Threatened With Extreme Physical Violence - What Would You Do?

[starrs]

On Saturday morning I caught a bus for a very short journey. As we took a left turn to enter the train station car park I asked the driver if he could let me off there instead of going another 80 yards to the next stop. He mumbled something under his breath in a seemingly polite manner so I just said thanks. But as he slowed down to let me off he started making sarcastic comments like "next time get a taxi" and "i'm not a taxi service". He continued with similar comments as I got off. At this point I told him to "f*****g go away". As he pulled away he started to swear very loudly. I was starting to get a little annoyed now so I punched one of the windows at the rear of the bus. He stopped the bus for a few seconds but then carried on to the next stop. I then walked into the newsagents and the bus turned around in the train station and came back past the newsagents to continue his journey. But he stopped outside the shop and leaned out of the cab and started threatening me. Firstly he said "the next time I f*****g see you i'm going to f*****g run you over" and then he said "I'm going to get a f*****g knife and stick it in your f*****g belly. The only other 2 people in the shop were the newsagent and a young boy about 10-12 years old. The young boy left the shop straight away (I guess I would have done the same if I was his age) and although the newsagent heard the driver swearing he didn't hear the actual threats of violence. I have to say that when it was all over I was pretty shaken up and the newsagent told me to inform the bus company immediately. I have never been spoken to in that manner before but part of me has put it down to the driver having a bad day but then I think about all the knife violence occurring at the moment and what if the driver does carry a knife to defend himself and uses it on someone who he is having a disagreement with. I admit that I may not be blameless here but his reaction was just scary. My question is what would you do?

[keyplus90]

All the nice and fair answers to your question mate. I know it is repetition but first of all I think you were wrong expecting driver to let you off where there is no bus stop. Then you punched his bus. In simple words you are the one who started all this. And I have no regret or hesitation to say that if I were in your shoes then I would go back to that driver very nicely and say to him, �I am sorry my friend, I was rude to you other day�.

Many people may not agree with me here but trust me I have been there, seen it all. There is no harm at all admitting that you were wrong. And very strong chances are that once you say this to that man, most probably he would say that he is sorry as well and he reacted a bit too harshly. I am sure feeling after that for you would be the most relieving in all aspects. Specifically when you are worried now that he might grab you sometime grab you. And do not worry about what others would think; it is always better to do the right thing.

[Velvetee]

well, you could contact the management at the depot, outlining everything that happened. Mind you, I'm not sure you would get any satisfaction.

By rights, the driver should not be stopping at undesignated stops and can be disciplined for doing this. I've encountered many abusive bus drivers, its particulalrly bad in London.

My ex boyfriend is a driver for Arriva in London and they get complaints everyday. He has told me, the station supervisors and managers would sit in the office together, reading complaints and howling with laughter. They would then send a standard letter of apology to the complainant.

I think being a bus driver these days, (now conductors are no longer available,) is very stressful. They experience abuse, threats of violence and actual violence on a daily basis, so maybe the day you encountered him, he was on the edge. That being said, his behaviour was unprofessional and over the top and and showed the company he works for, in a negative light.

[123everton]

I've spent most (almost all) of my adult life driving a bus so i'll give you the other side of this.
Firstly you were wrong to ask for the bus to stop inbetween stops, secondly you were wrong to be sarcastic to him, thirdly you should'nt have told him fcuk off, fourthly you should'nt have punched the vehicle.
So we've established that you're an idiot.
The driver should not of spun the bus around (unless it's supposed to on that route) and really he should'nt have said the things he said, to the same end he should'nt be carry (brandishing?) a knife (although he'll have more need for it than most) I would say this is 6 of 1 (you) 2 of the other.
I seriously doubt the driver would attack you if he saw you, however he my well drive past you when you're stood at the stop waiting. For which he's quite entitled to do if he's had trouble with a passenger before.
Staff do not have to put up with this, and do not have to carry anyone they don't want to with good reason.

[newtron]

I'm not sure how it works in the UK, but here in the US, many states consider the threat to kill someone a crime in itself. I agree that you are not innocent, and you should learn some manners. However, the bus driver should have just told you that he could not let you off in between stops because it was against the rules. You really can't argue with that. His behavior was very unprofessional. Hopefully he was not serious. As for reporting him, that is up to you. You might get in trouble also, but I do think the bus driver should also be disciplined. Threatening someone's life is a very serious offense.

[Paul22118]

Do you expect bus drivers to let anybody off at any point of the journey between stops that they fancy? Or should he stick to the quite proper rules and transport all passengers from stop to stop where they may get off safely?

Punched the bus....get a life.

[tufty7]

i would go on that journey again and apologise to him , I am public facing in my role and would dearly love to tell some customers to **** off but can't , However if I were provoked it may well be a different story . he rose to your jibes, he is not employed to be abused by the likes of you , I can swear like the rest but if a customer even mutters any offensive words, I can refuse anything and will man handle them out and they can go and get stuffed , no abuse please I am not paid enough ...