Willie Smith Vlog: Bus takes out fellow rider

[nathrix]

That bus driver should be forced to ride a bicycle on that stretch until he learns how a bus/truck sucks you in when they pass too close.

[Martin PJ]

http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2018/459.html

 

In 2018 there was a case where a truck driver was found negligent because the truck caused a wind that knocked the cyclist off his bike. There was no yellow line in this case (the 2018 case). For me this case indicates a truck driver (or bus too) would know that passing close to a cyclist could knock them over and they are liable for any damage caused, more so if they actually touch the cyclist with the vehicle.

[floatfox]

Guys we all have opineons, at the end of the day yes for sure the bus driver was at fault from what i could see. But, and this is purely my opineon...i would rather be sitting next to the road fixing a puncture, then lying next to the road. I would also not be playing around with a camera on such a busy road at 70km per hour. 

[cfcjim]

Truly incredible amount of victim blaming here.

 

Hope you recover soon fella.

[Quagga]

Guys we all have opineons, at the end of the day yes for sure the bus driver was at fault from what i could see. But, and this is purely my opineon...i would rather be sitting next to the road fixing a puncture, then lying next to the road. I would also not be playing around with a camera on such a busy road at 70km per hour. 

Riding further away is not going to be any safer, I have been on the EDGE of the road and the lady texting missed me by centimeters.

 

Drivers do not care about us, and riding further left is NOT safer I promise you.

[floatfox]

Truly incredible amount of victim blaming here.

 

Hope you recover soon fella.

Like i said we all have opineons, here is another one. If a motorist is busy with his cellphone while driving, it is a distraction, yet nobody has a problem with the camera guy thats filming at 70km per hour. We as cyclist also have a responsibilty to act safe and think for ourselves. If the cyclist was in fact on the yellow line, his bars would have been in the way of the bus beause the average bar nowdays are about 720mm. So he would take up almost 36cm of road space, where he probably has almost 2 metres of space on his left. So would you feel better if the bus moved over further to the right and took out a family in a car. Sorry but it doesn't make sense.

[floatfox]

Riding further away is not going to be any safer, I have been on the EDGE of the road and the lady texting missed me by centimeters.

 

Drivers do not care about us, and riding further left is NOT safer I promise you.

 

Quagga, then I would be in total agreement that the driver was 100% at fault. But this is not the case in this instance.

[The Ouzo]

Like i said we all have opineons, here is another one. If a motorist is busy with his cellphone while driving, it is a distraction, yet nobody has a problem with the camera guy thats filming at 70km per hour. We as cyclist also have a responsibilty to act safe and think for ourselves. If the cyclist was in fact on the yellow line, his bars would have been in the way of the bus beause the average bar nowdays are about 720mm. So he would take up almost 36cm of road space, where he probably has almost 2 metres of space on his left. So would you feel better if the bus moved over further to the right and took out a family in a car. Sorry but it doesn't make sense.

It makes perfect sense.

 

replace the bike with a car doing 70 km/h right there. What would the bus have done ?

 

even drop that speed to 35km/h, the bus would have still given a wider berth.

 

Self preservation wants to put the cyclists further left, but at 70km/h on a bike you dont really want to be that far left in all the debris and crap.

[cfcjim]

Like i said we all have opineons, here is another one. If a motorist is busy with his cellphone while driving, it is a distraction, yet nobody has a problem with the camera guy thats filming at 70km per hour. We as cyclist also have a responsibilty to act safe and think for ourselves. If the cyclist was in fact on the yellow line, his bars would have been in the way of the bus beause the average bar nowdays are about 720mm. So he would take up almost 36cm of road space, where he probably has almost 2 metres of space on his left. So would you feel better if the bus moved over further to the right and took out a family in a car. Sorry but it doesn't make sense.

Victim blaming.

 

Overtake when it is safe, not before.

 

The bus should have slowed and waited until it was SAFE TO OVERTAKE.

[nathrix]

Quagga, then I would be in total agreement that the driver was 100% at fault. But this is not the case in this instance.

 

The bus is actually moving across the yellow line towards the cyclists putting their lives at danger.

 

The 2nd photo shows the cyclist had to swerve towards the bus to avoid hitting/riding over the falling cyclist, but still maintaining his position behind the yellow line avoiding the bus moving towards the inside of the yellow line. All the cyclists were inside the yellow line when the bus passed.

 

Clear as daylight the bus driver is 100% in the wrong here.

[Quagga]

Guys we all have opineons, at the end of the day yes for sure the bus driver was at fault from what i could see. But, and this is purely my opineon...i would rather be sitting next to the road fixing a puncture, then lying next to the road. I would also not be playing around with a camera on such a busy road at 70km per hour.

With this logic, above

 

"that women should not have been wearing that" ???? ??????

Edited December 5, 2019 by Quagga

[Sydd]

Can't believe what I am reading. The bus was on the yellow line (he was further away from the line and then magically was on the line when he was right next to the cyclists as is so often the case with people trying to give us a scare, no matter how law abiding we are) and then HE HITS TWO HUMAN BEINGS AND DRIVES AWAY 

 

The argument of "should the bus have moved to the right and taken out a family car instead" is absolutely moot. What the bus should have done if there wasn't space IS WAIT TO OVERTAKE! But, funny that, the cyclists weren't even in the road. 

 

What's the rule of thumb on how often you are supposed to check your rear view mirrors? Surely he would have seen what he did if he was driving like someone that is supposed to have a PDP is supposed to be driving...

 

I have seen the most spectacularly stupid things being done by people on that piece of road. Also, to put into context. If memory serves me correctly, the speed limit on that piece of road is 80km/h. There is an intersection to the right a little way down, and a petrol station and another road to the left just after that. If the cyclists were doing 70kph, how fast was that bus going? People drive like absolute lunatics there. 

 

Just as Willie says, you never hear a bus coming .Their engines are at the back and you only hear the engine noise when most of the body is past you. I'm terrified of buses. 

 

This whole situation makes me sick. Someone who goes out of his way to do good for others and really doesn't deserve things like this to be happening to him. And certainly doesn't deserve to be victim blamed for the situation he is in. Perhaps the blamers would feel differently if it was someone they actually knew, and could relate to as a human. 

[floatfox]

With this logic, above

 

"that women should not have been wearing that" ???? ??????

Youre funny...see, like i said, we all have our opineons...but please get your mind on the topic at hand. Assumption is the ???? ??????

[Fat Boab]

Good spot re the 2nd rider. I'm sure he/she has a story to tell...

 

 

The bus is actually moving across the yellow line towards the cyclists putting their lives at danger.

 

The 2nd photo shows the cyclist had to swerve towards the bus to avoid hitting/riding over the falling cyclist, but still maintaining his position behind the yellow line avoiding the bus moving towards the inside of the yellow line. All the cyclists were inside the yellow line when the bus passed.

 

Clear as daylight the bus driver is 100% in the wrong here.

[splat]

Quagga, then I would be in total agreement that the driver was 100% at fault. But this is not the case in this instance.

 

[floatfox]

Victim blaming.

 

Overtake when it is safe, not before.

 

The bus should have slowed and waited until it was SAFE TO OVERTAKE.

And that's exactly the problem, we as cyclist expect everyone else to obey the laws on the road. If they had kept further to the left, and didn't ride next to each other all this would have been avoided..some basic road rules for you..read point number 2 and number 5. At least two violations by the group, but no lets rather blame someone else...

 

Reg 311.

1. No person shall ride a pedal cycle on a public road unless he or she is seated astride on the saddle of such pedal cycle.
2. Persons riding pedal cycles on a public road shall ride in single file except in the course of overtaking another pedal cycle, and two or more persons riding pedal cycles shall not overtake another vehicle at the same time.
3. No person riding or seated on a pedal cycle on a public road shall take hold of any other vehicle in motion.
4. No person riding a pedal cycle on a public road shall deliberately cause such pedal cycle to swerve from side to side.
5. No person riding a pedal cycle on a public road shall carry thereon any person, animal or object which obstructs his or her view or which prevents him or her from exercising complete control over the movements of such pedal cycle.
6. A person riding a pedal cycle on a public road shall do so with at least one hand on the handlebars of such pedal cycle.
7. Whenever a portion of a public road has been set aside for use by persons riding pedal cycles, no person shall ride a pedal cycle on any other portion of such road.
8. A person riding a pedal cycle on a public road or a portion of a public road set aside for use by persons riding pedal cycles shall do so in such manner that all the wheels Special provisions relating to freeways.