Cars driving in bus lanes

[DirectDevil]

A little rant to let off steam and to wonder if it is just me.

I hate people who drive in bus lanes where there is absolutely no valid reason for them to be there.

I accept that you might always have an emergency but there could not be that many people with urgency justifying use of the bus lane.

I sometimes think that there is an element of the attitude that "roads are for ordinary plebs" but bus lanes are for special people like them......

The even bigger irritation is where they drive in the lane for about 5 kilometres with a left hand indicator operating with obviously no intention of turning. The N11 between UCD and Stillorgan - going south - in the late afternoon is a classic spot for that. Only ever saw AGS pull 3 people for that in about 10 years. Fair play, it was the same Garda doing three in a row....

And finally, I really hate them when you want to turn left and enter the transition zone at the break in the lane only to find one of these idiots lashing up the inside in the lane. That is the unreasonable bit that irks me.

Grrrr..........

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

We've all been there, especially that final point.

But actually I am amazed at the level of compliance with Lána Bus. When it was announced that they would be introduced I estimated compliance would be about 75% but my experience is that it is around 105% Yes, people "comply" even when it is not required like on Sundays or after 7. I would put non compliance at about 1%.

The no smoking thing was similar, I was amazed at the overnight level of compliance with that law.

But one law which seems to me to have a very low compliance rate is the speed limit. The Duke has the dubious honour of having accumulated more than his fair share of penalty points, most for inadvertently exceeding 60 on that very N11 stretch you mention.

It leaves the Duke as currently possibly the most obedient adherent to the speed limit around, leading to really embarrassing situations as I hold up queues of impatient motorists who are obviously less endowed with pen points. I wonder is there a bumper sticker available which says "Very Sorry But I Have X Penalty Points".

 

[dereko1969]

Duke, the N11 has a reasonably decent compliance level but the rest of the city it's very poor. Cycling out from city centre to Donnybrook there are always a good number of cars in the bus lane and also on the Rock Road, very annoying.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

The bit I don't understand is how something as clear as this is allowed to continue.

This is a deliberate public skipping of the queue which disadvantages the vast majority of compliant drivers.

Why not just impose an instant one month ban on any driver doing it? It would be pretty much eliminated overnight and the 99% compliant drivers would win out.

Brendan

 

[Steven Barrett]

I sometimes think that there is an element of the attitude that "roads are for ordinary plebs" but bus lanes are for special people like them......

That's it exactly. You especially see it when there's a traffic jam, cars just speeding up the bus lane "traffic jams are for the little people".

It's the same with people parking on double yellow lines and clearways. Those rules only apply to the plebs. You get it all the time outside the Beacon Hospital in Sandyford. Thanks to the non existent traffic plan in the area, that place is a real bottleneck in the evenings. Cars picking up people from the hospital won't pay the €2 in the car park and will block a busy road, where there is a clearway.

 

[odyssey06]

There are some places such as turning left from clontarf road onto alfie byrne road, where if you don't get into the bus lane 100 metres back you won't be able to merge in at the proper transition zone as it is bumper to bumper... So I think there are some places where bus lanes have been jammed in and are unsuitable.

General level of compliance is very good, but there are some chancers (and they are probably the same people responsible for a lot of anti social road behaviour) who dodge in an out of bus lanes especially where 1 lane road splits into a 2 lane with a bus lane then merges back into 1. They are what penalty points were invented for. Unmarked traffic corps vehicles should be cruising around looking out fot them.

 

[Ceist Beag]

+1 Brendan. Some drivers act very differently when in a car to how they would behave if they had to stand in a queue. They would never dream of skipping a queue right to the top there but somehow with bus lanes they see no problem doing it. And you can be sure most compliant drivers are hoping they get caught!
But as the Duke says, I'm also surprised at the number of drivers who still comply during hours when the bus lanes are open for everyone (i.e. those bus lanes which have the signs saying from 7am-7pm). Maybe it's just a case that many don't read the small print!

 

[Laramie]

As a regular N11 motorist, what gets me is the guy driving along the bus lane for ages. He then decides to put on his indicator to get back in to the non bus lane because he sees a bus ahead blocking his way. Unfortunately some idiot allows him back in to the lane and makes space for him.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

So I think there are some places where bus lanes have been jammed in and are unsuitable.

Agreed. Or maybe there should be a variation to the bus lane so that those genuinely turning left, can enter the bus lane from 100m back?

especially where 1 lane road splits into a 2 lane with a bus lane then merges back into 1.

When I am driving out along the Merrion Road as I approach the bottom of Booterstown Avenue, the bus lane disappears and reappears after the traffic lights. I presumed that this is to get more traffic through on each traffic light sequence. Are you saying that a car is not allowed into the inside lane? Or is that only for those turning into the car park?

Brendan

 

[Ceist Beag]

As a regular N11 motorist, what gets me is the guy driving along the bus lane for ages. He then decides to put on his indicator to get back in to the non bus lane because he sees a bus ahead blocking his way. Unfortunately some idiot allows him back in to the lane and makes space for him.

Whilst I agree with your sentiment Laramie, it may well be the case that the "idiot" you refer to takes a lighter view of the situation and thinks life is too short to get all wound up about these things. You don't want to be the guy right behind the driver who lets the car in who is right on their bumper, fuming, do you?

 

[odyssey06]

When I am driving out along the Merrion Road as I approach the bottom of Booterstown Avenue, the bus lane disappears and reappears after the traffic lights. I presumed that this is to get more traffic through on each traffic light sequence. Are you saying that a car is not allowed into the inside lane? Or is that only for those turning into the car park?

I was thinking more of a straight stretch of road - such as the Howth Road from Killester to Harry Byrnes where the bus lane appears and disappears.
I'm not sure if the intention of your example is to get more cars through the sequence... I suspect it was intended only for left turners into the car park \ side road.
On certain junctions with slow sequencing, I have gone through them in the inside lane then back out into the bus lane, but not when the regular lane is jammers.

 

[Cervelo]

While I do agree with the OP, there are certain situations where you should be allowed to travel in the bus lane and a perfect example of this is what happened to me yesterday
I was heading from Churchtown to Goatstown via the Dundrum bridge, the traffic was backed up to the Bottle Tower pub,where I join the line of traffic.
5 minutes later I had traveled 100 yards to the next traffic lights, so I jumped into the bus lane and traveled down to Dundrum bridge, where I found myself been the only car going on straight on to Goatstown.
From what I could see all other traffic was turning right heading towards the Dundrum shopping center.

 

[dereko1969]

While I do agree with the OP, there are certain situations where you should be allowed to travel in the bus lane and a perfect example of this is what happened to me yesterday
I was heading from Churchtown to Goatstown via the Dundrum bridge, the traffic was backed up to the Bottle Tower pub,where I join the line of traffic.
5 minutes later I had traveled 100 yards to the next traffic lights, so I jumped into the bus lane and traveled down to Dundrum bridge, where I found myself been the only car going on straight on to Goatstown.
From what I could see all other traffic was turning right heading towards the Dundrum shopping center.

But sure that's everyone's excuse for breaking the law

 

[Brendan Burgess]

What Cervelo did seems reasonable. He reduced the traffic for other people.

My objection is to the people who drive along on the inside lane and push other people back in the queue as a result.

Brendan

 

[dereko1969]

What Cervelo did seems reasonable. He reduced the traffic for other people.

My objection is to the people who drive along on the inside lane and push other people back in the queue as a result.

Brendan

Cervelo only found out that everyone was turning right after breaking the law, if that hadn't been the problem what would the excuse have been? What if there was an accident ahead?
People driving in bus lanes which also happen to be bike lanes for the most part generally drive quicker than they should to avoid getting caught, this has a tendency to lead them to pass very close and too quickly beside cyclists which has an impact on cyclist safety.

Everyone always finds that they are the exception to the rule - rules are for other people.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Hi Derek

Maybe I didn't understand Cervelo's point. But I don't see anything wrong with entering an empty bus lane which reduces a traffic queue e.g. entering it 100m before the end to turn left.

Agree fully with the bit about cyclists. If a driver is in the bus lane when there is a cyclist in it, the ban should be increased to two months.

Brendan

 

[dereko1969]

Who knows, but Cervelo couldn't see the bottom of the road from those traffic lights and presumed that s/he'd get away with it, so went ahead. I think you're mis-reading the post, they had gone 100m beyond the Bottle Tower to the next set of lights, they weren't 100m from the turn to Dundrum, in those circumstances it may well be sensible to take the bus lane providing no buses or cyclists are using it. The fact that the delay was caused by a huge number of vehicles turning right is, to me, beside the point.

 

[Cervelo]

Who knows, but Cervelo couldn't see the bottom of the road from those traffic lights and presumed that s/he'd get away with it, so went ahead. I think you're mis-reading the post, they had gone 100m beyond the Bottle Tower to the next set of lights, they weren't 100m from the turn to Dundrum, in those circumstances it may well be sensible to take the bus lane providing no buses or cyclists are using it. The fact that the delay was caused by a huge number of vehicles turning right is, to me, beside the point.

You are of course right that I broke the law but in my defence there were two reasons for my decision to use the empty bus lane
1: My local knowledge of the area and how cars turnig right at Dundrum bridge can cause a backlog of traffic along the churchtown road
2: I had traveled from goatstown to Nutgrove via the Churchtown road 15 minutes earlier and saw what the cause of the backlog was

The point I was trying to make wasn't that I broke the law but that there should be certain circumstances when you can use a bus lane, like turning left at the next exit or when there is traffic backlog like the example I gave
Brendan quite rightly made the point that there is no logical reason in me joining and adding to a traffic backlog which was only going to get worse when there is a empty bus lane beside me.

 

[roker]

The bit I don't understand is how something as clear as this is allowed to continue.

This is a deliberate public skipping of the queue which disadvantages the vast majority of compliant drivers.

Why not just impose an instant one month ban on any driver doing it? It would be pretty much eliminated overnight and the 99% compliant drivers would win out.

Brendan

It needs a certain amount of experience of the road to be legal, OK if you do it every day, but for stranger it can be difficult thinking ahead

 

[Páid]

For those of you driving in bus lanes here's how not to do it.

https://youtu.be/TvlledB7hdI

Driving in bus lane - 1 point (Failure to comply with traffic lane markings)
Failure to yield at the yield marking at the end of the bus lane - 3 points (Failure to yield right of way at a yield sign/yield line)
Dirty number plate - 0 points (05-D-88161)
Using an indicator while driving a BMW - 0 points