"He has to wait, that's all there is to it": Jeremy Vine slams bus driver for near miss

NotNigel wrote:

That's what generally happens when you get somewhere quicker than you would have done if you'd have held your speed or *shock horror * decelerated slightly after anticipating what the bus driver is halfway through doing.

Which is the exact opposite of what you are trying to portray in the picture.
Also, you cannot anticipate something which is already happening.
You are very confused.

Erm, no confusion here apart from to your responses.

NotNigel wrote:

Erm, no confusion here apart from to your responses.

Is it from or to? You are very confused.

You are very dull.

Oh dear!  All that can save us now is a kitten fight!

Yeah, there's been too many occasions an incident could be avoided, but he can't as he has poor roadsense, or he'strying to prove a point. I'm sure he started off meaning well, but now it looks as if he's looking for issues. 

I'm reminded of a saying "make a possible incident, a non-incident". Nobody is perfect, so help rectify others mistakes.....

But how was it *before* they "embraced cycling" though (which I believe has been going on for about a decade)? I thought the point of the change in Paris was that previously it could be a seriously scary / stressful experience - even if you were in a car, and good luck pedestrians?

Without losing the JV thread entirely - "Carnage" - so how many RTCs did you witness and what was the body count? I've not been, the videos I've seen look rather "rough and ready" - but isn't the point "doing something positive"? As opposed to eg. Kensington and Chelsea where cyclists are welcome ... elsewhere.

Thankfully no 'actual' carnage, but plenty of potential carnage. I may have been guilty of a bit of hyperbole there.

I have no idea what it was like before, but I was under the (perhaps misguided) impression that Paris was now a 'cycling city'. Maybe it is a lot better now, and that is clearly a good thing, but there's still plenty of scope for improvement. It just all felt very lawless and chaotic from the perspective of someone that doesn’t usually spend much time in a huge metropolis like Paris or London.

My main point was that whilst we understandably get upset by some of the attitudes towards cyclists from UK drivers, I feel we actually have it quite good compared to some other places, Paris being one of them.

Thanks for the explanation and reportage. I suspect, same as over here, there is no shortage of hyperbole from the Parisian planners. Given how radical the idea of doing anything that challenges the status quo of mass motoring is, it's perhaps understandable people get a bit wild in what they say.

TBH I think the only country where all cities are "cycling cities" is NL. Scandinavia has some good examples (maybe in reach of the UK although 2nd rate compared to NL). Not sure about Germany but some places may be getting towards the Scandinavian level. Central Seville. Then there's a gap (a few exceptions like Cambridge) then probably places like Paris, the UK (3rd rate in the good places but not yet in the running mostly).

Dicklexic wrote:

Thankfully no 'actual' carnage, but plenty of potential carnage. I may have been guilty of a bit of hyperbole there.  

I've told you a thousand times, don't exaggerate

I don't doubt your experience but it doesn't accord with my own at all: every time I cycle in Paris I am very pleasantly surprised by how much better Parisian drivers are around cyclists compared to London, how much better the infrastructure is and how much safer the streets in general feel. I wonder if that has anything to do with having a different perspective when on holiday? I think there are one or two posters on here who live in Paris, do they feel the same, i.e. that London is safer?

Rendel Harris wrote:

 I wonder if that has anything to do with having a different perspective when on holiday?

That's a fair point. I was walking around Paris with my wife and two children (7 & 12) so that will almost certainly have skewed my perspective. Had I been on my own, and me being a confident and experienced cyclist, I probably would've happily rented one of the many ebikes or escooters available. It just seemed to me watching other riders that there were a lot moments that would've seen me submitting close pass footage had it occurred back home, yet the riders I saw barely reacted!

Yes, I think also one develops a totally different attitude on holiday; when I'm cycling in Paris I am generally drifting from place to place, under no time pressures, never having to take shortcuts through busy roads, and loving everything I see, so I'm definitely in a state of mind where I would be less likely to notice bad driving and even if I do I probably shrug it off as "Oh, so typically French!"

Just like us, they have not arrived yet,

But pointing to the bits they have done is a provocative self-flagellation exercise by people who want to express their dislike of the UK.

On London vs Paris, I think London are doing better strategically, with some way to go especially in Outer London. Here's an assessment of how far they have got so far (TFL 2021). I think it's one of those things that is snail's pace until we look back after a longer time period.

In Paris when you fall off the edge of velo-Paris, you know about it.

Dicklexic wrote:

After recently spending a few days in Paris, and witnessing the truly shocking chaos and carnage on their streets, I have a new found perspective on city cycling (and driving) in the UK. Honestly, some of the stuff I saw/experienced as a pedestrian and a taxi passenger was, shall we say, rather eye opening. A lot of the videos we see of poor driving/riding here in the UK, would it seems be perfectly normal and acceptable behaviour in Paris. For a city that has apparently 'embraced cycling' since the pandemic, I came away being glad that I don't have to ride around it on a daily basis. Certainly this video here from Mr Vine would get absolutely no sympathy towards him from Parisian viewers!

and this is why the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, despite nearly zero effort in policing bad drivers.

Nonsense.

Classic. Not so much SMIDSY as SMI thought you were walking a dog in the middle of a road at 6am.

It does surprise me that Vine has a helmet light but not a light fitted to the bicycle. You're correct that it is illegal to cycle between sunset and sunrise without lights affixed to the vehicle (bicycle); in accordance with RVLR 1989.

But the bus driver still should have seen Vine.

Good job road.cc doesn't support polls.  If we put muting him vs you I wonder who would win. 🤔

I disagree with maybe 1 in 10 of his videos. But then I'm not cycling in and triggered by daily London commuting.

As the most high profile celebrity cyclist at least by frequency in the UK I think he does more good than harm by a long chalk.

Just waiting 'till they start citing "top lawyer and road safety expert Nick Freeman" then it's bingo!

It is well known that accountants live in a cul de sac.

Possibly in leafy Essex. Although not far enough from camera vigilantes seeking clicks for cash...

Although I've heard that some live below the bridge line on the internet.

Excactly this..he's not doing himself or other cyclists any favours with this....if this is the worst thing that's happened to him since the last video that was posted on here I don't think he's doing too bad.