Went in bus/taxi cycle lane - fine

textbook

In Southampton where I don't understand the roads and accidentally went into bus/taxi lane, how can I avoid doing this?

oldernonethewiser

Keep an eye out for road signs and don't drive where your vehicle is prohibited.

Never rely on Sat Navs

Isthisforreal99

Don't drive there if you don't understand the roads. Should you be driving at all if you don't understand road signs?

twopenny

Look up the route before you go.

Use satellite version of the map or run the little man in streetview along the roads.

I've done this on occasion and it doesn't take long to get familiar with landmarks and such. Good for locating all sorts.

Or look up bus lanes for the area you are traveling.

I agree, do not rely on satnavs. We have signs in a lot of our villages go up in summer. 'turn back, this is not the road you want '.

GrubbyGirl_2

There is always a sign……………

Mildly_Miffed

Whereabouts in So'ton?

Give us a Streetview link, and we'll help you with the clues to look for.

daveyjp

If Southampton is anything like Leeds the council are making it impossible to drive around without picking up a ticket.

A friend recently appealed by providing a series of photos of all the signs, road markings, cones and barriers he had to navigate to avoid going in a bus lane. Based on what he provded the council accepted it was a mess and cancelled the ticket.

maman

It's perfectly possible to drive around Southampton avoiding the bus gates and bus lanes, you just have to plan your route.

To be fair to the council, when the bus gates (only for buses, some taxis and bikes) were introduced there was a grace period when they didn't impose fines to give drivers a chance to get used to them.

AFAIK, all are clearly marked.

UnsureAboutthis

Hi Textbook,

I’ll try to help, as this is something I deal with often.

Whenever I'm driving in unfamiliar areas or on new roads, I always look them up on Google Maps beforehand. I'm rarely alone, as my partner usually acts as my co-pilot.

It has to be said that road signs aren't always well-placed, and a quick glance at the road ahead means you can easily miss one.

If I'm ever in doubt, I stay out of the bus lane. There are standalone sat navs and navigation apps available that clearly highlight bus lane restrictions.

I always feel a sense of dread when driving in new places. Around where we live, the dreaded yellow boxes often feel designed to catch out law-abiding motorists, while those who deliberately break the rules go untraced.

You regularly see media reports about thousands of drivers being caught out by these 'cash cow' road layouts. Eventually, the local council relents and either improves the signage or revises the layout.

I hope this helps to some degree.

SiliconChip

I deliberately had a look at bus lanes while I was driving in Birmingham this afternoon so that I could respond on this thread.

1. Bus lanes have a blue rectangular sign stating what vehicles are allowed and if any times apply, this sign is repeated at regular intervals
2. Bus lanes have BUS LANE frequently painted in large letters in the lane
3. A bus lane is separated from other lanes by an unbroken white line
4. Some bus lanes have a different colour road surface (the one I saw was green, although it was rather faded)
5. One section of bus lane had white square painted in the centre of the lane every few metres, I'm not sure whether this has any great significance as it's not something I've ever noticed before today

If you're unable to work out whether a bus lane is in place from all the clues that are provided then perhaps you should reconsider your decision to drive.

facade

I suspect that the OP's issue is that some complete roads are busses only, or suddenly become busses only if you don't turn off in time, while the signage is teenie tiny, and hidden amongst the clutter of other signs that you have to read at the same time as trying to avoid crashing into anything or allowing your speed to creep above a limit (all while trying to negotiate unfamiliar streets)

Not helped by all the taxis and cars with either cloned plates, or just no registered keeper that drive through with impunity, so you can't even trust following another car.

The only solutions really are:

familiarity (no use on your first visit)

an extra pair of alert eyes in the front watching out for this sort of signage

scouting out the route beforehand with google steetview (ensure the image date is recent as things change all the time)

A satnav that is bang up to date shouldn't route you along bus only streets.