Using Bus Lanes

DaDa · 06-09-2006 12:15pm #1

Bus lanes have hours of operation associated with them. Typically on my route to work the time advertised is 07:00 - 09:30 or something close to that.

1. Does this mean that cars can use the bus lane outside of those hours? My assumption is yes they can.

2. Does this mean that cars should use the bus lane since by default you should drive in leftmost lane unless overaking?

3. If mototists don't know they can/should use the bus lane outside the advertised hours then when I do use it and pass a long line of cars queuing in the right lane... am I breaking the law by overtaking on the left?

Both lanes are forced to merge into one lane at the next set of traffic lights... so when I use the bus lane after 09:30... driving past a long line of queuing cars in the right lane I really look like I am being extremely cheeky and rude.

Davidth88 · 06-09-2006 12:42pm

Hi,

Certainly you can use the bus lanes out of hours , thats quite clear , along with bus lanes that are ' not in operation ' like on the Nangor Rd at present.

I would say that you should keep to the left ( the primary rule ) however the thick white line is very off-putting to most people who are nervous about crossing it.

As for ' undertaking ' , that is pretty dangerous , not many people check their left mirror when pulling out / turning left .... I would be really careful doing this. If the line of traffic is stationary then I think you can do this legally however, for example if all the lanes on a dual carrageway are stopped if the left one moves first you can ' undertake ' the right hand ones.

I am open to correction because I learnt to drive in London , and most of my experiance is from British roads , although I have read the rules of the road here , so I know you can use a bus lane out of hrs.

Wishbone Ash · 06-09-2006 12:52pm

DaDa wrote:

driving past a long line of queuing cars in the right lane I really look like I am being extremely cheeky and rude.

To me, you would look like a motorists who is alert, making progress and able to read the signs provided, unlike many of the dozies queuing in the right hand lane.

I always get dirty looks when I use the bus lane inbound at Drumcondra even though it is open to all traffic between 10am and 12 noon. Most drivers seem to presume that they are all 24 hour.

DaDa · 06-09-2006 1:08pm

Davidth88 wrote:

Hi,

...
As for ' undertaking ' , that is pretty dangerous , not many people check their left mirror when pulling out / turning left .... I would be really careful doing this. ...

Yep, really means you've to watch the right lane like a hawk, and drive very slowly.

Draupnir · 06-09-2006 1:11pm

The Rules of the Road state that you can overtake in a left lane when the traffic in the right lane is moving slower than in the left lane.

godtabh · 06-09-2006 1:12pm

People should be checking their mirrors at all times no matter what they are doing.

Bus lanes that have time limits are allowed to be used but not for undertaking. As has been said this can be dangerous

fletch · 06-09-2006 2:37pm

Are you talking about the bus lane through Lucan just before Woodies? I have the same quandry every morning as yourself. I can literally feel the people tutting at me as I saunter up the bus lane while they all sit in traffic and then I try to merge before the traffic light because the bus lane suddenly changes to 24hr. Once you don't go tearing up the inside I think you should be okay. I tend to drive quite slowly just to be on the safe side.

loyatemu · 06-09-2006 4:08pm

if it's safe for buses and taxis to undertake in the buslane how is it more dangerous for regular motorists?

Davidth88 · 06-09-2006 4:22pm

Kearnsr ....

People should be checking their mirrors at all times no matter what they are doing

Of course they should be checking their mirror , but you can't trust people to be doing this.

loyatemu

if it's safe for buses and taxis to undertake in the buslane how is it more dangerous for regular motorists

Well , a bus is a big noisy thing ....... more likely that any driver would notice this , although I still find it alarming when taxi's fly past me at 40-50 mph when I am stationary......

Wishbone Ash · 06-09-2006 4:28pm

Davidth88 wrote:

a bus is a big noisy thing ....... more likely that any driver would notice this

I was involved in a accident with a car while driving an articulated bus a few years ago. I was on a roundabout when the car entered and collided with the bus. He jumped out and said "Sorry, I didn't see you". How could he miss an 18 metre vehicle???

Laura Fitz06 · 06-09-2006 4:33pm

drivers are ment to obay the rools not police them .. most of the drivers in thr right lane just dont have the balls to use the left. while tutting they are realy saying i should of done that .why shouldnt we use bus lanes most of the time there is no buses in sight.

Davidth88 · 06-09-2006 4:56pm

I have a smile every morning when I zip past a red light on the ( not in use ) bus lane on the Nangor Rd , with a long queue sitting there.

However this morning I watched in horror as a car in front used the bus lane , then cut in front of another car and nearly took his nose off...

Just be very careful using those lanes , remember people don't expect traffic on their left.

mackerski · 06-09-2006 7:57pm

DaDa wrote:

1. Does this mean that cars can use the bus lane outside of those hours? My assumption is yes they can.

On the basis that you seem to indicate that you drive to work, do you mind explaining how you got a driving licence without finding out how bus lanes work?

Dermot

MrPudding · 06-09-2006 8:09pm

mackerski wrote:

On the basis that you seem to indicate that you drive to work, do you mind explaining how you got a driving licence without finding out how bus lanes work?

Dermot

I would assume that he applied for it. It's not exactly hard. Not commenting about the OP in particular but it is very easy to get a license in Ireland and take to the roads without even having had a lesson let alone learning the finer points of the rules of the road.

MrP

mackerski · 06-09-2006 8:17pm

MrPudding wrote:

I would assume that he applied for it. It's not exactly hard. Not commenting about the OP in particular but it is very easy to get a license in Ireland and take to the roads without even having had a lesson let alone learning the finer points of the rules of the road.

Agreed so far - but it seems a pretty basic (and obvious) part of driving theory to miss. I also recall it being one of the few items actually spelt out in the Rule of the Road booklet, which isn't exactly a hefty tome - well capable of being read in one sitting.

Dermot

corktina · 06-09-2006 8:22pm

WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!! Don't tell them all they can use the Bus Lane at certain times...they'll all do it and then I'll have to wait my turn!!!

I got in a dispute in Pearse street with a guy who wouldnt let me in....He said I shouldnt be in the Bus Lane, I said "check your watch...and I'm bigger than you and it's my last day in this job"...he let me in...:)

Hobbes · 06-09-2006 9:14pm

If it doesn't have a time sign on it you can't use it. If it has a time sign then you can use it outside the set times it is a bus lane.

Anyone who drives in a bus lane when they are not supposed to should get seriously slapped. Its for taxi and buses only during those times for a reason.

ardmacha · 06-09-2006 10:04pm

Problem is that bus lane signs are rather hard to read if you are driving along, especially as you are probably not in the inside lane and the times when you can use the buslane is in the dark (for the next 6 months anyway).

DaDa · 06-09-2006 10:19pm

fletch wrote:

Are you talking about the bus lane through Lucan just before Woodies? I have the same quandry every morning as yourself. I can literally feel the people tutting at me as I saunter up the bus lane while they all sit in traffic and then I try to merge before the traffic light because the bus lane suddenly changes to 24hr. Once you don't go tearing up the inside I think you should be okay. I tend to drive quite slowly just to be on the safe side.

Got it in one :-)

DaDa · 06-09-2006 10:37pm

mackerski wrote:

On the basis that you seem to indicate that you drive to work, do you mind explaining how you got a driving licence without finding out how bus lanes work?

Dermot

When were Bus lanes introduced into Ireland?
Might I have sat my test before such an event?
Has the test changed over the years?
Were rules governing bus lanes always in the Rules of the Road book?
Could I have swapped a license from another country upon moving here when such a swap-scheme existed?
Could I currently be a learner driver seeking out further clarification?

I might fall into any, or none of those categories.

mackerski · 07-09-2006 12:12am

DaDa wrote:

When were Bus lanes introduced into Ireland?

The first ones I can recall were in the early 80s, long before I was allowed to drive.

DaDa wrote:

Might I have sat my test before such an event?
Has the test changed over the years?
Were rules governing bus lanes always in the Rules of the Road book?
Could I have swapped a license from another country upon moving here when such a swap-scheme existed?
Could I currently be a learner driver seeking out further clarification?

I might fall into any, or none of those categories.

You fall into the category of somebody who pilots over a ton of metal on the same roads as I do, yet you seem to lack some very basic knowledge of how to go about it. The roads are full of people who got their licences without driving around a roundabout, but I'd still be shocked if one came the wrong way around one at me. Maybe I'm the only one worried about this kind of thing, life is short after all...

Dermot

DaDa · 07-09-2006 8:17am

mackerski wrote:

driving around a roundabout, but I'd still be shocked if one came the wrong way
Dermot

are you likening that scenario to my original question about using bus lanes correctly? Life is short Dermot, I'd go and enjoy myself a little more while you still have time.

mackerski · 07-09-2006 9:19am

DaDa wrote:

are you likening that scenario to my original question about using bus lanes correctly? Life is short Dermot, I'd go and enjoy myself a little more while you still have time.

Well, both roundabouts and bus lanes are relatively recent inventions, having been with us in quantity for only 20-odd years, and in the ROTR book for at least 10 years. On an accident-causing scale, the two are clearly poles apart, but the nobody-told-me principle doesn't work well when applied to something as dangerous as road-traffic.

As I stated above - the workings of a bus lane are reasonably easily deduced. But if you haven't concerned yourself with driving theory during the (clearly large) time since you got your licence then that troubles me as somebody who shares the roads with you. Who knows what else you might have missed?

Dermot

DaDa · 07-09-2006 10:00am

I'm curious, do you claim to understand every rule of the road?

mackerski · 07-09-2006 10:05am

DaDa wrote:

I'm curious, do you claim to understand every rule of the road?

I seek to. Long in advance of my first provisional licence I had read numerous books on driving theory, including the sub-standard ROTR. It seemed like a reasonable investment in my own safety and that of others.

Dermot

HelterSkelter · 07-09-2006 10:14am

Hobbes wrote:

If it doesn't have a time sign on it you can't use it. If it has a time sign then you can use it outside the set times it is a bus lane.

Are you sure about that? I thought it was the other way around, if it doesn't have the appropiate sinage (i.e. the blue signs with the pic of the bus and the plate underneath indicating the hours of operation) then it is not officially considered a bus lane and you can drive in it.

shltter · 07-09-2006 11:22am

HelterSkelter wrote:

Are you sure about that? I thought it was the other way around, if it doesn't have the appropiate sinage (i.e. the blue signs with the pic of the bus and the plate underneath indicating the hours of operation) then it is not officially considered a bus lane and you can drive in it.

IF it has it has the blue sign but no time sign then it is a 24 hour bus lane

outside of the normal hours of operation it is perfectly fine to drive in the bus lane( obviuosly 24 hour bus lanes are always in operation)

However some bus lanes have a left turn only at the next junction (except buses and taxis ) if you drove straight on that would be illegal

Overtaking on the left is perfectly fine in certain conditions ( ie slow moving traffic and traffic queuing to turn right)

Traffic merging into one lane should merge in turn
ie you let the car infront of you in the car behind lets you in

mackerski · 07-09-2006 12:02pm

shltter wrote:

However some bus lanes have a left turn only at the next junction (except buses and taxis ) if you drove straight on that would be illegal

The bulk of such left-turning lanes don't explicitly except buses and taxis, even though it's perfectly obvious that bus lane traffic is supposed to proceed straight on.

Dermot

Wishbone Ash · 08-09-2006 10:58pm

mackerski wrote:

On the basis that you seem to indicate that you drive to work, do you mind explaining how you got a driving licence without finding out how bus lanes work?

Dermot

Many of us acquired our licences long before the introduction of bus lanes. :rolleyes: Perhaps the OP is the same.

mackerski · 09-09-2006 1:04am

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Many of us acquired our licences long before the introduction of bus lanes. :rolleyes: Perhaps the OP is the same.

Possible solutions to this conundrun:

a) all drivers tolerate muppetty driving until the old-timers die out
b) drivers already qualified skill up on new developments. You'll agree that the workings of bus lanes aren't that tricky, I assume.

Dermot

Victor · 09-09-2006 2:29am

Dermot, I think you are being a bit unfair, attacking someone who is trying to improve their knowledge.

Still, is there a clear answer - can you drive at "normal" speeds in an empty bus lane?

mackerski wrote:

The bulk of such left-turning lanes don't explicitly except buses and taxis, even though it's perfectly obvious that bus lane traffic is supposed to proceed straight on.

They are working on this.

Using Bus Lanes

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