Dublin Bus drivers, can you please stop doing this...!!

CiboC

I am a cycle commuter (boo hiss...!!!), we have to share the bus lane - sometimes awkward for me, sometimes awkward for you, but in general I try not to be a bollix and get the way unless necessary for some reason.

I have noticed a new thing happening recently.. When I come up behind a bus stopped at a bus stop, if they are indicating that they are pulling out I won't overtake as I don't fancy getting caught between the bus and the cars.

Problem is that many drivers seem to stop, open the doors and then stick on the right indicator when they are nowhere near ready to pull out. Result is that I end up stuck behind the bus thinking they are just about to pull out when in fact they aren't, I could have easily passed and gone ahead!

Why don't they only indicate when they are actually ready to pull out? Very frustrating!!!

monument

They could think they are nearly ready and than a passanger starts to disimbark slowly or someone boarding is messing with change etc.

roverrules

CiboC wrote: »

I am a cycle commuter (boo hiss...!!!), we have to share the bus lane - sometimes awkward for me, sometimes awkward for you, but in general I try not to be a bollix and get the way unless necessary for some reason.

I have noticed a new thing happening recently.. When I come up behind a bus stopped at a bus stop, if they are indicating that they are pulling out I won't overtake as I don't fancy getting caught between the bus and the cars.

Problem is that many drivers seem to stop, open the doors and then stick on the right indicator when they are nowhere near ready to pull out. Result is that I end up stuck behind the bus thinking they are just about to pull out when in fact they aren't, I could have easily passed and gone ahead!

Why don't they only indicate when they are actually ready to pull out? Very frustrating!!!

Could be they've actually seen you in their mirrors and have either lost sight of you ( you're waiting for them in their blind spot ), or they can see you and are making sure that you aren't overtaking them ( they should give way to traffic overtaking them ).

lil5

monument wrote: »

They could think they are nearly ready and than a passanger starts to disimbark slowly or someone boarding is messing with change etc.

No, he's right, I've observed that too on the 4/7 over the last few weeks with some of the drivers.

As soon as they are stationary at the stop they turn on the indicator on the right hand side before the passengers have even boarded and they have issued any tickets or dealt with leap payments.

Don't think it's deliberately to annoy the cyclists though.

biko

I think they do it to show "these are the corners of the bus, please don't hit me" or something else that doesn't make any sense, to me anyway.

Kyleboy

CiboC wrote: »

I am a cycle commuter (boo hiss...!!!), we have to share the bus lane - sometimes awkward for me, sometimes awkward for you, but in general I try not to be a bollix and get the way unless necessary for some reason.

I have noticed a new thing happening recently.. When I come up behind a bus stopped at a bus stop, if they are indicating that they are pulling out I won't overtake as I don't fancy getting caught between the bus and the cars.

Problem is that many drivers seem to stop, open the doors and then stick on the right indicator when they are nowhere near ready to pull out. Result is that I end up stuck behind the bus thinking they are just about to pull out when in fact they aren't, I could have easily passed and gone ahead!

Why don't they only indicate when they are actually ready to pull out? Very frustrating!!!

Driver should only indicate to pull out only after they have closed the doors and are ready to move out into traffic,i have noticed an increase in it myself

coylemj

If they start the habit of indicating right before they're ready to pull out then drivers coming up behind will stop letting them out, it's definitely a practice that will backfire on them if this is a new carry-on.

Into The Blue

Seeing more of it lately, can see a que of people waiting to get on and the indicator will swap from left to right..

Has to be so he has a clear pull out when he's ready

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Fair play op staying back. Very sensible move which other cyclists should follow.

I don't practise this premature indicating myself but from what i can see its because traffic are very reluctant to let the bus out so they put the indicator on in advance so it appears they have been there a long time and someone will let them out.

Or it could possibly be they don't want you to overtake the bus so they make you think they are pulling out as you won't go around.

2 possibilities there but i agree that it's piss poor use of indicators

coylemj

Into The Blue wrote: »

Seeing more of it lately, can see a que of people waiting to get on and the indicator will swap from left to right..

Has to be so he has a clear pull out when he's ready

Do you mean that by switching on the right indicator, the cars coming from behind will stop and stay stopped waiting for him to move out? Dublin motorists aren't that patient! I often stop to let a bus pull out when I see him indicate but if he doesn't move out immediately his way is clear, I'm not waiting.

ongarboy

As an occasional motorist, I also see that on roads that do not have bus lanes. Bus driver has right indicator on and you do not attempt to overtake them but then find they are not moving at all and you can often end up missing a safe overtaking opportunity also.

Into The Blue

coylemj wrote: »

Do you mean that by switching on the right indicator, the cars coming from behind will stop and stay stopped waiting for him to move out? Dublin motorists aren't that patient! I often stop to let a bus pull out when I see him indicate but if he doesn't move out immediately his way is clear, I'm not waiting.

Just my guess

07Lapierre

When I'm cycling, if I come across a bus stopped at a bus stop, I look through it's rear window. If there are passengers getting on or off ill overtake if I feel it's safe and if I feel I have time to do so.

deandean

Yes I agree with the OP. When driving I regularly stop behind a bus indicating right only to be still there 10 or 20s later. It's a deliberate action on the part of the drivers and is improper use of indicators.
If this continues it's going to be like the story of the boy who called wolf. Other road users are going to disregard bus indicators more often and there'll be more close shaves as bus drivers pull out under a car that's overtaking (they are fond of this manouver).

CiboC

Glad it's not just me who has noticed, but it does seem to be a recent thing, even when the bus is in an active bus lane some drivers do it.

Although in a possible example of the power of boards, I would like to thank the driver of the number 4 bus on the Merrion road this morning, He had his right indicator on as I approached behind him, but he then indicated left which I took to mean that he had seen me, he was not ready to pull out and was letting me know. I sailed past him, no bother to me, no bother to him.

Mr.Carter

I've seen buses do this too and also keep the back of the bus out on the road to block others from passing.
It's not only Dublin.

plodder

I complained to DB about this as a motorist a good few months ago. Apart from the hazard to cyclists it is just bad manners, and frustrates people who are happy to let them out. You end up ignoring the signal and just passing them without knowing when they are really ready.

The reply I got sounded like they took it seriously fwiw, though the behaviour is still there clearly.

For what it's worth, I think there should be a law/rule that obliges traffic to let buses out, as I am sure that is the reason for doing it.

coylemj

plodder wrote: »

For what it's worth, I think there should be a law/rule that obliges traffic to let buses out, as I am sure that is the reason for doing it.

Let them out when?

cdebru

It could be a couple of things.

One is new drivers, Dublin Bus has taken on a few the last year or so.

The other is the door brake, there is an automatic brake that engages when the doors are open, sometimes it can be a pain to get it to release, it should do once the door is closed and the footbrake has been depressed but sometimes their is a delay before the sensor realises the door is closed.
Also there are some of the newer buses, where the doors won't close properly then reopen, this can happen a couple of times if a driver thought he is ready indicates doors reopen and he gets distracted trying to reclose them meanwhile some more passengers arrive yada yada.

If it is not that and some drivers are putting on their right indicator as soon as they stop, that's just stupidity, if its a recent development it would suggest drivers who weren't trained by DB how to drive. Some of them are great but some of them are shocking.

07Lapierre

cdebru wrote: »

If it is not that and some drivers are putting on their right indicator as soon as they stop, that's just stupidity, if its a recent development it would suggest drivers who weren't trained by DB how to drive. Some of them are great but some of them are shocking.

Nope...they've been doing it for years!

cdebru

07Lapierre wrote: »

Nope...they've been doing it for years!

I have never seen it, and the op states,

"I have noticed a new thing happening recently"

plodder

coylemj wrote: »

Let them out when?

Within a couple of seconds of them indicating - enough time for people who are committed to passing can do it safely, and assuming they are actually ready to pull out.

I think it's quite ignorant for people to not let buses pull out tbh.

07Lapierre

cdebru wrote: »

I have never seen it, and the op states,

"I have noticed a new thing happening recently"

You calling me a liar?

I've been cycling for years and I have seen it a lot. Maybe i've just been unlucky?

cdebru

07Lapierre wrote: »

You calling me a liar?

I've been cycling for years and I have seen it a lot. Maybe i've just been unlucky?

Nah I would never say that, mainly because it's probably against some rule or other here. :-)

I've been cycling and driving for years and I have never seen it, maybe I'm just lucky.

07Lapierre

cdebru wrote: »

Nah I would never say that, mainly because it's probably against some rule or other here. :-)

I've been cycling and driving for years and I have never seen it, maybe I'm just lucky.

Well I'm in North County Dublin. I tend to cycle the same roads frequently, so maybe its the same bus driver I keep coming across?

I've also noticed it quite a bit in the city centre, but I accept that that was a long time ago ( early 90's when I was in college) and maybe the OP wasn't born then, which would explain why it appears to be a "new" issue.

coylemj

plodder wrote: »

Within a couple of seconds of them indicating - enough time for people who are committed to passing can do it safely, and assuming they are actually ready to pull out.

I think it's quite ignorant for people to not let buses pull out tbh.

Have you read the earlier posts - including mine? I do let them out if they switch on the right indicator and are actually ready to go but if they start switching on the right indicator before they're ready to pull out then I and other motorists will simply ignore them and they will have to wait for a gap in the traffic.

coylemj

07Lapierre wrote: »

You calling me a liar?

I've been cycling for years and I have seen it a lot. Maybe i've just been unlucky?

I have been driving in the suburb where I live for over 25 years, it's well served by multiple bus routes and I have never come across a situation where I'm coming up behind a bus at a stop, I notice that the driver has switched the indicator from left to right, I stop or slow down, flash him and he doesn't immediately pull out.

CiboC

07Lapierre wrote: »

but I accept that that was a long time ago ( early 90's when I was in college) and maybe the OP wasn't born then

Don't you be calling me a whippersnapper you! I'll have you know I have earned my grumpy old man stripes at this stage....!!..:)

plodder

coylemj wrote: »

Have you read the earlier posts - including mine? I do let them out if they switch on the right indicator and are actually ready to go but if they start switching on the right indicator before they're ready to pull out then I and other motorists will simply ignore them and they will have to wait for a gap in the traffic.

Sure, I read your post. So, the comment wasn't directed at you. I think a lot of other drivers see a bus as annoying obstacle to be overtaken if at all possible. So, they dont tend to let them pull out. I think this might be a reaction to that.

cython

plodder wrote: »

Sure, I read your post. So, the comment wasn't directed at you. I think a lot of other drivers see a bus as annoying obstacle to be overtaken if at all possible. So, they dont tend to let them pull out. I think this might be a reaction to that.

As a cyclist in the city centre I view them as that :pac:

More seriously though, I cycle to work along the north quays, and realistically once I get past the Croppie Acre or Smithfield, if I pass a bus (DB in particular, due to the frequency of stops), between other buses and taxis in the bus lane, and other slower cyclists that I pass they are highly unlikely to catch me again, and thus be delayed, so I can definitely appreciate how annoying and obnoxious this behaviour could seem to cyclists in a similar position.

CiboC

cdebru wrote: »

It could be a couple of things..

Thanks for that, at least if there is a technical explanation for it I can understand why it may be happening unintentionally.

I'm not sure it is that though, as often you see the right indicator come on as soon as the bus stops, the doors open and the left indicator turns off! I fear it may be one of your other explanations.....

beauf

I've seen it a lot. Buses and Taxi's, or cars on roundabouts. To the point where I no longer look at indicators as any useful guide to a drivers intentions.