like or agree with that particular road rule.

The right hand indicator of a bus pulling out of a bus stop should be treated no differently to a red or amber light at a set of traffic lights.

I, too, give way to buses. I know it must be frustrating for the bus drivers to merge into the traffic. But when they just pull out in front of you as they put their indicator on, that sh*ts me.

I consider myself a very good driver. But when you are driving down Cameron Avenue in Belconnen and your eyes are on the parked buses on the left (never knowing when they are going to pull out unexpectedly), the people walking over the crossing, the cars in front of you and the cars behind you – it is very dangerous when the bus pulls out and I am 3/4 nearly past them, they pull up behind me and flash their headlights at me to let me know they are annoyed that I didn’t stop ….which I couldn’t do….how does that work?????

I am very accommodating ACTION bus drivers. Put your indicator on, slowly move out and we can see ahead to give us enough time to slow down and let you in. Not that hard at all!!!!

Woody Mann-Caruso10:29 am 01 Aug 10

everybody take notice to his dribble…

Like you did? And then you specifically drew extra attention to it?

I was actually going to start giving way to buses until he added to the topic

Aww, diddums. It’s flattering to know that I can control your daily behaviour like that, even to the point where you’ll willingly break the law and endanger your own life. Really, it’s sweet. There aren’t many guys who’d wear their heart on their sleeve like that, especially for another guy on the internet. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

*smooches*

I agree cars with few pasaengers (particularly the 99% of Canberra cars which seem to have only one passenger..) should give way to public transport, often with 60 odd people on at peak times should give way.

However on particular bus driver who was merging into the left lane from the bus-only lane from the main roundabout on Adelaide Avenue at Woden sometimes has me on the edge of my seat as he powers into the lane at morning peak hour with semmingly little attention to the cars he’s cutting off.

On one occasion, I feared for the life of onw car driver as he was nearly sandwiched between the bus and bumper to bumper traffic in the other lanes. The bus drivers only concern seemed to be making sure he gave the driver the finger.

canberratowie29:02 am 01 Aug 10

On Friday night at about 6pm I was turning off Beazley street at Farrer on to Athllon Dr heading towards Tuggeranong I had to stop in the slip lane and give way to some cars and 1 bus once the road was clear I proceeded to turn the bus had stopped at the bus stop just pass the traffic lights there
He pulled in to pick up 1 passenger as she stepped on to the bus his right hand indicator came on but by thins stage I was about to pass he still started driving and swerved towards my truck as I passed the driver’s window the goose was madly waving his arms about at me ! Now there is no way that in that time the lady that had just gotten on the bus had time to sit down and must of been hanging on for dear life while the pin headed bus driver tried to prove a point
Once I was pass him he then decided it was his job to flash his high beam lights at me and left them on for over 500 meters. There is no point making a complaint to Action about it they don’t care

You want some respect Acton bus driver ? I can tell you it well never happen until you show some to the other motorist on the roads

#8 EXACTLY!

“You think its bad here.. Try Sydney, then you’ll have something to complain about.”
Come on. I don’t give a damn about Sydney traffic and I don’t want to. It’s bad enough here!

vg said :

Woody

What else do buses pull out of?

Streets and bus depots for a start 🙂

I am guessing you don’t have to correctly label all the parts of a bus to get a bus drivers license.

screaming banshee8:49 pm 31 Jul 10

bd84 said :

Idiots like you are exactly what this driver is talking about.

OK I’ll bite.

The driver (one would presume somehow qualified) has indicated that his understanding is any other vehicle must give way to a bus with its right indicator on. My point was to clarify to them and any other bus drivers that might be reading that while they are entitled to expect cars to give way when pulling out from a bus stop it does not give them the right to change lanes without any regard to the vehicles around them.

In one particular near miss (dont most workplaces require that these are reported?) I was approaching a bus that began indicating its intention to pull out from a stop. As it was a two lane road I moved into the right lane only to have the bus swing right across in an attempt to occupy the same space as I was in. This was serious enough that I reported it to Action.

While it is reasonable to expect that other road users will show some consideration to a bus attempting to move across lanes the bus driver can not close his eyes during the manoeuver then point the finger at other vehicles when something goes wrong.

Bus drivers aren’t doing themselves as a whole any favours when they leave their right indicator on while passengers are boarding or put their indicator on at the same time they turn the wheel and accelerate.

I would hope that you would agree, bd84, that we appear to be singing the same tune however you appear to have taken my first comments to indicate that I never give way to buses and somehow you have extracted then when I approach buses I drive like an idiot.

I would appreciate if you re-read my comments and I think you’ll find nothing I have written was sufficient to be labelled “Idiot”, inflamatory perhaps, but not an idiot.

Woody

What else do buses pull out of?

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Sigh, some bus drivers seem to be under this impression but the correct interpretation of the rules state that traffic must give way to a bus leaving a bus stop.

You seem to have missed this part. In what’s becoming a tradition, I’ll bold it and use a special font that idiots can see as well as normal people:

So please giveway to buses when pulling out of A BUS STOP.

Did you get this time? Here’s hoping nobody pays you to work with anything important, flammable or sharp.

Quick every one Woody has contributed, everybody take notice to his dribble…

I was actually going to start giving way to buses until he added to the topic

Woody Mann-Caruso5:00 pm 31 Jul 10

Sigh, some bus drivers seem to be under this impression but the correct interpretation of the rules state that traffic must give way to a bus leaving a bus stop.

You seem to have missed this part. In what’s becoming a tradition, I’ll bold it and use a special font that idiots can see as well as normal people:

So please giveway to buses when pulling out of A BUS STOP.

Did you get this time? Here’s hoping nobody pays you to work with anything important, flammable or sharp.

Rawhide Kid No 22:40 pm 31 Jul 10

You think its bad here.. Try Sydney, then you’ll have something to complain about.

Might makes right. If getting pushed around on a bike gets all to much, I want to be able to get on a bus and watch it crush all those pissy little cars under its big monster truck tires.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g62/compactVotive/monster-school-bus.jpg

Wow, that is an awesome collection of typos and smelling pisstakes.

There is another issue here that I have experienced.

I I approach a bus which is stopped at a bus stop, I am able to just drive passed, with right of way, since I am in the lane, and they are stopped.

If the bus is indicating that they intend to enter the flow of traffic, then I have to yield, as they have right of way, yes?

What if the bus is sitting there, with customers still entering/exiting the vehicle, yet have already begun to indicate to the right?

I am required to give way, but give way is not the same as stop. So if they are obviously still stopped (i.e. doors open with person half way through), then surely I can commence passing them? If they then shut the door and immediately start moving, do I suddenly become in the wrong?

screaming banshee said :

“you must give way to that bus when the right hand intercator is flashing!”

Sigh, some bus drivers seem to be under this impression but the correct interpretation of the rules state that traffic must give way to a bus leaving a bus stop. Having your right indicator on does not give you right of way to change lanes in normal traffic.

Similarly a bus’ right to pull into traffic from a stop does not extend to the right to pull into anything other than the left lane of a multi-lane road. A point in which my experience tells me quite a few bus drivers need re-training or just to calm the f#ck down.

To the wider tax-paying audience: And this lot want more money?

(Butters popcorn)

Idiots like you are exactly what this driver is talking about. The bus driver is only required to give way to any car beside the bus after he indicates his intention, all cars behind the bus are required to slow and give way to the bus. Other motorists approaching a bus at a stop should be slowing in anticipation of the bus pulling out, not driving like an idiot.

Also, while it is not law to give way to a bus changing lanes in general traffic, common sense would indicate that the bus needs to change lanes for a reason as they can’t exactly change their route. People with half a brain would realise that they should let the bus in when safe to do so.

But having said that, there are bus drivers who break the rules and try changing lanes without looking etc. However, most of the time it is the fault of other stupid drivers and their lack of knowledge about the road rules rather than the fault of the bus driver.

georgesgenitals2:01 pm 31 Jul 10

I don’t mind giving way to buses, but it’s pretty difficult when you’re crawling in heavy traffic and are half way along the stopped bus when it starts to pull out!

There is a pedestrian crossing on Chan St Belconnen that bus drivers seem to think doesnt apply to them. Myself and my family have had many near misses on this crossing because bus drivers simply do not stop. Several months ago a woman was hit by a bus on this crossing resulting in serious injuries – broken bones, punctured lung etc.

While I appreciate that slowing down and perhaps even stopping may take up precious seconds, it is not worth someone’s life.

I give way when I can, but all too often the bus driver indicates at the same time as they’re pulling out, giving me no warning that a 10 ton vehicle is about to inhabit the same time and space as my car. The result is hasty braking and the very real potential of a multi-car pileup. Maybe you bus drivers could leave the indicator on for… oh I don’t know, 1 second… before gunning the accelerator and pulling into fast moving traffic.

busdriver, I will always give way to a bus, provided they provide timely notice of what they’re doing. Just flashing the indicator and then pulling out is not quite the way to do it.

What shits me, however, is when a bus barges it’s way into the traffic, and then tootles along at 40km in a 60 zone, because they are ahead of schedule. If you’ve got time in hand, just take your time working your way into traffic, and then travel at a reasonable speed that’s not holding up a line of vehicles behind you.

Thanks in advance.

If 1 car or truck driver fails to giveway to us then that is 30 seconds late then if 2 cars fail to giveway then thats 1 minute.

That’s some slow moving traffic!

Today I was pulling out of a bus stop and 30 cars failed to giveway and I was then late

Well of course, that must have been excruciating. I mean, going by your calculations, you were 15 minutes late due to those 30 cars. I bet the passengers had sad faces too.

You must’ve been driving like Webber to make that time up…

AussieRodney12:54 pm 31 Jul 10

Antagonist said :

If ACT drivers cannot merge, what hope do we have of them knowing when to give right of way ???

[Generalisation] So true of ACT drivers. [/Generalisation]

A bus driver cannot just arbitrarily whack on the right hand indicator and forcibly insert themselves into traffic either.

“If 1 car or truck driver fails to giveway to us then that is 30 seconds late then if 2 cars fail to giveway then thats 1 minute.”

Bullshit

Your not immune from either common sense, courtesy or the traffic laws themselves just because you’re encased in something 10 times the size and weight of your fellow road users.

As a regular bus passgenger I can tell you the driving behaviours of many of the bus drivers are equally as poor as those they rail against

screaming banshee12:09 pm 31 Jul 10

“you must give way to that bus when the right hand intercator is flashing!”

Sigh, some bus drivers seem to be under this impression but the correct interpretation of the rules state that traffic must give way to a bus leaving a bus stop. Having your right indicator on does not give you right of way to change lanes in normal traffic.

Similarly a bus’ right to pull into traffic from a stop does not extend to the right to pull into anything other than the left lane of a multi-lane road. A point in which my experience tells me quite a few bus drivers need re-training or just to calm the f#ck down.

To the wider tax-paying audience: And this lot want more money?

(Butters popcorn)

It just demonstrates yet another failure by TaMS – this time educating road users. It amazes me how often I hear people complaining about buses pulling out from bus stops, completely oblivious to the fact that the bus has right of way.

Then again, I guess it is to be expected. If ACT drivers cannot merge, what hope do we have of them knowing when to give right of way ???

Couldn’t you just barge out into traffic like all the other bus drivers do? The cars will then give way. Bus does beat car, after all.

(Grabs popcorn)

don’t want to tell you how to do your job and totally agree that cars should give way – but maybe rather than waiting for the line of cars to stop and give you a spot, you should just indicate and pull out (slowly so it’s obvious) – and don’t give them a choice but to give way. who’s going to take on a bus in a head-to-head? not me!

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