3 feet rule, please tell me how to deal with azzhole city buy driver. Help.

[look 171]

I thought I ask here ans see if some of you can help. I am normally pretty low key, but this crap is getting old expecially some young punk are trying to hit us or intimidate us on purpose with his bus.

City buy came close, about 8-10 inches from me today on purpose. We were able to catch him about 200' down the road because he had to stop. We were all in single file in the gutter or construction lane(construction going on but still two wide lanes were completely open. He comes into our lane and almost brushed up against me. I ask him (young men in his late 20s, early 30s) about the 3" rule, he said you should not have been in there and need to ride in the regular lane so it doesn't apply with a really cocky attitude. he stopped there and said "call the cop". Real piece of work. I should have only a young kid came up to us and said he's started a new job and he might late, and begged us to let it go. We got his bus number, and not sure the cops,Yeah LAPD, is going to do anything about it, or laugh me out of the station. I am thinking about going there right now. This happened at 4:30 today. What do you suggest? I the past 30 years I have dealt with them and are very tire of them, not regular drivers, but bus drivers. They seem to cut you off when they feel like it.

I need to add here, we are all very experience bike riders and we do not hold up traffic in the middle of the lane and talk.
Jeff

[petrolhead611]

Seriously, preserve your energy ready to use when some driver is really about to crash with you, Of course some on this forum might suggest pulling your concealed weapon and just blowing that bus driver.s head right off as a lesson to other bus drivers!!!!

[T77911S]

there were a lot of things that added up to me not riding anymore, idiot drivers was one of them. 1000+ cars can go around without an issue, then one idiot cant move over and pass and it ruins your day.
i use to ride a 4 lane road where the speed limit was 25 or 30mph. i just took up the right hand lane. its funny though. i could do the speed limit, 25mph, but because i was on a bicycle, butt holes would pull up behind me and blow the horn, even though there was another lane.
i had to take up the right lane. with people stepping off the side walk and not looking or cars pulling out from the right, it was a safety issue for me.
i had an old man pull up along side me and make a right hand turn. i had to turn with him or go down under his truck. i put a cleat in the side of his truck, he never slowed down.
a kid passed me then swerved over to try and pick up a chick walking down the sidewalk. he took out my front wheel. i got up, he looked in the mirror and took off. i found a cop and told him what happened as a guy on a motorcycle pulled up and gave the cop the plate number and told him what happened. the cop never did anything. i would have been OK if the kid had just stopped to make sure i was OK.

take down the bus number and ALL of you make SEPERATE complaints to the company.

if i needed to take up the lane for MY safety, as in there was not room for a car to pass safely, i did it. i did not like to and it was rare that i need to.
stay safe and ride smart

[Cajundaddy]

LA Metro has a lot of liability exposure in the land of lawyers. An unsafe driver will have a serious incident at some point and management needs to know your experience. Drop em a line:

Customer Comment Form

[Flat Six]

Am assuming based on description (city bus) and location (LA) you're talking about LA MTA. Don't di*k around with LAPD; at best they'll just refer it to MTA. File an official complaint (Customer Comment Form) and -- in addition to describing incident details -- sprinkle into your description red flag keywords like 'safety,' 'liability,' 'recklessness,' 'inspector general,' and 'lawsuit' as you're comfortable with. Better chance of geting escalated.

At the very least this little punk-a** douche-nozzle will get investigated for this incident and it'll go in his jacket; maybe he'll think twice next time. Could get a rip/reprimand, or more if not an isolated incident. If this is a route you ride regularly, file a separate complaint each time you see something like this happen, and encourage your cycling buddies to do the same. Slap some volume on the OIG; they'll prioritize pattern/systematic problems over single events.

If you want to press further, have a lawyer friend send a letter directly to the MTA Office of the Inspector General (The Office of the Inspector General (OIG)), currently Karen Gorman (Board of Directors | Board Members & Executives) with cc: to the MTA Board of Directors.

Good luck.

[look 171]

Thanks, guys. I went to the police station last night to find out if there is such a "3' law". I got the typical police answer. We don't know. I have never heard no 3' law. I weren't there, so we can't take a complain. How do you know if he just make a mistake and jerk his wheels a little. That was a complete waste of time.

What really broke the camel's back was that he flipped us off as soon as he got really close to me. I can see him through the passenger on/off door. Someone must have pissed him off and we had to pay for it. We had just turned onto the main roadway.

Regular drivers doesn't bother me. Most are idiots, I understand that. The professional drivers should know better. Someone must have slowed him down from his at the end of the line break? I will file a complain with the MTA. Thanks guys. One of the guy I was riding with sells old Porsche parts for a living. He was taken out by a careless driver about 9 months ago and broke his collar bone and punched his lung with 3 broken ribs because some ******* needed to check their message.

For some of you that dislike cyclist for the same reason I dislike them for taking up the whole lane, talking, cruising at 3 mph. I / we are not one of them. We are very discipline riders. We stay about a foot to the right side of the road. I will take the road when necessary, but only for a moment.

[Jim Richards]

I would take the complaint to the company or agency that runs the bus service. Give them the whole run down on the drivers behavior and dangerous driving. Beyond that, there's not a lot you can do.

[JavaBrewer]

Do any of you wear a GoPro or similar? Seems the medium of choice these days to generate the public outrage necessary to effect change. Ride safe!

[look 171]

Yeah, I really didn't think there's much we can do Jim.

I should never have a hole in my work schedule to goof off. As a result, I almost got myself killed. As least all the complicated work is done. Now its just putting things back.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Do any of you wear a GoPro or similar? Seems the medium of choice these days to generate the public outrage necessary to effect change. Ride safe!

No. I think that's just crazy. Just because I can doesn't mean I should. Plus, real bike road riders don't need additional junk on them. Reduction of additional or unnecesssary weight You should know that. I think this change or ability to record things has gotten silly. How the heck did we do it for many years without recording a thing. Have a little fun and move on with everyday life.

[intakexhaust]

Jeff- Just read the post in another forum. Can understand your outrage as I've experienced a similar situation. If it really bothers you and you have time to kiiiiiilllllll, maybe you have time to stalk that punk.... heheheh.... Can't wait to read the news report.

BTW: Do you really think law enforcement have time for you, some lycra clad bicyclist? You've been riding long enough to know this is the least thing for them to deal with. They only show up for an accident and report. Nothing more.

My ordeal was even more ridiculous.... I'll rephrase and plural 'ordeals' with buses. One-> Old fart school bus driver is creeping stop and go waiting in a very long line along with other vehicles. A typical AM rush hour with just a 4 way stop to slow drivers to a crawl. I'm minding my own ride along with another bike commuter IN A NICELY paved and CLEARLY marked BIKE LANE. Fucher school bus driver deliberately merged into the bike lane shoulder to cut us off. Silly and useless as we could've easily gone around him but we stopped.

Anyhow, Mr. Dicktator Rules of da Road opens his door and yells at us stating some retarded idea for bicyclist are supposed to wait in line behind other motor vehicles! I forget exactly but think I might have verbally exchanged some words with him and continued on, but did get a glance over my shoulder at the other rider. The other bike rider had a wad of debris or gravel from the far shoulder or something and threw it up into the driver and took off ... LOL. Nobody in the other cars waiting seemed to notice or even care.

Have a pleasant day

[Joe Bob]

Law was signed by Gov. Moonbeam but not enforceable as yet.....September 16, 2014 is when it will be enforced.

Bill Text - AB-1371 Vehicles: bicycles: passing distance.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Flat Six

Am assuming based on description (city bus) and location (LA) you're talking about LA MTA. Don't di*k around with LAPD; at best they'll just refer it to MTA. File an official complaint (Customer Comment Form) and -- in addition to describing incident details -- sprinkle into your description red flag keywords like 'safety,' 'liability,' 'recklessness,' 'inspector general,' and 'lawsuit' as you're comfortable with. Better chance of geting escalated.

At the very least this little punk-a** douche-nozzle will get investigated for this incident and it'll go in his jacket; maybe he'll think twice next time. Could get a rip/reprimand, or more if not an isolated incident. If this is a route you ride regularly, file a separate complaint each time you see something like this happen, and encourage your cycling buddies to do the same. Slap some volume on the OIG; they'll prioritize pattern/systematic problems over single events.

If you want to press further, have a lawyer friend send a letter directly to the MTA Office of the Inspector General (The Office of the Inspector General (OIG)), currently Karen Gorman (Board of Directors | Board Members & Executives) with cc: to the MTA Board of Directors.

Good luck.

This. It's government so it will go through a process, they don't take a leak without a bureaucratic process. One complaint might not do it, but each will likely be logged by HR. There is likely a threshold for disciplinary action, eventually it will become the straw that breaks the camel's proverbial back.

[RWebb]

You need to file a complaint with the bus company. Do it in writing and follow up on it.

I Emailed the one here for a bus that took up both lanes last week and refused to move over but I did not file a formal complaint. The transit agency here has video cams on all buses. The Supervisor said she would pull the video and examine it while interviewing the driver as to why this was done.

Your case is more egregious. You should find an attorney who specializes in bicycle law (some do, at least in Orygun). Call the bar and ask who does that and they will give you a list. There may be no charge, or it might cost $35 like here for an initial consultation.

Also, file a written complaint with the cops.

It is likely that this driver has done similar dangerous things before and will do them again. The post above by whipped tells you why you need to do it, even if nothing much happens this time.

[Laneco]

I realize this sounds ridiculous, but you can probably get him into more immediate trouble from him flipping you off as many MTA buses have a camera that records driver and passenger behavior, etc. It would substantiate your complaint.

The near-hit behavior is of course absolutely intolerable and should be reported. Establishing a pattern of behavior for this driver may stop this action. Maybe. Unfortunately, as you've found out, it's a tough one to prove. I've basically stopped riding on the road because of this. Most police have the attitude of "no blood - no problem" as it is your word versus theirs and their staffing is short enough to only investigate injury/fatal accidents, not the "pre-emptive" and "teachable" moments where behavior can possibly be modified (car driver behavior) that saves our lives.

And that's why I ride the mountain bike so much.

angela

[look 171]

Angela,

I have been riding and training around the street of greater LA since the mid 80s. I am not about to stop now even though drivers are getting crazy, lazy, and lack of concern for other's safety. I now ride in places that are less travelled around the foothills. riding is not as important as it used to, so now we go and have fun trying to kill each other. I agree with everything you said. Too bad someone has to get hurt in order to get attention. I will report it to the MTA and that about all i am going to do.

[jyl]

Don't stop riding. You are an expert rider, you can manage the risks and ride the hills less traveled.

The risks of riding have to be weighed against the risks of getting fat, diabetic, heart disease, etc.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by jyl

Don't stop riding. You are an expert rider, you can manage the risks and ride the hills less traveled.

The risks of riding have to be weighed against the risks of getting fat, diabetic, heart disease, etc.

No, I will not stop riding that's for sure.

Fat? I am already there John. I walked into an old shop and started to talk to the owner I use to race with (more like against from a club across town) about a new bike so I can get in shape . He look at me and said, well, round is a shape. I am 20 lbs over my fighting weight, so lugging all that up the hill is no fun. I am always second to the last guy up this 5 mile hill with a bunch of hammer heads, so I am feeling pretty good. If I squeeze in 60-70 miles a week, then I am doing "good" for that week. Thanks for the encouragement. I need it.

I need to ask you, how many miles do you do a week riding to work? You must be strong doing that daily. Do you also ride for pleasure when not going to and from work?

[Baz]

Originally Posted by look 171

No. I think that's just crazy. Just because I can doesn't mean I should. Plus, real bike road riders don't need additional junk on them. Reduction of additional or unnecessary weight You should know that. I think this change or ability to record things has gotten silly. How the heck did we do it for many years without recording a thing. Have a little fun and move on with everyday life.

I agree - you shouldn't have to.

But I think David was just offering a suggestion on how to generate more support for your cause as well as a way to document the incident.

Just like having a dash cam in your truck....to show that other driver cut you off...in case you need documentation to support a claim.

Merely a suggestion...and one I thought had some merit.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Baz

I agree - you shouldn't have to.

But I think David was just offering a suggestion on how to generate more support for your cause as well as a way to document the incident.

Just like having a dash cam in your truck....to show that other driver cut you off...in case you need documentation to support a claim.

Merely a suggestion...and one I thought had some merit.

Oh, I know he is and I'm grateful for that. I just don't want to have to get to that point of even thinking about how to protect myself through a camera and law suits. That takes the fun out of so many things. I may as well go and run in place at the gym and see the girls in their tights instead. Wait a sec, I maybe onto something here.