Colum Mylod wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 00:16:41 -0000, "John Rowland"
wrote:
"Marc Brett" wrote in message
.. .
On 8 Nov 2004 08:49:56 -0800, (Buttoneer) wrote:
I'm getting really quite fed up with the different crazy
bus lane rules all over even small parts of London.
What's the problem with making them all 24/7?
The problem is that one is not currently allowed to use bus lanes for
undertaking a car waiting to turn right.
What about using them when a carriageway is blocked by police horse
boxes? Shepherd's Bush Road for example, when they take over the
northbound side for boxes, traffic displaced to the middle (s/b) lane,
s/b traffic uses bus lane. And much use of bus lane to pass the rat
runners turning right. (The bus lane is policed occasionally by plod
hiding behind a bus shelter; lots of drivers crane necks to check if
the coast is clear and use the last 1/2 mi stretch if so).
What's the problem with people just staying out of bus lanes unless they've
read the sign and checked the hours?
TBH it's one more thing to decode: the signs are not standardised. As
others have said, some are 24h, some are Mon-Sun, some are At All
Times, some are At Any Time (when's that?) and the mix of 7-10 4-7
means distractions. California has no problem with controlled green
ticks and red Xs to control use of HOV lanes. London has missed a
trick here IMHO. If the road is heavily laden, keep the bus lane
reserved for longer with a red X (or indeed if emergency access is
needed); same with the congestion zone: illuminate the red C in
control times.
That's exactly it.
If you're on a road with a part time bus lane and are familiar with
the hours of operation it's easy to just pop into that lane and buzz
up the inside lane. What it doesn't help with is the occasional (and
you do get them) vigilante driver who thinks it is his or her duty to
try and block both lanes simply to prevent you from doing something
'cheeky' and because they have not read the sign properly. Happened
to me more than once. And no, I don't do it when the traffic is
moving.
Some of these signs are really very hard to decipher and/or take in
when you go past them on the entry to the controlled area.
And then you get those people who are in the right hand lane (because
they've not read the sign) and who suddenly decide they need to turn
left in front of you with little warning. They should (and could)
have been in the left lane and out of harms way.
Clear signage, whatever the rules, has got to be the way forward.
Personally, I'd prefer to see the hours standardised so everyone can
tell at any a glance what the rules are for the road at any one time.