‘Oi! Do you understand what you did?’ Cyclist confronts bus driver after almost being swiped during a close overtake
- Narrow bridge has no room for overtaking and no dedicated bike lane
- Cyclist nearly crushed under rear wheels of Auckland Transport bus
- ‘Auckland needs more cycle paths’: cyclists say there’s not enough infrastructure
- Incident coincides with Auckland Bike Challenge promoting cycling as transport
A cyclist has confronted a bus driver after a close pass on a New Zealand bridge on Valentine’s Day left him shaken and lucky to be alive.
Rider Alec Tang uploaded video of the hair-raising overtake to Twitter soon after the incident on Grafton Bridge in Auckland.
Both rear and forward facing camera footage showed the close call in frightening detail.
The Auckland Transport bus bearing down on Alec Tang as he cycled down Grafton Bridge
‘Oi,’ Mr Tang shouted at the top of his voice as the rear wheels of the enormous bus squeeze him in towards the pedestrian pavement on his left.
The bus driver heard him and pulled over on what appears to be the end of the bridge.
‘Do you understand what you did?,’ Mr Tang said through the closed doors of the bus to the driver.
‘D’you understand what you did here – You’re not going to listen?’
The bus driver can be heard saying: ‘Oh, far out,’ before Mr Tang moved his bike away.
Cycling activist Alec Tang was nearly wiped out by the Auckland Transit bus
Grafton Bridge, Auckland, is a narrow two-lane carriageway with oncoming traffic separated by double yellow lines. There is a raised pedestrian walkway but no separate cycle path
The video showed Mr Tang’s shadow overtaken by two buses as he pedaled across the bridge.
The first bus veered around him over double yellow lines, giving him enough space to pass safely, but crossing onto the wrong side of the road.
The second bus veered around him, also crossing the double yellow lines, but then cut in much closer than the first bus, leaving its rear wheels just centimeters away from the cyclist.
Mr Tang had no room to escape as a raised pedestrian footpath on his left was blocking his way and there was no separate cycle path on Grafton bridge.
‘I know it’s #ValentinesDay, but doesn’t mean your bus drivers need to try & mount me,’ Mr Tang wrote on Twitter.
‘I’d say it’s reckless but really it’s just standard isn’t it? … do something before someone dies.’
Alec Tang says there needs to be more cycle paths to keep cyclists safe from road traffic
Rear bike camera footage shows that the wheels came within centimeters of Mr Tang as he cycled over Grafton Bridge, leaving him no path of escape due to a raised pedestrian footpath
Mr Tang is a sustainability campaigner who advocated for better cycle paths in Auckland, and often tweeted updates on cycling in New Zealand’s capital.
Auckland Transport said the incident had been raised with the bus company for investigation.
‘Bus drivers, like all road users, are required by law to share the road,’ an Auckland Transport spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Twitter messaging.
‘Training is provided for bus drivers about sharing the road with bike riders, this sees the bus drivers getting on a bike and experiencing the road from the perspective of the bike rider.’
The incident coincided with the Auckland Bike Challenge in February to promote cycling as a form of transport.
Mr Tang did not lose his sense of humour, posting a joke about Auckland buses soon after