Bus drivers, how would you handle a car blocking the road?

[175mph]

I was speaking to someone last night who evidently hates a certain bus driver with a passion. He said once he passes his driving test and gets a car, he is going to wait until said driver is doing one of two late night circulars they very often do, wait until they are going down a narrow road that isn't a main road, then deliberately park up and block their path for about 7 to 8 minutes to make them furious as they always put their foot down and floor it if they are even a minute late.

I mentioned this to the driver, and he said if they do that, I won't hesitate to ram their car out the way, I wouldn't even bother asking them to move, as if I get out to knock on their window, it could be a trap so that somebody else hops on the bus and steals the money whilst I'm off the bus.

Surely he's not allowed to do this as it would be potential damage liability against the car as well as the bus he is driving?

To anybody reading this thread, how would you handle this situation? Ramming the offending vehicle out the way obviously isn't a sensible option, so what other choice would you have? Keep honking the horn, then call the police after so long?

Also, have you ever experienced this situation either as a bus driver or as a passenger on a bus?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Certainly would advise against ramming - that would be criminal damage.

The blocking of the road, however, would be obstructing the highway so he would be well within his rights to call the police quite quickly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Call the police; causing an obstruction on the public highway is an offence.

 

[Hornet]

That's the way to do it!

 

[driver9000]

This happened more than once when I drove buses. I simply applied the handbrake, selected neutral and got my newspaper out. They'll get bored before I do and I'm being paid until I got back to the garage. I was never waiting longer than 5 minutes before they saw the light.

 

[edwin_m]

A few years ago I was on a bus that was stopped by the narrow gap between a badly parked car and some traffic cones. Driver didn't want to do anything, one passenger went into nearby shops to try to locate the car driver. As I was wearing hi-vis and safety boots I asked the driver to let me out and moved a couple of the cones a foot or so to the right so there was enough width to get through.

I would suspect the driver talking about ramming the car was a bit of a wind-up, hoping you would repeat it to your friend and discourage them from a rather silly stunt.

 

[Lrd]

This happened more than once when I drove buses. I simply applied the handbrake, selected neutral and got my newspaper out. They'll get bored before I do and I'm being paid until I got back to the garage. I was never waiting longer than 5 minutes before they saw the light.

Exactly this. Stop, engine off, wait, if it got too long then I'd call the controller on the radio

 

[Busaholic]

That's the way to do it!

It doesn't say what happened to the bus driver. I hope he was charged and given a driving ban, at the very least. I wouldn't want an idiot like that driving any bus I was on.

 

[Teflon Lettuce]

simple... if the car is parked and no-one in it... handbrake on, into neutral and a couple of taps on the horn... if that is unsuccessful a couple of longer toots on the horn... if that fails leave hand on horn... after a couple of minutes of the peace being disturbed the guilty party will come out and remove the obstruction... I usually get a mouthful of abuse from the "injured" party... so what? I've ruined their day? then perhaps next time they'll think before they park instead of being a selfish prat! btw... it is always useful to point out that if it was a emergency vehicle they would now have an expensive repair bill from the damage caused by them removing the obstruction {broken window and steering lock minimum}

 

[robk23oxf]

Blast the horn a few times, people will come out to have a look at what is going on and hopefully the person who has strategically abandoned their car will move it. If not, engine off and call the police on 101. I've done that before, I sat there for 45 minutes before the police located the owner of the car and gave him a telling off.

I've also found a road blocked because an articulated lorry had fallen into a ditch. Nothing I could do about that, I had to reverse very slowly down a single track road for half a mile to find a place to turn, in the entrance to a field.

 

[yorkie]

...he said if they do that, I won't hesitate to ram their car out the way...

I can only assume (and hope!) the driver was being facetious.

Someone who is working in a public-facing role has to behave in a professional and law-abiding way including when provoked, and unfortunately in some jobs you are going to get the odd occasion when you are tested.

 

[Lezlee]

Most drivers will just stop the bus, wait and contact control to report an obstruction.

 

[edwin_m]

I was on a Nottingham Skylink back in NCT days, that diverted off normal route through Kegworth village. On finding the gap between two parked cars too narrow it reversed to a hotel entrance but when backing in scraped the rear of the bus on the road surface. All the time I was getting more and more fretful as I had a plane to catch.

 

[PeterC]

One of the drivers on our local service is a miserable old *** but as he is also a pretty hefty ex marine it wouldn't be wise to risk winding him up like that.

 

[Bantamzen]

I was speaking to someone last night who evidently hates a certain bus driver with a passion. He said once he passes his driving test and gets a car, he is going to wait until said driver is doing one of two late night circulars they very often do, wait until they are going down a narrow road that isn't a main road, then deliberately park up and block their path for about 7 to 8 minutes to make them furious as they always put their foot down and floor it if they are even a minute late.

I mentioned this to the driver, and he said if they do that, I won't hesitate to ram their car out the way, I wouldn't even bother asking them to move, as if I get out to knock on their window, it could be a trap so that somebody else hops on the bus and steals the money whilst I'm off the bus.

Surely he's not allowed to do this as it would be potential damage liability against the car as well as the bus he is driving?

To anybody reading this thread, how would you handle this situation? Ramming the offending vehicle out the way obviously isn't a sensible option, so what other choice would you have? Keep honking the horn, then call the police after so long?

Also, have you ever experienced this situation either as a bus driver or as a passenger on a bus?

Did you advise this person that doing so will almost certainly result in an intervention from the Police, not to mention potentially causing a conflict with other drivers using the road? Petty examples of revenge as demonstrated by this person you were talking to need to be nipped in the bud before they try it on.

 

[northwichcat]

I've seen and been on buses not able to get through because the road is blocked. Drivers usually do one of the following:
1. Wait. Sometimes followed by one of the below.
2. Sound horn - on one occasion it was a bus fitted with air horns, I think a lot of people would realise there was a problem.
3. Mount pavement to get around, if possible and pavement is free of pedestrians.
4. Turn off engine and get out and try and find who the vehicle(s) belong to. Sometimes if it's cars parked on both sides of the road they only need to find the owner of one of two cars.
5. Reverse and take a diversion.

 

[Typhoon]

I've seen and been on buses not able to get through because the road is blocked. Drivers usually do one of the following:
1. Wait. Sometimes followed by one of the below.
2. Sound horn - on one occasion it was a bus fitted with air horns, I think a lot of people would realise there was a problem.
3. Mount pavement to get around, if possible and pavement is free of pedestrians.
4. Turn off engine and get out and try and find who the vehicle(s) belong to. Sometimes if it's cars parked on both sides of the road they only need to find the owner of one of two cars.
5. Reverse and take a diversion.

Entirely sensible.

Those adopting the belligerent approach should remember it might be a doctor on an emergency call who hasn't got time to park considerately before assessing the situation.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Running boards on our buses have the council number on them to deal with parked cars. Had someone once who didn't like buses in their road and thought they were being clever in blocking the road, so I just sat here, he (it generally is a 'he') said "You'll have to go another way, as you can't sit here all day" I just got my paper out, and replied "I'm paid by the hour, I'll sit here as long as I want" when traffic backed up both ways and everyone else complaining, he had to move it!

 

[BestWestern]

It doesn't say what happened to the bus driver. I hope he was charged and given a driving ban, at the very least. I wouldn't want an idiot like that driving any bus I was on.

Having watched that video previously (but admittedly not the accompanying news report), I do wonder whether that was indeed a deliberate act, or something else. Buses (particularly in London, for some reason!) do run out of control and hit things, sometimes in dramatic fashion. The vehicle here wasn't obstructing the bus in question, so either the driver was some sort of nutcase or his bus was out of control for some reason.

 

[PeterC]

Having watched that video previously (but admittedly not the accompanying news report), I do wonder whether that was indeed a deliberate act, or something else. Buses (particularly in London, for some reason!) do run out of control and hit things, sometimes in dramatic fashion. The vehicle here wasn't obstructing the bus in question, so either the driver was some sort of nutcase or his bus was out of control for some reason.

Posts on YouTube state that the driver had a heart attack and lost control. No way did it look like a deliberate ramming, that was just the Aussie newsreader introducing the ITV report.

 

[PermitToTravel]

I remember hearing in that case that the handbrake had failed? You can clearly see the bus parked on a stand just before the incident.

 

[Dentonian]

I've seen and been on buses not able to get through because the road is blocked. Drivers usually do one of the following:
1. Wait. Sometimes followed by one of the below.
2. Sound horn - on one occasion it was a bus fitted with air horns, I think a lot of people would realise there was a problem.
3. Mount pavement to get around, if possible and pavement is free of pedestrians.
4. Turn off engine and get out and try and find who the vehicle(s) belong to. Sometimes if it's cars parked on both sides of the road they only need to find the owner of one of two cars.
5. Reverse and take a diversion.

Hmm!
Both 3 and 5 are illegal, but I have sympathy with using 3 - as at least you considered the safety of pedestrians unlike certain "transportants".

5. You need a second person to guide you if you reverse a pcv on a public highway, and you need permission to divert from the route registered with VOSA.

2 & 4 are much better bets, at least before young kids have gone to bed......

 

[Dentonian]

Running boards on our buses have the council number on them to deal with parked cars. Had someone once who didn't like buses in their road and thought they were being clever in blocking the road, so I just sat here, he (it generally is a 'he') said "You'll have to go another way, as you can't sit here all day" I just got my paper out, and replied "I'm paid by the hour, I'll sit here as long as I want" when traffic backed up both ways and everyone else complaining, he had to move it!

Wow, what council area is this? I want to move there! I don't often use buses on narrow roads, so cars parked causing a general blockage isn't something I've encountered much. Bus stop blocking is completely different, and in my area I have had Wardens slam the phone down on me as soon as I mentioned "Bus stop"; I've seen wardens both on foot and in vehicles make a sharp turn away from blocked bus stops and I've seen wardens straight walk past town centre bus stops blocked with vans. We've also had bus stops moved away from shops/services after complaints from motorists that they were shouted at by bus users for parking on the original stop, and we've even had a local councillor who permanently had two of her family's FIVE (yes, 5) cars parked on the bus stop outside her house. Mysteriously (yeah, right), the problem was "solved" by repositioning the stop 50 yards away, right opposite a T-junction! FTR, at the time, car ownership in the ward where this councillor lived with her five cars was 56% - albeit she represented a posher ward, three miles away.

 

[Dentonian]

Having watched that video previously (but admittedly not the accompanying news report), I do wonder whether that was indeed a deliberate act, or something else. Buses (particularly in London, for some reason!) do run out of control and hit things, sometimes in dramatic fashion. The vehicle here wasn't obstructing the bus in question, so either the driver was some sort of nutcase or his bus was out of control for some reason.

There seems to be a long running problem with Dennis Darts running out of control in various fleets. I dare say, it looks like a "London" problem because the media get hold of incidents in London much more easily. Digressing slightly, there have been a number of people killed at/near bus stops in GM by cars mounting the pavement (Moston & Hazel Grove spring to mind as recent examples), but they barely register as local news, never mind national as with this weekend's tragic case in Hayes.
Digressing even further, given how serious that was I was amazed to see the road fully open and bus stop available, the morning after. In GM, any road incident is now presumed to be a crime scene until proven otherwise, and I would expect the area around the bus stop to be closed all weekend, at least.

 

[Dentonian]

Did you advise this person that doing so will almost certainly result in an intervention from the Police, not to mention potentially causing a conflict with other drivers using the road? Petty examples of revenge as demonstrated by this person you were talking to need to be nipped in the bud before they try it on.

I doubt they would see that as any kind of threat. If you rang GMP to report a bus being obstructed they would tell you to stop wasting Police time. Some years ago, I was a passenger on a well loaded mid evening bus approaching Belle Vue (M'cr) when a drunk through a bottle at the windscreen and shattered it. Fortunately, the driver didn't lose control and no-one was injured. We merely had to wait for a replacement bus. However, I rang GMP and despite the fact that it happened on a main road with vehicle closing speeds of 60 mph, I was told I couldn't report it as I did not own the bus!!!! Unfortunately, I didn't know Brian Souter's phone number or Perth HQ's e-mail address (this was in the days when he was still the major shareholder).

 

[fowler9]

Probably best for the bus driver to stop, honk his horn a few times and call the police. Regarding thoughtless parking I once saw one car parked on the corner of Cook Street and Castle Street in Liverpool cause the whole of the North side of Liverpool city centre to become a gridlock. One bus couldn't around go the corner past it and within seconds Castle Street was gridlocked, then Dale Street and every road leading on to it, then the flyover up towards the Lime Street area. This one car who's driver parked on double yellows on a corner caused all this, one lazy motorist.

 

[Deerfold]

5. You need a second person to guide you if you reverse a pcv on a public highway, and you need permission to divert from the route registered with VOSA.

It's policy for many bus companies, but it's not the law. I've been on at least 3 bus routes where the bus reversed as part of the route.

If a route is blocked you're not going to have a chance to get permission from VOSA quickly - you will for any long term change, certainly.

The road outside my house has been blocked several times over the last few years. The buses divert along the bypass at short notice, missing around 2 miles of the normal route.

 

[Dentonian]

It's policy for many bus companies, but it's not the law. I've been on at least 3 bus routes where the bus reversed as part of the route.

If a route is blocked you're not going to have a chance to get permission from VOSA quickly - you will for any long term change, certainly.

The road outside my house has been blocked several times over the last few years. The buses divert along the bypass at short notice, missing around 2 miles of the normal route.

I thought it was the law - although it may only apply to full length vehicles for obvious Health & Safety issues.

As regards diversions, the driver would need to contact the depot for express permission. Otherwise, the company's insurance is invalid.

I take it the 2 mile diversion didn't miss any stops!

 

[Deerfold]

I thought it was the law - although it may only apply to full length vehicles for obvious Health & Safety issues.

Two of the routes were operated with full length vehicles. I've seen this claimed several times, but no-one has yet managed to tell me which law is involved.

As regards diversions, the driver would need to contact the depot for express permission. Otherwise, the company's insurance is invalid.

Automatically or does that depend on the conditions in their insurance?

I take it the 2 mile diversion didn't miss any stops!

Why?

If there were no stops on the section of route missed, surely it would be better for the route to go along the bypass anyway?

Are you suggesting the bus not running at all is preferable to it running and missing out some stops on a blocked road?

 

[Dentonian]

Two of the routes were operated with full length vehicles. I've seen this claimed several times, but no-one has yet managed to tell me which law is involved.



Automatically or does that depend on the conditions in their insurance?



Why?

If there were no stops on the section of route missed, surely it would be better for the route to go along the bypass anyway?

Are you suggesting the bus not running at all is preferable to it running and missing out some stops on a blocked road?

Neither really. But if its a regular occurance, some people are going to suffer considerably. Logically, if a diversion route is adopted missing out stops, it will stay in place until the situation is deemed to be resolved permanently, so in that respect it is worse than the occasional bus missing out the entire journey.