Bus driver jailed for 17 months.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-17063165

bus driver who knocked a cyclist off his bike in Bristol using his bus "as a weapon" has been jailed for 17 months

I was quite surprised to see this - after the recent 'safe cycling' campaign I thought there might have been a greater emphasis on setting an example. The video is pretty awful if you watch it - in my opinion 17 months is a joke of a sentence, guilty plea or no.

[Sputnik]

There seems to be more to it than they are showing or mentioning. The cyclist seems to be purposely trying to hold the bus up and when the bus indicates and moves out to overtake, The cyclist swerves out towards the bus.

Must admit though, It is extreme to knock the cyclist off.

[GoNz0]

he got 16 months and 30 days to long if you ask me, cyclist was being stupid and learnt a lesson that day.

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There seems to be more to it than they are showing or mentioning. The cyclist seems to be purposely trying to hold the bus up and when the bus indicates and moves out to overtake, The cyclist swerves out towards the bus.

Must admit though, It is extreme to knock the cyclist off.

The cyclist stays within his lane throughout the clip. It never looks to me like the bus is trying to overtake.

Regardless of what the cyclist did - there is no excuse for the drivers actions.

[Hoonigan]

Don't purposely be a fool and hold up a bus-full of people..

He deserved that tbh.

[Rave]

As a former bus driver, I'm glad he's been banged up. The BBC story is very light on detail, but whatever provocation the cyclist caused, you don't deliberately cause an accident, EVER. ESPECIALLY if you're a paid professional. I just hope there weren't any passengers on the bus, that was an extreme swerve.

[Rob_B]

I can't believe people are siding with the driver, being an idiot cyclist means you're a douche, it does not mean you should be hit, on purpose, by a bus...

[Hoonigan]

I can't believe people are siding with the driver, being an idiot cyclist means you're a douche, it does not mean you should be hit, on purpose, by a bus...

It's people that him that wind people up to a point where they just snap. If everyone had more respect for each other, that would never have happened.

The cyclist should've been on the far-left, allowing the bus to easily overtake, and the bus driver should've overtaken him without attacking him..

It does make some pretty funny footage, I didn't know it was possible to be launched that far from a bike until today

[GoNz0]

the people are siding with the driver because we come across idiots on bikes that forget they are just a bike and can't take on something the size of a bus or truck and expect to win, never-mind do it on purpose and then wonder why the 1 in a million finally snap at being faced with it day after day.

if he had a problem with the driver is it rocket science to note the reg and time of the bus so he could report it later, the bus company would have checked the onboard CCTV and dealt with the driver, instead the drivers now facing a sentence and being unable to get another job and dick on 2 wheels may have a limp for the rest of his life after taking on 10 ton of bus..

weird thing is when i was taught to ride a bike i was told to stay to the left, not to stray out over the lane unless i had to and then i was told to check before moving out.

reminds me of the utter cock in cambridge that undertook my van in my blind spot then had the balls to try and accuse me of being in the wrong for turning left as the copper walked up and asked if my van had been damaged by the idiot not following the laws of the road and undertaking.

[Sputnik]

I don't agree with what the driver did but, The cyclist was purposely trying to hold up the bus.

When cyclists are always the first to start crying "we are the most vulnerable road users" maybe, Just maybe they should have a little bit of self preservation in mind when riding on the roads.

[aidanjt]

The cyclist was purposely trying to hold up the bus.

Where? All I saw was a bus driver intentionally swinging the front of the bus at the biker like a bat. He could have killed him.

[GoNz0]

Where? All I saw was a bus driver intentionally swinging the front of the bus at the biker like a bat. He could have killed him.

you sir are blind.

[santa claus]

Absolutely horrendous. The driver deserves the jail sentence. A vehicle can't be used as a weapon. It's hard to tell from the short clip but the cyclist may have intended to turn right in which case he has to take up a road position that will allow him to do so and because legs aren't as powerful as horsepower, it is often necessary to take a position early and to occupy an "exposed" part of the road for a short period. All cyclists would love to keep left all the time but it's just not possible.

[Tumble]

Attempted murder, pure and simple. 17 months is bleeding ridiculous. I'm not defending the cyclist - he may or may not have been acting like a fool - but nothing he potentially did deserved being hit that hard with a bus - he's broken his leg, but it could have been much worse if he hadn't have been thrown clear.. his bike was crushed under the bus. Would you still be defending that driver if he'd killed the bloke?

[aidanjt]

you sir are blind.

No. What I'm not is biased by white van rage. I see the cyclist trying to move right and a bus driver trying to run him over for not moving fast enough.

[scaryjim]

Something obviously happened between the cyclist and the bus driver just prior to the footage starting - the bus and the cyclist are both stopped in the road. When the cyclist pulls off he doesn't seem to indicate, but his biking position would suggest to me that he is making for the right-turn lane of the junction ahead. If that's the case then the cyclist shouldn't be on the far-left - although he should be indicating (although in a lot of road conditions it's difficult to indicate and manouver at the same time). IF the bus driver was attempting to overtake at the start of that manouver (which, given his subsequent actions, seems unlikely), he certainly shouldn't be attempting to overtake whilst approaching a light-controlled junction anyway. And ultimately, what it really boils down to, is he deliberately drove his bus into a cyclist. If he'd mounted the pavement and mowed down a pedestrian after having an "altercation" with him would anyone be trying to justify his actions? I hope not, and I really don't see how this is any different.

And frankly - as a bit of an aside on a pet peeve of mine - cyclists shouldn't stick to the far left - yes, they should be to the left side of their lane, but a cycle is a vehicle like any other and has the same rights to use of road - just 'cause a cycle is narrower than a car doesn't mean it should travel in the gutter so you can drive past it without inconveniencing yourself with what's coming the other way. If you wouldn't overtake a car in the same situation, you shouldn't overtake a bike.