Bus Lane

greyc

My friend is doing her test in a couple of weeks and while we were out driving the other night a sitution arose which I'm not sure if she handled correctly.

There was a 24 Bus Lane on the left and a car ahead turning right. There was a fair amount of oncoming traffic so the right turning car was probably going to be waiting a while.

My friend checked her mirrors, indicated left, went into the bus lane briefly and then came back out again. This is probably what most of us would do, but I'm not sure whether this would be allowed during the test.

Further on there was a bus taking on passengers, adjacent to the bus stop were hatched markings with a solid line. She waited behind the bus even though other cars overtook both us and the bus. I reckon she did right, but she's afraid she might have got done for progress if she did the same on her test.

loobylou

Your friend was correct both times.

Leeg17

loobylou wrote: »

Your friend was correct both times.

I'd be inclined to agree aswell. It's the same with overtaking on the left, you may overtake on the left if there is traffic on the right and it's safe and possible to do so.

The bus would only be taking on passengers for a few seconds so there's no real rush to get by. She did the right thing by waiting and not crossing a solid white line. As for other drivers, they're just being impatient.

greyc

Leeg17 wrote: »

I'd be inclined to agree aswell. It's the same with overtaking on the left, you may overtake on the left if there is traffic on the right and it's safe and possible to do so.

The bus would only be taking on passengers for a few seconds so there's no real rush to get by. She did the right thing by waiting and not crossing a solid white line. As for other drivers, they're just being impatient.

I agree that you can overtake on the left, but the fact that by doing so she was entering a 24 hour bus lane, would this not be marked on the test?

There were hatched markings at the bus stop not a continuous white line, which I think makes a difference. The ROR states that you cant enter the hatched markings but you can cross a continuous white line to get by an obstruction. Would the bus be classed as an obstruction? So if it was safe to pass would that be ok?

ted1

never cross a solid white line.

**Timbuk2**

ted1 wrote: »

never cross a solid white line.

Actually that's not fully true. If you were overtaking a parked car or a cyclist, it's better to cross the white line when you know that it is safe rather than trying to squeeze past the hazard whilst staying to the left of the white line.
It's not really relevant to the situation though.

OP, your question reminds me of something I always wondered. If a car ahead is turning right, and I want to go straight on, and the only way I can overtake it (on the left) is by entering the cycle lane for a few seconds (with a solid white line, not dashed). I've always wondered what the best course of action is in this case? All the other cars seem to enter the cycle lane to overtake it. Obviously I would check if it is clear for cyclists first. I probably wouldn't do it if I was doing my test though.

But it's the same idea - bus lanes are for buses, taxis and cyclists only, and cycle lanes are for cyclists only - so it is ok to enter them to undertake a right-turning car for a few seconds?

Mint Sauce

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Actually that's not fully true. If you were overtaking a parked car or a cyclist, it's better to cross the white line when you know that it is safe rather than trying to squeeze past the hazard whilst staying to the left of the white line.
It's not really relevant to the situation though.

OP, your question reminds me of something I always wondered. If a car ahead is turning right, and I want to go straight on, and the only way I can overtake it (on the left) is by entering the cycle lane for a few seconds (with a solid white line, not dashed). I've always wondered what the best course of action is in this case? All the other cars seem to enter the cycle lane to overtake it. Obviously I would check if it is clear for cyclists first. I probably wouldn't do it if I was doing my test though.

But it's the same idea - bus lanes are for buses, taxis and cyclists only, and cycle lanes are for cyclists only - so it is ok to enter them to undertake a right-turning car for a few seconds?

this was the one question i got wrong on my driver theory test, i answered you could undertake the car turning right and enter the bike lane if clear. was marked incorrectly, checked my handbook when got home, you can only enter the bikelane if its broken line and clear when undertaking

i would have assumed the same would apply to bus lanes seperated by solid or broken lines.

but yes, you can cross a solid line to over take an obstruction, but an obstruction is opn to debate, a car turning left would not be an obstruction, but the same car if broken down would be.