Bus Lane Cameras

[fungus]

It was reported in the Bournemouth Echo yesterday that the council are considering installing bus lane cameras .

During a lesson yesterday we were driving on a stretch of road where there is a 24hr bus lane in the direction we were travelling in. The oncoming traffic was fairly heavy with no gaps. Coming towards us was an ambulance on blues & twos. The driver had to use the lane that we were travelling in to get past the traffic. This necessitated the traffic travelling in the direction we were travelling in to enter the bus lane to allow the ambulance a passage through. If there was a camera, would we, and all the other drivers who had to enter the bus lane have been ticketed for using the bus lane?

[martine]

Yep I expect so. You'd then have to argue the case in court and may or may not be let off. Same applies to crossing a stop line at a red traffic light.

[waremark]

Yep I expect so. You'd then have to argue the case in court and may or may not be let off. Same applies to crossing a stop line at a red traffic light.

You would clearly not be expected to infringe a traffic regulation in order to assist a blue light user. Just tough on the patient in the ambulance.

[vonhosen]

Bus lanes are created by individual traffic orders. The traffic orders will list exemptions & typically there will be one in relation to emergencies such as ' a vehicle entering or stopping in a bus lane to allow a person to get or give help in consequence of an accident or emergency or otherwise take action for public safety'.
The cameras will tend to be video not just stills & will provide evidence of you entering to allow a person to give help in consequence of an emergency (ie allowing/assisting the emergency vehicles passage).

[martine]

Bus lanes are created by individual traffic orders. The traffic orders will list exemptions & typically there will be one in relation to emergencies such as ' a vehicle entering or stopping in a bus lane to allow a person to get or give help in consequence of an accident or emergency or otherwise take action for public safety'.
The cameras will tend to be video not just stills & will provide evidence of you entering to allow a person to give help in consequence of an emergency (ie allowing/assisting the emergency vehicles passage).

So how is the ordinary motorist supposed to know if it's OK to enter a bus lane in these circumstances? This is a nonsense.

[christopherwk]

Bus lanes are created by individual traffic orders. The traffic orders will list exemptions & typically there will be one in relation to emergencies such as ' a vehicle entering or stopping in a bus lane to allow a person to get or give help in consequence of an accident or emergency or otherwise take action for public safety'.
The cameras will tend to be video not just stills & will provide evidence of you entering to allow a person to give help in consequence of an emergency (ie allowing/assisting the emergency vehicles passage).

So how is the ordinary motorist supposed to know if it's OK to enter a bus lane in these circumstances? This is a nonsense.

I think that if the traffic order fails to list that exemption, and if you were to get a ticket, then take it to an adjudication, and the adjudicator sees that you had entered the bus lane in that circumstance based on the video evidence, then the ticket may be cancelled.

However, I'm basing that on when I got a ticket for stopping on a yellow line during its' restricted hours for the purpose of collecting passengers and their luggage. At the adjudication, the adjudicator looked at the traffic order the council submitted as evidence, and didn't find a dropping off/collecting passenger exemption, and the ticket was cancelled. Nevertheless, there were other faults with the traffic order and the evidence the council submitted anyway.

Nonetheless, traffic orders for yellow lines and bus lanes could be different/same, I don't know.

[brianhaddon]

Bus lanes are created by individual traffic orders. The traffic orders will list exemptions & typically there will be one in relation to emergencies such as ' a vehicle entering or stopping in a bus lane to allow a person to get or give help in consequence of an accident or emergency or otherwise take action for public safety'.
The cameras will tend to be video not just stills & will provide evidence of you entering to allow a person to give help in consequence of an emergency (ie allowing/assisting the emergency vehicles passage).

So how is the ordinary motorist supposed to know if it's OK to enter a bus lane in these circumstances? This is a nonsense.

I quite agree with Martin. The whole thing is a nonsense. It's like the traffic light cameras. An emergency vehicle comes along. In the old days, when common sense prevailed, you would just pull out of the way, even if it meant going over the line. But not now, oh no, the camera takes the picture and the blunt hand of the law prevails - the way we are going respect flies out of the window.

Regards
Brian Haddon

[ROG]

If a blue lighter needs to come by whilst I am at a set of red lights and I can move safely out the way then that is what I will do - Same goes for the bus lane senario

I will go to court if the need arises but I suspect that will not be the case in 99.99% of such incidents - can you imagine the headlines in the papers !!

[TripleS]

Bus lanes are created by individual traffic orders. The traffic orders will list exemptions & typically there will be one in relation to emergencies such as ' a vehicle entering or stopping in a bus lane to allow a person to get or give help in consequence of an accident or emergency or otherwise take action for public safety'.
The cameras will tend to be video not just stills & will provide evidence of you entering to allow a person to give help in consequence of an emergency (ie allowing/assisting the emergency vehicles passage).

So how is the ordinary motorist supposed to know if it's OK to enter a bus lane in these circumstances? This is a nonsense.

There's a lot of it about, too.

Filey Road (A165) in Scarborough has a bus lane (active 0700 to 1900 every day) heading into town from the south. This takes up one lane of a three lane single carriageway, leaving the middle lane for other vehicles travelling into town, and the third lane for southbound traffic. As a result this means traffic heading south (away from the town) is often held up behind buses when they stop at bus stops, if the middle lane is occupied by northbound traffic. When heading into town in these circumstances I use the northbound bus lane if there is no bus using it, so that southbound traffic can pull out and pass the stationary bus. Obviously this contravenes the rules, but it enables southbound traffic to avoid being held up unnecessarily, and it aids traffic flow, which seems sensible to me, and bollox to the idiots who create these artificial delays.

Best wishes all,
Dave.