Motorways & buses

This morning was a pretty awful morning for traffic on the M4/N4 to Dublin.

I travel by bus, which usually means you avoid most of the traffic delays, but this morning, the traffic was backed up to Maynooth on the M4. My bus (Bus Eireann) was stuck in the thick of the traffic until Lucan, but all the other buses used the hard shoulder as a bus lane and drove straight past - I was very envious!!

I remember reading somewhere that it's ok for buses to do this if traffic is bad - does anyone know if this is the case?

Yes, I think it is the case, legislation may have been brought in fairly recently to enable buses to use the hard shoulder when traffic is bad.

thanks CCOVICH... will have to have words with Bus Eireann... I'm quite sure he could have cut the 2.5 hr journey time by 1 hr (at least!!) if he used the hard shoulder.

Is there not a safety issue here? After all the hard shoulder may not be built to the same standards as a regular road lane.

Blue - I think we were on the same bus!!

I don't think this legislation has yet been passed. I do remember a case a while back where a bus driver was caught using the hard shoulder and he was given points on his licence, thus the probable reluctance for the driver to do so. I do agree it was hugely frustrating this morning. The hard shoulder was been used by primarily private vehicles and they weren't exactly heeding any speed limits.

Using the hard shoulder for driving is incredibly dumb - the hard shoulder is there for a reason and that reason isn't to be a short cut.

What will people say when a bus plows into a broken down car parked on the hard shoulder some day - "oh, but he was getting us there quicker" ?

z

Having relatively recently done my driving test, I was told by my instructor that nobody should be driving in the hard shoulder. Of course, there was no motorway tuition in preperation for my test, but why should the law be different for a motorway than an ordinary road?

Using the hard shoulder for driving is incredibly dumb - the hard shoulder is there for a reason and that reason isn't to be a short cut.

It would appear that one of these reasons is as a bus lane..

I just checked this out with the Dept. of Transport. It is being introduced - at the moment just around Dunshaughlin & certain sections of the Naas Road but will be rolled out to other areas next year.