Bus lane ticket -Bodiam Way, Park Royal London

anewman

They should just put these things in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EyXEY88pLE But then I suppose people will moan tha damage cause costs more to repair than a £60 fine

Networkguy

scbk wrote: »

If they have problems with rat-runners stick a couple of traffic islands etc down, this slows the road down a bit making it less apealing as a rat run yet still keeps it open as access

I see you have not tried to get through Hangar Lane at peak times. Sometimes it can take 40 minutes to get across the roundabout as this is one of the busiest junctions in London. Even traffic calming would not stop rat runners as it would still be quicker. I mean at the moment, the quickest way to get through that area is on foot.

Altarf

Some more views of the road for you -

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=sknwxbgz8jzh&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=12485655&encType=1
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=skntjkgz8kfd&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=12485649&encType=1
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=sknwv5gz8jt3&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=12485564&encType=1
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=sknvzcgz8k3r&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=12485634&encType=1

In the first two you can just see the small "bus lane" sign on the left hand side at the start of the bus lane road. Not obvious if you don't know the area.

However it looks like the signs are square 'bus lane' signs rather than round 'buses only' signs (examples towards the bottom here - http://www.theorytestadvice.co.uk/HCPlus/17_Pages_73_-_78/17_pages_73_-_78.html). If they are 'bus lane' signs then they may not be legal, as it is only that lane that you are prohibited from driving in, not the whole road. Obviously you would need to pay a return visit to be sure what sort of sign was there.

peter999

Some interesting info here:

Bus priority: The way ahead
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/bpf/busprioritythewayahead12/busprioritythewayaheadhtmlve1073?page=14

Know your traffic signs (see page 32)
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tss/trafficsigns.pdf

Traffic Signs and Signals
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tss/

The Highway Code: Signs and markings
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/Signsandmarkings/index.htm

peter999

tanith

I worked in this area for over 20 yrs and this whole 'buses only' route was done to force local traffic, which as this was then the largest Industrial Site in Europe consisting mainly of heavy goods vehicles, to use the main A40 and A406 rather than the rat run through the tiny residential roads that led off the Giratory System and A406 . Twyford Abbey Rd also has a low bridge which dozens of large lorries got stuck under just because they were trying to take the shortcut into the estate.. so it needed to be shut off (by making the Buses Only Lanes) and new roads built onto both the main A40 and A406 which were built over a time frame of about 6yrs.
As far as I remember they have always been very visibly BUS LANES ONLY but of course its like any place that you are not used to , you can make mistakes...

Steve_xx

I think that bus lane penalties are just another cash making gizmo that some hooray Henry has devised to relieve the unsuspecting motorist of yet more cash. It's all a nonsense and I'm absolutely fed up with the anti car lobby. Yellow lines everywhere where they needn't be, parking restrictions that need a lawyer to interpret the legitimate allowed times. Traffic signs are in unnecessary abundance as are one-way streets. What good purpose do one way streets serve? Mostly none, they simply serve to trap motorists who are strangers in an area to clog the area up in the first place as they try to get to where they want to be.

I don't know, if things go on as they are it will be nigh on impossible to make a car journey in the UK without accumulating enough point to ban you from driving.

Still, looking on the bright side, if we're all barred from driving then that'll sort the climate change problem out and the government will be happy. Oh no, wait a minute, if we all stop using our cars that means that the government will want to raise revenues elsewhere. But then, we'll all be on bikes so they can levy a bike tax and we'll still get caught on our bikes in the bus lanes, so that's ok.

anewman

Steve_xx wrote: »

I think that bus lane penalties are just another cash making gizmo that some hooray Henry has devised to relieve the unsuspecting motorist of yet more cash.

I agree to a certain extent. However, the video I linked to above, with big light up signs indicating very obviously it is a bus only road (with plenty of opportunity to reverse out if entering in error) shows some people are stupid enough to think they can beat the system and go where they like when they clearly know it is wrong. The stupid drivers trying to tailgate buses to get through the automated bollards :rotfl: idiots. And they fail miserably with the bollards raising into their car.

Steve_xx

anewman wrote: »

I agree to a certain extent. However, the video I linked to above, with big light up signs indicating very obviously it is a bus only road (with plenty of opportunity to reverse out if entering in error) shows some people are stupid enough to think they can beat the system and go where they like when they clearly know it is wrong. The stupid drivers trying to tailgate buses to get through the automated bollards :rotfl: idiots. And they fail miserably with the bollards raising into their car.

I don't care how clearly they're marked. The question is why should buses have private lanes?

There needs to be a rethink of traffic flow. One way streets should be removed where two cars can pass. This will immediately reduce congestion in inner cities where strangers clog the roads up because they can't get to where they want to go without going around senseless one-way systems umpteen times. Why are town planners obsessed with one-way streets and having traffic going in only one direction?

Yellow lines are often in places where they simply need not be. Removal of yellow lines, believe it or not, I think would reduce congestion because people wouldn't be driving around endlessly trying to find somewhere to park that they didn't need to take out a second mortgage to pay for. Then there's the cost of placing all these yellow lines and other excessive street traffic furniture everywhere. Get rid of it all, it's too much to take in.

And, I've not heard of these bollards that raise into peoples cars. It's dreadful if that happens. Imagine if it was your car and you had inadvertently driven into the situation because you were strange to an area and you were feeling a bit harassed by other motorists. It's no laughing matter when the damage can run into thousands of pounds.

anewman

Steve_xx wrote: »

It's no laughing matter when the damage can run into thousands of pounds.

I'm of the opinion that it *is* a laughing matter when people think they can beat the system by tailgating a bus.

Steve_xx

anewman wrote: »

I'm of the opinion that it *is* a laughing matter when people think they can beat the system by tailgating a bus.

That's absolutely ok for you to hold your own opion on this. Let's hope, that should a similar thing happen to you or one of yours, that you maintain that opinion.