Emergency Vehicles and Bus Lanes

adriandilly

There is a 1.5 mile bus lane on one of the main roads in to Norwich, (Dereham Road), and there is usually a long steady stream of traffic which uses the other lane. On a number of occasions I have been driving towards the city and see blue lights in my rear view mirror. "Ok" we all think, "this ambulance is going to get past this long line of traffic in that nice clear bus lane".
But no, it decides to get behind each and every car, flashing and honking, until WE move over to the bus lane. It's crazy!

My question, is there a rule they have to follow about only overtaking on the right; or should they be making use of all available space?

Sgt_Pepper_2

adriandilly wrote: »

There is a 1.5 mile bus lane on one of the main roads in to Norwich, (Dereham Road), and there is usually a long steady stream of traffic which uses the other lane. On a number of occasions I have been driving towards the city and see blue lights in my rear view mirror. "Ok" we all think, "this ambulance is going to get past this long line of traffic in that nice clear bus lane".
But no, it decides to get behind each and every car, flashing and honking, until WE move over to the bus lane. It's crazy!

My question, is there a rule they have to follow about only overtaking on the right; or should they be making use of all available space?

What does the Highway Code say about overtaking on the nearside?

adriandilly

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

What does the Highway Code say about overtaking on the nearside?

Buses, taxis, and cyclists do, so why can't emergency vehicles?

scotsbob

Sgt_Pepper wrote: »

What does the Highway Code say about overtaking on the nearside?

What does the Highway Code say about passing on the nearside?

Joe_Horner

I'd suggest that it's a simple matter of safety. If an ambulance comes blatting up behind you with lights on & siren screaming, SOME drivers will pull to the left as an automatic reaction, even if that means entering a bus lane. Which could get a little messy if the ambulance happens to be using the bus lane at the time.

Even without causing an accident you're likely to suddenly have an ambulance stuck behind 3 or 4 cars who've pulled across early and boxed in by the ones that haven't.

Both of those can be avoided if they pass on the right.

andygb

Joe_Horner wrote: »

I'd suggest that it's a simple matter of safety. If an ambulance comes blatting up behind you with lights on & siren screaming, SOME drivers will pull to the left as an automatic reaction, even if that means entering a bus lane. Which could get a little messy if the ambulance happens to be using the bus lane at the time.

Even without causing an accident you're likely to suddenly have an ambulance stuck behind 3 or 4 cars who've pulled across early and boxed in by the ones that haven't.

Both of those can be avoided if they pass on the right.

:beer:

Pretty logical really isn't it Joe. If the emergency vehicle decided to belt up the inside, it would be only a matter of time before someone simply pulled over to the left (as is normal practice) and found themselves rear ended.

thelawnet

andygb wrote: »

:beer:

Pretty logical really isn't it Joe. If the emergency vehicle decided to belt up the inside, it would be only a matter of time before someone simply pulled over to the left (as is normal practice) and found themselves rear ended.

Ignoring the flashing lights and sirens and not using their mirrors?

Fantastic.

vaio

Joe_Horner wrote: »

I'd suggest that it's a simple matter of safety. If an ambulance comes blatting up behind you with lights on & siren screaming, SOME drivers will pull to the left as an automatic reaction, even if that means entering a bus lane. Which could get a little messy if the ambulance happens to be using the bus lane at the time.

Even without causing an accident you're likely to suddenly have an ambulance stuck behind 3 or 4 cars who've pulled across early and boxed in by the ones that haven't.

Both of those can be avoided if they pass on the right.

There is a certain amount of logic to that but in the "getting me to hospital as fast as possible" stakes I'd have thought that using the bus lane (even allowing for the odd dumb driver who pulls into it) would be way way faster than working you way through a mile and a half of generally stationary/slow moving traffic where each driver has to go through the "ahh, an ambulance, good job there is an empty bus lane for them to use....that's stupid, they aren't using it, I suppose I'd better pull into it and let them pass" thought process

Sgt_Pepper_2

vaio wrote: »

There is a certain amount of logic to that but in the "getting me to hospital as fast as possible" stakes I'd have thought that using the bus lane (even allowing for the odd dumb driver who pulls into it) would be way way faster than working you way through a mile and a half of generally stationary/slow moving traffic where each driver has to go through the "ahh, an ambulance, good job there is an empty bus lane for them to use....that's stupid, they aren't using it, I suppose I'd better pull into it and let them pass" thought process

I doubt the delay would have any impact on your medical welfare.

Valli

thelawnet wrote: »

Ignoring the flashing lights and sirens and not using their mirrors?

Fantastic.

But it happens - I once pulled over (road had double yellows) as best I could as I could see the blue flashing light behind. The woman behind me (and I too am female) clearly wasn't using her mirror - by this time the ambulance was immediately behind her - and she honked at me and started to pull out to overtake me - I pointed behind - at which point she turned her head and saw the ambulance!:eek:

adriandilly

It's on a long straight road with good visibilty up and down. Buses and taxis are always flying past on the nearside. It seems illogical to force all cars over to the left. I'd hope that emergency drivers are trained to read what road users do. Yes, someone *could* pull in front of them with no notice but that's far outweighed by the time the ambulance loses by forcing cars out of the way... in fact it's more likely that the 'forcees' will crash in to each other in the confusion.

In response to what's in the highway code, drivers should be aware that bus lanes contain fast moving traffic that will pass on your nearside