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Thu 9 May 2019 09:16

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - Smashit

Hi all HJ forumers!

I'm looking for some quick advice on something rather silly I did yesterday.

To set the scene, I left a roundabout from a Dual carriageway, the 2 lanes merge into one very shortly off the roundabout. Coming off the roundabout on the outside lane, there was a bus on the inside lane.

I didn't realise quite how fast the bus was moving/how far into the merge he was and proceeded to overtake, obviously misjudged and had to cross the double white lines to complete the overtake.

I know this was a silly thing to happen, but it happens.

2 miles down the road I was at traffic lights and the bus pulls up to my offside, beeps his horn and points above his head to (what I assume is) a camera or some kind (CCTV/Dashcam)

So, my question is this, what's the likelyhood the bus company is going to shop me in for this? And as a follow up, if they did, what would I be facing? Dangerous Driving?

Thanks for your help and advice, yours, A.N Idiot.

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Thu 9 May 2019 09:53

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - gordonbennet

If the incident required the bus or another road user to take evasive action, then he might report it back at the depot, they will almost certainly view the footage if the driver reports it, and if they think it was dangerous as against just a crossing of a white line (almost the done thing these days by people who haven't a minute to live), then yes they may well send footage to the police...i see hundreds of stupid things every day on the road, my lorry camera system is sealed, i have yet to report anything back at base.

Lots of ifs there, if you caused evasive actions to be taken then yes i would be worried and sharpen up my driving, if no one else needed to take action to prevent an accident then i'd not be worried.

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Thu 9 May 2019 10:03

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - Smashit

Thanks Gordon

Yes, lot's of 'ifs' I don't think he had to take evasive action, I cleared him quite quickly but he was obviously aggrieved by actions so may have reported it.

I instantly thought 'that was flippin' stupid' of myself and I certainly won't be doing it again!

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Thu 9 May 2019 11:04

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - gordonbennet

I instantly thought 'that was flippin' stupid' of myself and I certainly won't be doing it again!

That's the way to look at these things, we all make a hash of things now and again no matter how good we might think we are and no matter how many years we've been driving, it's learning from our mistakes that hopefully separates the good thinking drivers from the other sort.

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Thu 9 May 2019 11:49

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - Cris_on_the_gas

So, my question is this, what's the likelyhood the bus company is going to shop me in for this? And as a follow up, if they did, what would I be facing? Dangerous Driving?

Sure the driver might report this to his Transport Manager. He/she may then decide to pass it to plod as evidence. Whether plod can be bothered is another thing. Assuming the footage is clear the evidence they will have is your VRN crossing a double white line. Personally I would think it most unlikely anything would happen. This does not seem serious enough to be dangerous driving, contravention of a traffic sign. Most likely driving without due care

Do you think the bus driver accelerated or otherwise tried to obstruct you performing the

Could the bus driver have trying to obstruct your overtake, if so this is what Rule 168 of Highway code states:

Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.

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Sat 11 May 2019 14:50

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - SLO76

As long as you didn’t give the driver cause to take evasive then I doubt there’s any reason to fear. It takes time to fill in a near-miss report (bus drivers are lazy creatures) and this has to be looked at by management before any decision to pass footage on to the police. Unless you caused a near-miss or an accident I doubt they’d bother.

That said one of the biggest irritants we face is the car or van driver (usually a Honda Jazz) who pulls a daft overtaking manoeuvre only to then crawl along slower than the bus would’ve been going had you just sat behind it. Ask yourself if the bus was sitting right behind you after your move. Did you then hold it up at less than 56mph - 62 in a coach? The driver was clearly annoyed and must’ve been right behind you at the next junction to have signalled to you. Remember buses are usually on very tight timetables which are usually based on them sitting foot to the floor all the way so don’t overtake unless you mean to go faster than 56mph.

Edited by SLO76 on 11/05/2019 at 14:51

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Sat 11 May 2019 18:59

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - Engineer Andy

As long as you didn’t give the driver cause to take evasive then I doubt there’s any reason to fear. It takes time to fill in a near-miss report (bus drivers are lazy creatures) and this has to be looked at by management before any decision to pass footage on to the police. Unless you caused a near-miss or an accident I doubt they’d bother. That said one of the biggest irritants we face is the car or van driver (usually a Honda Jazz) who pulls a daft overtaking manoeuvre only to then crawl along slower than the bus would’ve been going had you just sat behind it. Ask yourself if the bus was sitting right behind you after your move. Did you then hold it up at less than 56mph - 62 in a coach? The driver was clearly annoyed and must’ve been right behind you at the next junction to have signalled to you. Remember buses are usually on very tight timetables which are usually based on them sitting foot to the floor all the way so don’t overtake unless you mean to go faster than 56mph.

I was lucky enough to survive an incident with an irate bus driver - not me doing something stupid, but as a witness as a passenger on the bus. The bus was already very late, getting more so as more passengers were getting on at each stop (becuase of how late it was).

The next sheduled bus caught us up and passed us, and our driver lost his rag and proceeded to try and overtake the other bus on a normal (one lane each way) road in a built up area of North London (in the rush hour). Him dicing with the other bus (same company) at well over 60mph and putting many lives in danger was not exactly an experience I'd care to repeat.

Our driver likely knew he'd probably get a rollocking for being so late and did his idiot maneuvre because the other driver didn't bother to stop to take on passengers so we'd stay ahead. The other driver sped up as ours tried the overtaking manouvre. Many passengers were shouting at him to slow down, which he eventually did. Not good, and sadly I've seen that with other road users not liked being overtaken, despite them previously driving relatively slowly.

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Sat 11 May 2019 22:22

Bus CCTV - Do I need to worry? - SLO76

“I was lucky enough to survive an incident with an irate bus driver - not me doing something stupid, but as a witness as a passenger on the bus. The bus was already very late, getting more so as more passengers were getting on at each stop (becuase of how late it was).

The next sheduled bus caught us up and passed us, and our driver lost his rag and proceeded to try and overtake the other bus on a normal (one lane each way) road in a built up area of North London (in the rush hour). Him dicing with the other bus (same company) at well over 60mph and putting many lives in danger was not exactly an experience I'd care to repeat.

Our driver likely knew he'd probably get a rollocking for being so late and did his idiot maneuvre because the other driver didn't bother to stop to take on passengers so we'd stay ahead. The other driver sped up as ours tried the overtaking manouvre. Many passengers were shouting at him to slow down, which he eventually did. Not good, and sadly I've seen that with other road users not liked being overtaken, despite them previously driving relatively”

In a situation like this where a bus is running so late the next one has overtaken it the driver should stop and report it so that when he can pass his passengers onto the other bus and run not in service to get back on time. He or she shouldn’t get wound up trying to battle his or her way back on time, this only serves to stress themselves and make passengers uncomfortable while those waiting on a late bus are upset also. Driver error in this case. The firm would take a dim view of this drivers actions.

Edited by SLO76 on 11/05/2019 at 22:23

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