Bus Lane

Reg_hurley

Hello,

I was hoping someone might give me advice on crossing a bus lane under the following scenario.
Every morning I drive a route that involves crossing a bus lane to take a slip road to the left.
Traffic tends to build up from the slip road and back up to the main road. This means traffic intending on taking the slip road enters the bus lane far before the road markings change from a single line to indicate a break to cross the bus lane and enter the slip road.

I had been continuing on the main road (passing all the traffic that had built up in the bus lane) and then only merging with that traffic at the hatched line.
This morning nobody wanted to let me in. Which I can understand as I am jumping quite a queue of traffic.
I didnt think it was correct to enter into the bus lane earlier but perhaps it's ok if the slip road is already full and backed up?

thanks,

Reg.

jimgoose

While the bus lane is operational, i.e. during the times indicated by the accompanying sign, you may not enter it. The queued traffic is wrong and you're right. Having said that it seems to me the bus lane is in a stupid place - that happens, there's one like that near me. :pac:

Reg_hurley

Yes, sorry I should have said the bus lane is operational at the time.
It does seem to lead to a bit of road rage from the people queuing. And also from the people I'm holding up on the main road while I try to merge. So in that sense I was wondering would it be less hassle to queue.

jimgoose

Reg_hurley wrote: »

Yes, sorry I should have said the bus lane is operational at the time.
It does seem to lead to a bit of road rage from the people queuing. And also from the people I'm holding up on the main road while I try to merge. So in that sense I was wondering would it be less hassle to queue.

Well strictly speaking you have to stay out of the bus lane, and so does everyone else. How do the Head-Buck-Kids at whatever council/corporation it is imagine the bus is going to wheeze contentedly past while that ramp and the lane approaching it is chock-full of grumpy traffic, I wonder. :pac:

seamus

This question comes up a few times, and from what I recall someone even got a G2 fault on their test for not joining the end of the queue.

Yes, you're technically right. You should not be entering a bus lane except when the road markings say that you may.

However from a more practical view, the queue is already there. By "skipping" the queue and entering the lane at the correct point, you are now holding up both the queue and the main traffic lane, and potentially causing a hazardous obstruction. By entering the bus lane and joining the end of the queue, you are not impeding anyone (the bus would have go around the queue whether you're in it or not), and not creating a hazard, even though you are now driving in a bus lane.

It becomes a matter of the "lesser of two evils", so in reality the correct thing to do is to join the end of the queue when you know a queue exists.

However, this does not mean that you can use the bus lane to skip past the main traffic lane, as people frequently do. If there is no queue, you drive in the main traffic lane until you reach the point where is it legal to move left.

If there is a queue, you drive in the main traffic lane until you are close enough to the end of the queue to join it. That's a judgement call, but again jumping into the bus lane when the queue is 100m away is not cool.

Reg_hurley

seamus wrote: »

It becomes a matter of the "lesser of two evils", so in reality the correct thing to do is to join the end of the queue when you know a queue exists.

.

Thanks seamus, I think I'll join the end of the queue in future.
Hopefully a don't get stopped by the Gardai. If I do I'll quote you!!

Mixomatosis

Hey Reg_Hurley, you wouldn't be talking about the left turn from the Clontarf Road onto the Alfie Byrne Road by any chance?

During the morning rush there is usually a significantly long queue up the bus lane for the left turn there.

I've been wondering about this exact thing - really happy you asked about it.

whomitconcerns

Mixomatosis wrote: »

Hey Reg_Hurley, you wouldn't be talking about the left turn from the Clontarf Road onto the Alfie Byrne Road by any chance?

During the morning rush there is usually a significantly long queue up the bus lane for the left turn there.

I've been wondering about this exact thing - really happy you asked about it.

I go through that exact junction every morning, and merge in at the front where I am meant to merge, TBH i dont care if the people in the buslane think its unfair, why should I risk a fine/points to allow them do that.

People queue from as far back as the yacht, their issue, you just need to be brave and force your way in! Also at teh correct merging point you dont hold up the driving lane.

In a lot of cases I see that I get to the front before the people who have gone from behind me to the buslane a lot of the time

Reg_hurley

Mixomatosis wrote: »

Hey Reg_Hurley, you wouldn't be talking about the left turn from the Clontarf Road onto the Alfie Byrne Road by any chance?

Hi Mixomatosis, no, it's a different junction.

whomitconcerns wrote: »

why should I risk a fine/points to allow them do that.

Is there really a risk of getting a fine or penalty points for this?

whomitconcerns wrote: »

Also at teh correct merging point you dont hold up the driving lane.

I would most certainly be holding up traffic in the driving lane. There is no yellow box to drive into and traffic is often at a standstill so I need to stop completely when trying to join the queue.

whomitconcerns

Reg_hurley wrote: »

Is there really a risk of getting a fine or penalty points for this?
Driving a vehicle (other than a taxi in course of
business or a pedal cyclist) in a bus lane during
the period of operation €60


I would most certainly be holding up traffic in the driving lane. There is no yellow box to drive into and traffic is often at a standstill so I need to stop completely when trying to join the queue. Let the other people worry about that not you, some will say Im being awkward but how much is the 60quid worth to you?

As above and if they were strict you could get 1 point for being in the buslane. In practice you would probably not get in trouble at all.
Failure to comply with traffic lane markings 1 point

http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Licensed%20Drivers/Penalty%20Points%20Chart1.pdf

highdef

Agreed OP, you are doing the correct thing. ALL of the people that are in the bus lane are in the wrong. They should all be in the right (driving) lane. The fact that they have all decided to break the law should not mean that you should have any obligation to also to the same.

Treat the the thick bus lane marking as a wall....you can't cross it until it ends. What vehicles are in the bus lane is irrelevant. The only time you need to really observe is when you want to pull in to the left at the point where you can legally do so.

I was stopped twice (well I was already actually stopped) on the R839/N4/Chapelizod Bypass/Con Colbert Road/whatever you want to call it ( https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3433732,-6.3108377,94m/data=!3m1!1e3 ) inbound whilst waiting to enter the left lane to head to Islandbridge. In both cases I was told that I should have joined the bus lane several hundred metres back and that I was causing an obstruction. I pointed out that all of the cars in the bus lane were in the wrong and it is those who should be getting a talking to/tickets/fines. There were also buses stuck in the queue as they were being also held up. The first guard was a motorcycle. I asked if he could put it in writing that I could use the bus lane if there was already a queue in it, together with his badge/number details. He didn't take too kindly to my reasonable request (as I want to have garda backup should I get stung in a bus lane) and ordered me to pull over further down. He then spent about 15 minutes checking the car for faults (of which there were none) before going off on his merry way.

The second time was a garda van which put it's lights and siren on behind me as I queued to enter the left lane at the end of the bus lane. I did nothing as there was nowhere I could go - I had the left indicator on and kept my foot on the brake so that my brake lights were showing to ensure greatest visibilty. I got the same spiel again and I responded as before. This time the guard muttered something and then literally sped off, burning rubber in the process.

So it seems that if you ask for something official from a guard with regards to entering the bus lane if there is a queue already in it, they will not do so therefore I am not going to risk points/fine for the benefit of the other drivers who have decided to take the law into their own hands.