The Bus Incident

Thursday, May 8th, 2008 @ 11:28AM

These damn things are big!

I was riding my bike yesterday north along 15th East when I got just about to 9th South.  A UTA bus cruised by me and turned right on 9th South as I was about to do..  But just as he turned, he stopped.  No bus stop near, no one in the way, no pedestrian or car to yield for....he just stopped.  Well, I was right behind him about to make the same turn and I needed to get by him.  I had two options; turn and pass between the bus and the curb or go behind the bus and pass on the left in the lane of traffic.  I chose the latter option because that’s what I would have done in my car.  Well, just as I pull around from the rear of the bus and start up the street, the bus starts up again and proceeds on it’s way to the stop sign.  This, of course, forces me to drop back and fall in behind the UTA bus.  I was slightly perturbed, but no big deal.  The bus in enormous and I’m a guy on a little bike.  But I wondered why the hell he had stopped and why he started up again so abruptly. 

So I’m behind the bus.  He turns left to head along Guardsman toward the U of U.  There’s a stop light and again, I catch up with the bus.  This time I ride along the right side of the bus, next to the curb, up to the cross walk.  Just as I get there, the driver opens the bus door and I hear him call out, “Sir?  Sir?” Just then the light turns green so I head into the intersection as does the bus which then passes me and goes off on it’s route. 

Here’s the speculation.  I ignored the bus driver when he called out.  It was time to move because the light had turned green.  And, I was sure that the driver was about to bawl me out about something.  He was going to admonish me about some rule of the road he’d felt I’d broken.  I ignored him because I knew if he’d chastised me I would have thrown down right then and there.  It would have been an argument and the exchange of colorful words.  Those damn buses are big!  As a bicyclist you really need to watch out for them.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve nearly been clipped by one coming up behind me.  I suspect it happens to bicyclists quite a bit.  Does anybody know? 

Mr. Bus Driver...whenever I’m on the road with you....I try to be cautious and courteous.  Please just let me have a little tiny piece of the road.

Thanks for listening,

Bill