Seeing as First Group Glasgow don’t have a published email for contacting them, we’ll go with an open letter… Regrettably the photo taken further down the road doesn’t show anything useful (unless of course you count braking whilst tailgating another cyclist)
Driving without due care, R150 GSF, 18h05, South Frederick St
Dear Sirs
Can I invite you to discuss with the driver of one of your single-decker coaches, registration R150 GSF, displaying not in service to the fore and a single number 5 to the rear, and whom I’d charitably describe as ‘heavily built and with a diminishing hairline’, exactly why left hooking vulnerable road users is dangerous? He’ll be expecting you.
At 18h05 today, I was cycling at about 20kph (quite happy to provide the GPS trace) southbound down S Frederick St in the centre of the left hand turn lane. Your driver attempted to overtake in the right hand turn only lane, and realised about 10m away from the junction that he was going to be caught in the wrong lane by the amber light. There was no traffic behind me, so the sensible option would have been to pull in behind me, and we’d both have waited for the lights to cycle. Instead:
- Optimistically applying his left indicator, he began to pull into my lane. I was midway along his vehicle at this point.
- As I realised what he was doing, I braked sharply and pulled tightly against the curb. Your driver continued to force me out of my lane, and when he was on the dividing line between the two lanes, swung left round the junction through the now red light. I was cut off completely, as clearly the back end of a bus doesn’t follow the track of the front wheels.
- Walking round the junction, I then cycled to the front of his vehicle and waved (politely, if with some exasperation) at him, expecting an apology; I can vaguely understand moments of idiocy which we immediately regret, although I’d expect better from a professional driver. However, he made eye contact and then ignored me completely, barring a slight revving of his engine
- He’ll have later spotted me taking a quick picture of his vehicle as he pulled in to your Victoria Road depot, primarily to highlight how endangering me saved him no time whatsoever
Three cyclists have already been killed this year by HGV drivers dragging them under their wheels as they turn left – please educate this one before he causes the fourth. He can be thankful that I don’t yet carry my video camera during the daily commute, otherwise it would be the police getting in contact with him rather than yourselves. As it is, until First are able to demonstrate that they are able to foster driving which safeguards others on the road, open letters such as this will continue to be posted online.
