Bus lanes do not close on bank holidays

Spook_ie

sdeire wrote: »

I take a sick pleasure in doing this. Drumcondra at 11am - sailing past kilometres of traffic at (roughly) 50km/h while they all sit there. Of course you always encounter the odd slow cretin in a taxi or bus that keeps stopping but the odd time, just the odd time, you get a clear run.

I've done Malahide to Bolton Street in 17 minutes this way. In morning traffic.

I'd imagine that one of the major problems of "sailing past kilometres of traffic at (roughly) 50km/h while they all sit there" is why I don't do it ( even during bus lane hours ) is people joining the lane without looking, I would suggest that even though you are technicaly allowed to do so that sailing past at 50Kph might be a tad blaise and likely to result in an accident sooner or later and would counsel you to drive at a more reasonable speed. You'll still get there and perhaps, just perhaps, without a caved in wing on your car.

BTW I hardly think calling bus drivers and taxi drivers driving with some consideration for other road users as cretins helps your case any

sdanseo

Spook_ie wrote: »

I'd imagine that one of the major problems of "sailing past kilometres of traffic at (roughly) 50km/h while they all sit there" is why I don't do it ( even during bus lane hours ) is people joining the lane without looking, I would suggest that even though you are technicaly allowed to do so that sailing past at 50Kph might be a tad blaise and likely to result in an accident sooner or later and would counsel you to drive at a more reasonable speed. You'll still get there and perhaps, just perhaps, without a caved in wing on your car.

BTW I hardly think calling bus drivers and taxi drivers driving with some consideration for other road users as cretins helps your case any

Yes, but you're a taxi driver, so you would say that. Everyone else is the mortal enemy, or so the manner of your multitude of pro-taxi agenda posts would seem to indicate.

I drive at a speed which allows me to stop within the distance I can see to be clear. Expect the unexpected maybe, but I don't subscribe to wrapping things in cotton wool either. Overtaking safely on the left in slow moving traffic is legal, and if someone decides to change lane without even bothering to look then their license isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

My "cretin" comment was tongue in cheek. However there are a large proportion of taxi drivers who, in my experience, drive like they own the road and with zero consideration for others.

Spook_ie

sdeire wrote: »

Yes, but you're a taxi driver, so you would say that. Everyone else is the mortal enemy, or so the manner of your multitude of pro-taxi agenda posts would seem to indicate.

I drive at a speed which allows me to stop within the distance I can see to be clear. Expect the unexpected maybe, but I don't subscribe to wrapping things in cotton wool either. Overtaking safely on the left in slow moving traffic is legal, and if someone decides to change lane without even bothering to look then their license isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

My "cretin" comment was tongue in cheek. However there are a large proportion of taxi drivers who, in my experience, drive like they own the road and with zero consideration for others.

Yes I'm a taxi driver I'm also a road user in a private capacity when I drive the wife's car, in neither would I extol your apparant disregard for sensible driving as being something that people should do.

You do, however, make a very good case for Bus Lanes all being 24 hours 7 days a week to prevent "sailing past kilometres of traffic at (roughly) 50km/h while they all sit there" and the almost inevitable accidents that driving at such a speed whilst essentially undertaking invariably causes.

I would probably have no argument with you if you hadn't have put "sailing past kilometres of traffic at (roughly) 50km/h while they all sit there" and put down a speed of 20-30Kph, the excessive speed you employ to buzz down a bus lane indicates a complete disregard for safety

Captain Chaos

No different than a bus doing 50kph passing blocked traffic on the left. imo

markpb

Captain Chaos wrote: »

No different than a bus doing 50kph passing blocked traffic on the left. imo

There's a massive legal difference though. A bus using the bus lane to make progress is (probably) doing so legally. A car using an out of hours bus lane to undertake traffic is doing so illegally and would share a significant amount of blame should an accident occur.

sdanseo

markpb wrote: »

There's a massive legal difference though. A bus using the bus lane to make progress is (probably) doing so legally. A car using an out of hours bus lane to undertake traffic is doing so illegally and would share a significant amount of blame should an accident occur.

I don't agree necessarily. The rules of the road state that you may overtake on the left when both lanes are moving slowly.

If the main lane (which is now an overtaking lane, because when the bus lane is not in operation it becomes a driving lane - but people don't realise that because aiming this at nobody in particular, people can be very stupid sometimes) is gridlocked, and the bus lane is empty, then in theory if you travel slowly, traffic in both lanes is moving slowly. Therefore you may overtake in it.

If it's moving fast, then in theory, you shouldn't overtake in it. However, all of the cars queuing in the driving lane are committing an offence by failing to keep left.

In short it's a situation the law never thought of.

As for my "roughly" 50 km/h comment - it was meant light heartedly. In reality you'd do well to get a decent run at 50 km/h with cyclists, buses, taxis and of course being alert for the dreaded "unexpected" that Gay Byrne would have you believe is stalking us all like a grim reaper. Common sense all round lads. Every situation is different, 50km/h approaching the cat and cage in the bus lane southbound is not equally dangerous as 50km/h in the long straight run outside the Regency.

corktina

Yes I completely agree. Whereas anyone using an out of use bus lane should be cautious, it is not illegal for them to pass stationery (or almost so) traffic that is in the right hand lane

Pawwed Rig

The one at Heuston Station used to be a gift as it was always clear even though the non bus lane would be jammed. Unfortunately it is usually blocked by taxis now:mad:

I always thought the bank holiday was Sunday rules for bus lanes. I guess you learn something new every day. Funny that the bank holiday bus timetables are the Sunday schedule though:rolleyes:

Glad to see the faith the councillors have in our intelligence. How would it cause confusion exactly???:D

paddyland

HonalD wrote: »

I'll second that - especially at junctions where there is a "left only and bus ahead" marking, technically you can drive in the bus lane outside the hours on the signs but also you are breaking the law if you are not turning left.

A classic case of ill thought through road design. The planner simply plans a white 'bus lane' line along a road, and pays scant or no attention at all to what happens at the beginning and end of that bus lane.

Primarily, because same planner has never sat behind the wheel of a bus in their life, and pays no account to the dynamics of driving a bus in their 'bus lane.'

Bus lanes should be planned by people who a) have driven buses in service for at least a year, and b) who have at least a million miles of driving behind them. If you don't have that knowledge, how are you supposed to have the experience to know what works and what doesn't, under EVERY possible scenario on that road plan?

Spook_ie

Captain Chaos wrote: »

No different than a bus doing 50kph passing blocked traffic on the left. imo

TBH never seen many buses doing 50Kph down the inside, for the exact reasons I've outlined. Yeah you might get the odd one trying to make up time on the timetable but in my experience they are the exception