A cyclist tripped right in front of a city bus in Częstochowa. "It was wet, I was going downhill, 50 km/h. I saw this cyclist on a sidewalk. The closer I was getting, the closer he was to the edge. I watched him and thought what would happen if he tripped. I knew I wouldn't be able stop," says Agnieszka, who was behind the wheel of the city bus.
The dangerous incident involving a cyclist and and a city bus took place in the second half of February in Aleja Niepodległości in Częstochowa. The local City Transport Company published a footage captured by the bus front camera.
Behind the wheel of the bus was Agnieszka Pęczak - a driver with over 30 years of experience. She has been driving buses for the last five years, out of passion. "I've never had such a situation," she said about the incident with the cyclist. "It's always a tough choice for drivers whether to hit one person or cause a collision with multiple drivers. I'm satisfied with the manouver I made," she added.
Agnieszka was going on the left lane of a two-way steep road. She was going downhill, remembered the speed gauge showing the allowable 50 km/h, and that it was raining and the surface being wet.
The cyclist was riding in the opposite direction on the right hand side of the bus. Agnieszka kept her eyes on him.
"The closer I was getting, the closer he was to the edge. I watched him and thought what would happen if he tripped. I knew I wouldn't be able stop. There was a line of cars behind me and in the mirror I saw a truck on the left lane. The cyclist lost his balance and fell right in front of me," Agnieszka says.
Was she scared? "Emotions came later," she says.
She steered left. Luckily, the truck on the left lane did not yet approach the bus. "After I circumvented the cyclist, I stopped. I made sure the passengers were all fine and wanted to go outside to the cyclist. But he was already gone. He picked himself up and carried on," she explained.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, tvn24.pl
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: MPK w Częstochowie