I see this sort of strong arming happening in San Francisco pretty frequently. It all makes a lot more sense when you consider that the drivers know that even they accidentally push it a little too far and kill someone, there won't be any serious repercussion [1] [2].

[1] http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/03/02/muni-driver-acqu...

[2] http://hoodline.com/2015/10/muni-bus-hits-kills-cyclist-on-m...