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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
This has happened to me three times in the last week.
It is a good job my glasses are in dry dock, otherwise the drivers would find themselves in another type of dock altogether. QUOTE: A bus driver was yesterday warned by a judge in Bristol that he faced jail following a road rage incident in which he purposefully swerved in to a cyclist breaking his leg, wrist and thumb and crushing his bicycle under the wheels of the bus. The driver of the bus, Gavin Hill from Frome in Somerset was arrested by police at the scene of the incident which took place in the centre of Bristol outside the city's Magistrate's Court in April last year. Hill was immediately sacked by his employer Bugler Coaches which operated the single decker bus. Bristol Crown Court was told that cyclist, Phillip Mead spent two weeks in hospital as a result of the injuries caused by Hill's driving, and he also required a further operation to repair his left knee. The incident developed following a disagreement between the two men at the James Barton roundabout, shortly afterwards the bus driver over- took Mr Mead and swerved across him hitting his shoulder and hurling him across the road. Yesterday at a pre-sentence hearing at Bristol Crown Court the presiding judge Recorder Frank Abbot said: “My understanding is he drove his bus in the direction of the bicycle after, at worst, losing his cool. He drove in his direction to frighten him or show him whose boss but caused much more damage.” Hill pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving at an earlier hearing but Recorder Abbot warned him that: “It must not be thought that this is not a serious matter. “You drove in a way that was patently dangerous and in my view you did it out of spite towards the cyclist with catastrophic results. “He could have been killed and you would have been facing a much more serious offence. “However causing someone grievous bodily harm is a very serious matter and the most likely sentence is a custodial one and you must realise that is what will be at the forefront of the sentencing judges’ mind.” Speaking about the incident Gerard Creed, managing directpr of Bugler Coaches told the This is Bath website: “We were deeply shocked when we heard of this incident and once we had established what had happened Mr Hill was immediately dismissed as we did not want him driving one of our buses ever again.” He added: “We are proud of all our drivers who are extremely professional and highly vigilant of the safety of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. “We can assure all passengers that this was an isolated incident by a driver that badly let down our company. “As a cyclist myself I am very aware that some drivers of large vehicles, both buses and lorries, treat cyclists as a nuisance as indeed do some car drivers.” While differences of opinion between bus drivers and cyclists on crowded city streets are not uncommon and are sometimes heated incidents of road rage resulting in violence or injury involving buses are rare enough to be newsworthy - last year a Manchester bus driver was convicted of assaulting a cycling pensioner. Many bus operators do now have some sort of cyclist awareness training for their drivers although the issue of buses passing too close when over-taking is still something that concerns many cyclists. Mr Hill was given bail after yesterday's hearing and will be sentenced later this month. http://road.cc/content/news/49880-ro...erving-cyclist -- Simon Mason |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
"Simon Mason" wrote in message
... This has happened to me three times in the last week. It is a good job my glasses are in dry dock, otherwise the drivers would find themselves in another type of dock altogether. QUOTE: A bus driver was yesterday warned by a judge in Bristol that he faced jail following a road rage incident in which he purposefully swerved in to a cyclist breaking his leg, wrist and thumb and crushing his bicycle under the wheels of the bus. The driver of the bus, Gavin Hill from Frome in Somerset was arrested by police at the scene of the incident which took place in the centre of Bristol outside the city's Magistrate's Court in April last year. Hill was immediately sacked by his employer Bugler Coaches which operated the single decker bus. Bristol Crown Court was told that cyclist, Phillip Mead spent two weeks in hospital as a result of the injuries caused by Hill's driving, and he also required a further operation to repair his left knee. The incident developed following a disagreement between the two men at the James Barton roundabout, shortly afterwards the bus driver over- took Mr Mead and swerved across him hitting his shoulder and hurling him across the road. Yesterday at a pre-sentence hearing at Bristol Crown Court the presiding judge Recorder Frank Abbot said: “My understanding is he drove his bus in the direction of the bicycle after, at worst, losing his cool. He drove in his direction to frighten him or show him whose boss but caused much more damage.” Hill pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving at an earlier hearing but Recorder Abbot warned him that: “It must not be thought that this is not a serious matter. “You drove in a way that was patently dangerous and in my view you did it out of spite towards the cyclist with catastrophic results. “He could have been killed and you would have been facing a much more serious offence. “However causing someone grievous bodily harm is a very serious matter and the most likely sentence is a custodial one and you must realise that is what will be at the forefront of the sentencing judges’ mind.” Speaking about the incident Gerard Creed, managing directpr of Bugler Coaches told the This is Bath website: “We were deeply shocked when we heard of this incident and once we had established what had happened Mr Hill was immediately dismissed as we did not want him driving one of our buses ever again.” He added: “We are proud of all our drivers who are extremely professional and highly vigilant of the safety of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. “We can assure all passengers that this was an isolated incident by a driver that badly let down our company. “As a cyclist myself I am very aware that some drivers of large vehicles, both buses and lorries, treat cyclists as a nuisance as indeed do some car drivers.” While differences of opinion between bus drivers and cyclists on crowded city streets are not uncommon and are sometimes heated incidents of road rage resulting in violence or injury involving buses are rare enough to be newsworthy - last year a Manchester bus driver was convicted of assaulting a cycling pensioner. Many bus operators do now have some sort of cyclist awareness training for their drivers although the issue of buses passing too close when over-taking is still something that concerns many cyclists. Mr Hill was given bail after yesterday's hearing and will be sentenced later this month. http://road.cc/content/news/49880-ro...erving-cyclist Why would a bus driver do that unless provoked by the cyclist? |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On Jan 5, 1:27*pm, "Mr Benn" wrote:
"Simon Mason" wrote in message ... This has happened to me three times in the last week. It is a good job my glasses are in dry dock, otherwise the drivers would find themselves in another type of dock altogether. QUOTE: A bus driver was yesterday warned by a judge in Bristol that he faced jail following a road rage incident in which he purposefully swerved in to a cyclist *breaking his leg, wrist and thumb and crushing his bicycle under the wheels of the bus. The driver of the bus, Gavin Hill from Frome in Somerset was arrested by police at the scene of the incident which took place in the centre of Bristol outside the city's Magistrate's Court in April last year. Hill was immediately sacked by his employer Bugler Coaches which operated the single decker bus. Bristol Crown Court was told that cyclist, Phillip Mead spent two weeks in hospital as a result of the injuries caused by Hill's driving, and he also required a further operation to repair his left knee. The incident developed following a disagreement between the two men at the James Barton roundabout, shortly afterwards the bus driver over- took Mr Mead and swerved across him hitting his shoulder and hurling him across the road. Yesterday at a pre-sentence hearing at Bristol Crown Court the presiding judge Recorder Frank Abbot said: “My understanding is he drove his bus in the direction of the bicycle after, at worst, losing his cool. He drove in his direction to frighten him or show him whose boss but caused much more damage.” Hill pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving at an earlier hearing but Recorder Abbot warned him that: “It must not be thought that this is not a serious matter. “You drove in a way that was patently dangerous and in my view you did it out of spite towards the cyclist with catastrophic results. “He could have been killed and you would have been facing a much more serious offence. “However causing someone grievous bodily harm is a very serious matter and the most likely sentence is a custodial one and you must realise that is what will be at the forefront of the sentencing judges’ mind.” Speaking about the incident Gerard Creed, managing directpr of Bugler Coaches told the This is Bath website: “We were deeply shocked when we heard of this incident and once we had established what had happened Mr Hill was immediately dismissed as we did not want him driving one of our buses ever again.” He added: “We are proud of all our drivers who are extremely professional and highly vigilant of the safety of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. “We can assure all passengers that this was an isolated incident by a driver that badly let down our company. “As a cyclist myself I am very aware that some drivers of large vehicles, both buses and lorries, treat cyclists as a nuisance as indeed do some car drivers.” While differences of opinion between bus drivers and cyclists on crowded city streets are not uncommon and are sometimes heated incidents of road rage resulting in violence or injury involving buses are rare enough to be newsworthy - last year a Manchester bus driver was convicted of assaulting a cycling pensioner. Many bus operators do now have some sort of cyclist awareness training for their drivers although the issue of buses passing too close when over-taking is still something that concerns many cyclists. Mr Hill was given bail after yesterday's hearing and will be sentenced later this month. http://road.cc/content/news/49880-ro...faces-jail-swe... Why would a bus driver do that unless provoked by the cyclist? Motiveless malignity? Why would a bus driver do that if provoked by the cyclist? |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:35:03 -0800 (PST)
Squashme wrote: Why would a bus driver do that if provoked by the cyclist? Perhaps he'd been putting up with idiot cyclists for the last 6 hours and finally had enough. Everyone has their limits. B2003 |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On Jan 5, 2:42*pm, wrote:
On Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:35:03 -0800 (PST) Squashme wrote: Why would a bus driver do that if provoked by the cyclist? Perhaps he'd been putting up with idiot cyclists for the last 6 hours and finally had enough. Everyone has their limits. B2003 Then they get sacked and jailed if they go past those limits. Darwin in action :-) -- Simon Mason |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On Jan 6, 2:30*am, Simon Mason wrote:
On Jan 5, 2:42*pm, wrote: On Thu, 5 Jan 2012 06:35:03 -0800 (PST) Squashme wrote: Why would a bus driver do that if provoked by the cyclist? Perhaps he'd been putting up with idiot cyclists for the last 6 hours and finally had enough. Everyone has their limits. B2003 Then they get sacked and jailed if they go past those limits. Darwin in action :-) -- Simon Mason Sounds like bus approaching bus stop bay, cyclist creeping along at relatively no speed, bus passes cyclist then pulls into bay, cyclist claims he has been driven into. Only the poor use buses and only the poor use cycles so I see no reason to become concerned. |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
Another one who lost the plot.
QUOTE: Scott, 52, "lost his mind" and slammed into cars and buildings after children on the street called him a "fat b******", made V-signs and shouted "how fat is your wife?". He lurched towards them and lost control of his vehicle in Carshalton High Street, Sutton, south London, causing £260,000 of damage to cars and to three buildings, on August 27, 2010, a court heard. There were only minor injuries caused during the crash, which happened after Scott swerved his coach towards a group of children on the pavement. Croydon Crown Court heard that professional driver Scott lost his temper after children on a bus in front of his West Bus coach were goading him by sticking out their tongues and making V signs. CCTV footage showed the group of a dozen children, aged between 11 and 14, getting out at a stop in Carshalton High Street and continuing to abuse the driver Scott, from Reading, aggressively veered his coach at the children to give them a warning, but they continued to mock his weight. The court heard Scott "lost his mind" and persisted in swerving at the youngsters despite being in busy bank holiday weekend traffic and on a narrow high street. On the final swerve, Scott tried to overcompensate and the coach, which was transporting five John Lewis staff from a training day, careered into oncoming traffic, causing a six-car pile-up and damage to three buildings. Nick Henderson, a John Lewis employee, whose statement was read out in court said: "I shouted at the driver to stop when he hit buildings. He only stopped when a road sign came through the windscreen and I was thrown to the floor." Recorder Andrew Campbell-Tiech QC disqualified Scott from driving for three years, ordered him to pay £500 costs and to do 200 hours of unpaid work. He said: "You were driving so far below the average standards of a competent bus driver. "Count yourself fortunate, for you are. Prison is not called for, but don't let me down." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...is-weight.html -- Simon Mason |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On 05/01/2012 13:27, Mr Benn wrote:
Why would a bus driver do that unless provoked by the cyclist? I've had a bus driver do this to me. It is possible that you may consider me to have "provoked" him by not making enough effort to get out of his way and let him overtake. So to me it sounds a lot like you are excusing extremely dangerous behaviour in very much the same way as people used to excuse a rapist because a girl was wearing a short skirt. Buses are dangerous machinery and their operators have an absolute legal obligation to operate them safely regardless of provocation, imagined or otherwise. I hope this bus driver receives a long jail sentence as an example to others. Based on my and Simon's experience I would assume this type of behaviour is not uncommon and it is only because cyclists are normally uninjured that no action is taken. Hopefully in the future with the increased use of video cameras by cyclists drivers who indulge in this type of intimidation may be stopped before they cause serious injury. |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On Thu, 5 Jan 2012 13:27:50 -0000, "Mr Benn"
wrote: Why would a bus driver do that unless provoked by the cyclist? It was a traffic tantrum. Whatever the proximal cause, the main cause is excessive motor traffic. Why did you add a crosspost without mentioning it? Oh yes, I know: to start yet another **** fight. Guy -- Guy Chapman, http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk The usenet price promise: all opinions are guaranteed to be worth at least what you paid for them. |
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Road rage bus driver faces jail for swerving in to cyclist
On 05/01/2012 13:25, Simon Mason wrote:
This has happened to me three times in the last week... QUOTE: A bus driver was yesterday warned by a judge in Bristol that he faced jail following a road rage incident in which he purposefully swerved in to a cyclist breaking his leg, wrist and thumb and crushing his bicycle under the wheels of the bus. So drive more carefully. Then it might not happen to you three times in a week. |
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