Buses and cycle lanes

YellowFeather

Hey all

I just wanted to get your opinion on this. I'm not sure if I was in the wrong - but want to make sure.

I was cycling through a lane which leads into a main road with a cycle track along it. I came out of the lane and turned left, straight onto the cycle track.

I had stopped at the top of the lane, and I did look to my right to make sure I was ok (a habit I've developed to try not to die on the auld roads! ), and there was a bus coming, but it was in its lane and the cycle lane was clear for me, so I moved on.

Well! The bus driver blared his horn at me and pulled over to shout that I shouldn't have come onto the road when he was driving up. I should have been calmer, but I shouted back that the only way I could have been an obstruction to him was if he was driving in the cycle lane. We exchanged a few more words and he drove off.

Now, I don't mind the odd row on the road - usually with some gobsheen who's tried to crush me into a cube (joys of regular Dublin city cycling) - but I was wondering afterwards if I was actually right in what I did / said.

There was no bus lane on this road - just two lanes, and the cycle track had an unbroken white line defining it.

I would have assumed that, as long as there was nobody coming along the cycle track, I was free to head out - no matter what manner of vehicle was coming towards me in the next lane. My only wonder is whether buses are allowed in cycle lanes, and I could have potentially been in his way if he suddenly took an urge to swerve over - just for funsies.

If I'm wrong, I'll hold my hands up and won't do it again. If I'm right, however... well, I won't really do anything, but I'll sure feel a little better!

Andy-Pandy

He may have been driving partly in the cycle lane, but it is never a smart move to pull out in front of a bus.

galwaycyclist

Without seeing the road its a hard one to call. A lot of Irish cycle lanes are dangerously narrow. Some of them have been superimposed in bus lanes in a manner that makes it very hard for a bus to stay out of them.

rollingscone

In my experience it's better not to think of on road cycle lanes as a lane into themselves, i.e. one that is to be kept clear by other traffic.

Better to just treat it as a guideline space for motorists to stay out of (Ha!) and when carrying out any manoeuvres at junctions or joining a road to act as if you were in your car pulling out. i.e. Stop (stand on the pedals) and check its clear to proceed.

The Bus driver, even if not encroaching in the cycle lane, may have just shat himself to see someone emerging from the left.

YellowFeather

Andy-Pandy wrote: »

He may have been driving partly in the cycle lane, but it is never a smart move to pull out in front of a bus.

100% with you on this! I saw the bus coming and judged it far enough out that there should be no problem. He wasn't in the cycle lane at all. I wouldn't do something stupid on the road - I know a bus would win in a fight between the two of us!

galwaycyclist wrote: »

Without seeing the road its a hard one to call. A lot of Irish cycle lanes are dangerously narrow. Some of them have been superimposed in bus lanes in a manner that makes it very hard for a bus to stay out of them.

I know - I'm finding it hard to call too. The cycle lane was the average one in Dublin, so, I suppose, two to three feet. There was no bus lane on the road.

YellowFeather

rollingscone wrote: »

In my experience it's better not to think of on road cycle lanes as a lane into themselves, i.e. one that is to be kept clear by other traffic.

Better to just treat it as a guideline space for motorists to stay out of (Ha!) and when carrying out any manoeuvres at junctions or joining a road to act as if you were in your car pulling out. i.e. Stop (stand on the pedals) and check its clear to proceed.

The Bus driver, even if not encroaching in the cycle lane, may have just shat himself to see someone emerging from the left.

Jaysus - don't I know it! The cycle lane is usually the bumpy place that you try to stick to while avoiding the vehicles, people, random assortment of boxes, etc. that feel like hanging around there. You always have to have your eyes open and, regardless of who's right or wrong, I'm not going to put myself in a position where I get creamed!

And, in fairness, I know there would be no reason for the bus driver to stop and have a go other than that he didn't expect me to appear in front of him - I don't think he did it out of badness! I was just wondering about the official position.

Dermot Illogical

You were completely wrong OP. You should yield to traffic as you join a main road.
On a purely practical level you probably scared the bejebus out of him.

YellowFeather

Dermot Illogical wrote: »

You were completely wrong OP. You should yield to traffic as you join a main road.
On a purely practical level you probably scared the bejebus out of him.

Ah crap. Live and learn. I honestly thought it would be ok to join an empty lane when the bus was in the next lane. Definitely didn't meant to scare the bejebus out of anybody - that's not my thing!!

buffalo

What road was it?

Ole Rodrigo

The driver may have been about to turn into a bus stop to your left, or move in across the lane for a number of reasons, he would have ( correctly ) determined it was safe to do so and then you would have pulled out in front of him.

DirkVoodoo

Sounds like it was an on-road (painted-on cycle lane) and not totally segregated?

In which case, you pulled out in front of him, it's a shared lane and the reason it's a dotted cycle track is vehicles are meant to give way and overtake safely the cyclists in the lane, but it doesn't give you a right of way when joining it, or indeed mean that cars can't drive in it when no cyclists are present. They simply serve as a visual reminder for drivers to give cyclists space.

So, like Dermot says, you were in the wrong. But you weren't hurt and you know better for next time.

YellowFeather

Thanks guys. I will know better next time. I'm all about the yielding right / respecting traffic on a main road, etc., but I wasn't sure about this one. I've learned something today! Happy cycling.

Darkglasses

I like your attitude! I guess just be a little more patient next time, no harm done!