Silver Cobra
Member
I encountered an interesting situation today while travelling on the Stagecoach East service 66 between Huntingdon and St Neots. (Long explanation coming up...)
Travelling through the village of Buckden, the bus pulls out to pass a row of parked cars in the centre of the village, when a van turns out of a junction heading towards the bus. Rather than reverse up to allow the bus through, the van driver pushes forward towards the bus, gesturing to the bus driver to reverse the bus up. The driver starts shouting back to the van driver that they cannot reverse the bus on a public road and that he should back his van up to let them through. The van driver's having none of it, and literally brings his van right up to the front of the bus, shouting at the bus driver to reverse the bus. Again, the driver shouts back that they can't reverse the bus on a public road.
So a stalemate ensues at this point. Another van comes up behind the bus, so the driver of the first van starts shouting to them to reverse their van to give space for the bus to reverse. With the stalemate continuing, the second van driver approaches the bus to see what's causing the hold-up. Opening the doors, the bus driver tells them that they cannot reverse the bus without a police officer or a second member of staff being present, so would not be moving unless the first van driver backs up or the police are called. With this, the second van driver tells the first that he should reverse up, leading to him angrily reversing his van back to the junction but stopping short, and therefore not leaving enough space for the bus to pass between it and the last parked car. Once the bus approaches the van, he mounts the pavement to pass the bus, blasting his horn as he passes, as if to be making some kind of statement to the bus driver.
The bus had pulled out to pass the parked cars before the van rounded the junction, so it couldn't be argued that the van was going through first ('right of way'). The rest of the traffic held back before the junction, leaving enough space for the van to reverse up and allow the bus through. It seemed like the van driver was just being obstinate, with the expectation that the bus should reverse up to let him through, when it would be a lot easier for him to reverse his van. In case you're wondering, the bus in question was an ALX400 double decker.
Now this leads me to ask a question: is it true that a bus can only be reversed on the public highway if a police officer or suitably trained person is there to guide it? I understand reversing without a police officer/second person being permitted when it is part of the route (in my local area Stagecoach service 73 Biggleswade-Bedford has a reversal in Sandy), but not sure about a situation like this. Looking through the forums, I found a thread that discussed this matter for a different reason (regarding dealing with obstructively parked cars), but the conclusion wasn't 100% clear. From that thread:
Travelling through the village of Buckden, the bus pulls out to pass a row of parked cars in the centre of the village, when a van turns out of a junction heading towards the bus. Rather than reverse up to allow the bus through, the van driver pushes forward towards the bus, gesturing to the bus driver to reverse the bus up. The driver starts shouting back to the van driver that they cannot reverse the bus on a public road and that he should back his van up to let them through. The van driver's having none of it, and literally brings his van right up to the front of the bus, shouting at the bus driver to reverse the bus. Again, the driver shouts back that they can't reverse the bus on a public road.
So a stalemate ensues at this point. Another van comes up behind the bus, so the driver of the first van starts shouting to them to reverse their van to give space for the bus to reverse. With the stalemate continuing, the second van driver approaches the bus to see what's causing the hold-up. Opening the doors, the bus driver tells them that they cannot reverse the bus without a police officer or a second member of staff being present, so would not be moving unless the first van driver backs up or the police are called. With this, the second van driver tells the first that he should reverse up, leading to him angrily reversing his van back to the junction but stopping short, and therefore not leaving enough space for the bus to pass between it and the last parked car. Once the bus approaches the van, he mounts the pavement to pass the bus, blasting his horn as he passes, as if to be making some kind of statement to the bus driver.
The bus had pulled out to pass the parked cars before the van rounded the junction, so it couldn't be argued that the van was going through first ('right of way'). The rest of the traffic held back before the junction, leaving enough space for the van to reverse up and allow the bus through. It seemed like the van driver was just being obstinate, with the expectation that the bus should reverse up to let him through, when it would be a lot easier for him to reverse his van. In case you're wondering, the bus in question was an ALX400 double decker.
Now this leads me to ask a question: is it true that a bus can only be reversed on the public highway if a police officer or suitably trained person is there to guide it? I understand reversing without a police officer/second person being permitted when it is part of the route (in my local area Stagecoach service 73 Biggleswade-Bedford has a reversal in Sandy), but not sure about a situation like this. Looking through the forums, I found a thread that discussed this matter for a different reason (regarding dealing with obstructively parked cars), but the conclusion wasn't 100% clear. From that thread:
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.
5 is absolute rubbish! There are bus services which have a reversal as part of a route, often so that they can serve a little one-stop-shop village - The 65 from Sheffield to Buxton has at least one reversal in it.
There's definitely no specific law against reversing a bus. It might be dangerous (and so Dangerous Driving) to do so without external assistance, depending on the circumstances; and it's a crime to reverse any vehicle for longer than necessary.
Last edited: