Bus Lanes
.....................................................................................................................
|
Bus
lanes are increasingly being enforced by CCTV. Every lane has unique hours of operation which can
easily lead to drivers being confused and ending up with a £120 fine. If you’ve received a bus lane ticket, go through
this check list before you pay! Bus lane signs and markings must conform with government regulations
and if they don’t, you can appeal. Also check
here to see if your bus lane ticket
complies with the law. |
1.
Hours of Operation
2.
Signs
3.
The Design of Signs
4.
Roadmarkings
5.
Traffic Order
Summary
of the Regulations
Bus Only Streets
Examples
of Non Compliant Bus Lanes |
| |
1.
Hours of Operation
The
first thing you should check is the signs to ensure you were in the bus lane during
its hours and day of operation. Outside these times the bus lane is open to all
traffic.
|
 |
A bus lane which states
‘At any time’ or has no hours of operation on the sign operates 24 hours a day,
7 days a week. A sign with hours but no days operates 7 days a week. |
All
signs denoting the bus lane should have consistent hours and days of operation.
If they don’t then this is grounds for an appeal.
2.
Signs
Bus
lanes must be fully signed throughout their length. This includes:
|
|
 |
An advance sign to
warn there is a bus lane ahead and give you time to change lanes. This should
be cited 30m in advance of the taper where the speed limit is 30mph and 45m in
advance where it is over 30mph (see
below1) | |
 |
A sign at the start
of the lane (ie the commencement of the thick white line) |
|
 |
Repeater signs at
regular intervals (approximately every 300m) and after every
side road. | |
 |
If you enter the road
with the bus lane from a side road you may see one of these signs. Ensure the
hours of operation (if any) are the same as those on the main road. |
3. Roadmarkings
|
 |
A bus lane should be
commenced by a diagonal taper in the form of a dashed line approximately 30m
long to give drivers time to change lane (see
below2) |
|
 |
It must be denoted
by a thick solid white line. | |
 |
The words ‘Bus Lane’
should be written at the start of the lane and at at regular intervals (approximately
every 300m) and/or at the commencement of every side road. |
|
4. The Design of Signs
The
start and repeater bus lane signs should look like one of these pictures. The
word ‘taxi’ may be added and the bus symbol should show either a full bus or a
bus with the word ‘local’ written in it. Any other variation is invalid unless
it has specific DfT approval. Hours of operation can be added underneath. The
same rules apply to the advance bus lane sign. |
 
  |
5. Traffic Order
Each
bus lane must be covered by a Traffic
Order which stipulates the exact location of the lane and its hours
of operation and this must match the signs.
No
traffic order means the bus lane cannot be enforced and is grounds for appeal.
Any difference between the hours or days of operation on the traffic order compared
to the signs is also grounds for appeal. Traffic orders are public documents and
can be viewed by contacting the relevant local authority.
Summary
of the Regulations
Click
on the diagram below to see a summary of the signing and roadmarking requirements
of a bus lane. To produce this summary the sign details have been taken from the
Traffic
Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) 2002
and the general layout from
Chapter 3 (for signs) and
Chapter 5
(for roadmarkings) of
the Traffic Signs Manual. Please note though
that the latter documents are guidance only.
You
can cross a bus lane to enter into a private access. However you may not drive
up a bus lane to turn left, even for a short distance. You can only enter the
lane to turn left into a side road where the solid white line ends.
Click
on Image for larger picture
Bus Only Streets
In
London bus only streets must be enforced under a
different act (London
Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003).
Ensure your ticket has been issued under this act (check
the top of the ticket) and click
here to ensure it complies with
the law. Outside London they can be enforced under the same act
as normal bus lanes.
 |
A
bus only street, denoted with the words "Bus Only" on the road
like this one, should be accompanied by one of the sign
combinations shown below. Click each sign for a link to the
diagram in the TSRGD outlining its regulations, permitted
variants etc. |
A
bus and cycle only street should be accompanied by the following
sign:
More
information about the signing of bus only streets and bus gates
can be found on page 140 of the DfT guidance
document
Chapter 3 of the Traffic Signs Manual.
|
Examples
of Non Compliant Bus Lanes When
writing an appeals letter, simply mentioning the fact that for instance the sign
is missing (with photos as evidence) would suffice. However in these examples,
the text refers to the full legislation. There is no need to do this but it does
show that you know what you're talking about. Also bear in mind that some of the
staff dealing with appeals will not understand the legislation themselves, so
quoting it may save the hassle of an appeal having to go to the adjudicator.
|
This bus lane has
no sign at its start |
Text
for an appeals letter: |
 |
This bus lane is unenforceable
as it does not have a sign to diagram 959 at the start in accordance with
the Traffic
Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. |
|
Wrong bus symbol |
Text
for an appeals letter: |
 |
The signs for this
bus lane do
not comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 as the
bus symbol is not a permitted variant of diagram 959. | In
the example below, a bus lane in Fortess Road, Camden had to be changed because
of this situation. Hundreds of drivers paid fines when caught on cctv, unaware
of this discrepancy before an eagle eyed motorist informed the local paper.
|
Incorrect roadmarkings |
Text
for an appeals letter: |
 |
The roadmarkings for
this bus lane do
not comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002.
The words bus and cycle lane are only permitted for contra flow, not normal with
flow bus lanes as specified in
diagram
1048.1. |
|
Incorrect design |
Text
for an appeals letter: |
 |
The word 'taxi' on
this sign is underneath rather than 'alongside' the cycle symbol, and is thus
not a permitted variant of diagram 959 |
| Is
the design of this sign legal? One for the adjudicators to decide........ |
Text
for an appeals letter: |
 |
The design of this
sign does not conform with diagrams 959 and 961 from the Traffic
Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. The cycle symbol is in the wrong
location and the phrase 'Any day' is
not a permitted variant. |
1
The
TSRGD does not specify exactly
where this sign should be located. However according to the guidance in
Chapter
3 of the Traffic Signs Manual(page 130): "Where the speed limit is 20 mph or 30 mph,
the sign should be sited 30m in advance of the lead-in taper formed
by the road marking to diagram 1010, with a minimum clear visibility
distance of 45m. Where the speed limit
is 40 mph, the sign should be sited 45m in advance of the taper with
a minimum clear visibility distance of 60m"
2 The 30m comes from
the guidance in
Chapter 5 of Traffic Signs Manual
and refers to 1:10, so 30m for a 3m wide lane, 40m for a 4m wide
lane etc. |
©
2007-2009 Ticketfighter.co.uk
|
|
