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Lothian Bus training video
Good vid, recognised some bits of Edinburgh in it esp the road down past The Bike Chain and into Canonmills area. It the sort of video they should play in schools to teach the young ones how to cycle near buses.
epic music.. it's like Star Wars, with a bike as Jedi and Bus as the Empire.
8 minutes in, a perfect example of why you shouldnt hug the curb!
The cyclist may have been less inclined to "just appear" at 0520 if the bus driver hadn't just overtaken at a narrow part of the road and then cut him up.
The 5.20 bit is a joke.
I frequently see sitting buses indicate for ages before pulling out, often when I'm the only road uses behind. I'm not stopping to wait while the driver does whatever he's doing before getting on with the manoeuvre.
The 5.20 bit wasn't saying 'don't overtake' - just don't hug the kerb then swing out to overtake, as the driver can't see you. Take a primary position early. Fair enough really.
I think the point at 5.20 is to understand you will be invisible and acting early WHEN POSSIBLE improves your safety. You can't criticise them for highlighting a risk, for cyclists overtaking stationary busses.
Bazhall, its not usually "young ones" I see ridding oblivious to the world around them.
Its great to see LRT producing a video like this which is balanced and focussed on road safety rather than right and wrong.
Does anyone know if this was newly recorded as part of the current focus on cycle safety in Edinburgh, or has it been around for a while.
OK, so aside from the spelling, random Capitalisation, poor grammar and music it seems that Lothian buses have good intentions.
The cyclist in the film, if not a stooge put there to assist in the film, is not long for this world. Poor road positioning, a lack of confidence & a lack of forward planning make him vulnerable.
I don't think it's fair to put the onus on the cyclist when driving along where there are keep left islands in the centre of road. He's too far in on the left because he's timid and feels threatened; he's not inviting the bus driver to make a pass. It's the driver's responsibility to stay back, ease the pressure and just relax the situation.
As for the 05:20 bit, it has nothing to do with waiting for the bus driver to move off but all to do with the cyclist's poor road positioning and lack of awareness that the bus driver can only see him from his wing mirror if he's well positioned. The cyclist needs to be just to the left of the centre line of the road well before being alongside the bus, oncoming and following traffic permitting, and fully expecting bus driver stupidity. Most bus drivers do seem to start moving before checking mirrors, or giving OAP passengers the time to get to their seat!.
City cycling demands confidence and planning from the cyclist and great care, thought, planning and consideration from the bus driver. This video shows neither but does highlight some common issues.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.
That's a good video, might just post a link to my local bus company. Though in fairness I've travelled a lot on their buses and the drivers do seem to be cautious around cyclists. I think 5.20 is a brilliant demonstration of where assertive riding helps everyone. Cynic al, surely the bus driver is actually waiting for you to overtake? I know that round here a bus will be pulling out into traffic and you'll still get a few cars desperate to overtake. I think they're probably taught to be ultra cautious when making that manoeuvre. Shame car drivers aren't taught politeness to the same degree 🙁
The cyclist in the film, if not a stooge put there to assist in the film, is not long for this world. Poor road positioning, a lack of confidence & a lack of forward planning make him vulnerable.
The cyclist is acting like a bit of a tool for training purposes, obviously. Although it would be amusing if Lothian buses just went out and filmed themselves cutting real people up...
The bit at the end where he comes up the inside of the bus as it turns left is pure Darwin awards, regardless or not of whether the bus had just done a dodgy overtake.
epic music.. it's like Star Wars, with a bike as Jedi and Bus as the Empire.
It's very captivating.
Good vid. Positive.
Most bus drivers do seem to start moving before checking mirrors, or giving OAP passengers the time to get to their seat!.
I travel on a bus twice daily and don't see this. How often do you travel on a bus?
Poly - the date on the video suggests it was put together last year. I've certainly heard if LRT using a training/awareness video for a while.
Might I suggest we all "share" this through our social networks? It might not be perfect but raising general awareness - to both drivers and cyclists - can only be a good thing.
I am assuming this is a training video for the bus drivers not aimed at cyclists?
As a cyclist and bus mechanic I think it's an excellent video.
Love the comment;
I think both the bus driver and cyclist may be making various maneuvers deliberately for the purposes of this training video. I don't think this is? just random footage from service buses.
The cyclist getting his name in the credits is a bit of a clue.
I do think LRT should be applauded for this - the LRT bus drivers take notce of cyclists and give way / act co operativly far more than they used to. A product of the training presumably
Cynic al, surely the bus driver is actually waiting for you to overtake?
It's rarely clear, sometimes they pull out then indicate, perhaps after sitting there doing nothing, sometimes they've been sat indicating for a while, say since you've been approaching for 50 yards, clearly they're not ready to pull uot.
It's not a big deal, just annoying. I let buses out when I can, but when they're fannying around like this, I just overtake.
My 30-year anniversary of cycling to work next year.
The video is great but it does presuppose that the bus driver is a rational, centred human being not some angry lunatic with a small penis. (I ride in London, perhaps bus drivers here are different. I worked in Edinburgh for a while and found the whole atmosphere much gentler and more pleasant generally.)
Buses, buses, buses - my bete noir, I have lost count how many times I've been
(a) overtaken just before a bus stop and had the bus pull in and squeeze me into the kerb
(b) had a bus driver strain every nut and bolt to race me to a crossing with a central refuge/pedestrian refuge then swerve, desperate to get round it before me, and so cutting into my path
(c) pull in without indicating
(d) drive along with the indicator going
(e) pull out without indicating
(f) indicate and not pull out
(g) alnost forgot; in a stationary queue of traffic, NOT at a bus stop, open the doors and let passengers off
*sigh*
Whilst we are on the subject of large vehicles, for the benefit of those that may have missed it last time it was posted, this is the size of the blindspot on an LGV...
Buses are even worse as it seems acceptable (at least on older buses) to have a mirror smaller than you would get on a Transit, with no wide angle lens.
There should be a interactive video like this as part of the car driver test. Make the wrong choices and you fail.
Teh point is that LRT had clearly decided that the drivers needed to take more account of cyclists and this video is a part of the training effort - and it has clearly paid off with LRT drivers being no problem to cyclists nowadays - a big change from 15 years ago.
You should all be lobbying your local bus company to adopt the same attitudes.