Bus Lane

5500

Guy's,If a bus lane is closed and not in use yet can you legally drive in it without being stopped or fined by the garda?

Anyone who travels the new nangor road to parkwest may be aware of the T junction to head into woodford/clondalkin on that road.At the same point theres a set of traffic lights and a bus lane to the side of them on the left which whenever im stopped at the lights people just shoot up along the bus lane,it also happens if traffic is quite heavy but i just wondered if it was legal/illegal to use

mikedragon32

If a bus lane is closed, it's open to all traffic (if you take my meaning).

Before the Bus Lane on Merrion Road (inbound) opened, I used to drive along it and was never stopped by the Garda at the British Embassy, although now that it is opened, I've seen him stop plenty of cars on it.

Anan1

eireal wrote:

Guy's,If a bus lane is closed and not in use yet can you legally drive in it without being stopped or fined by the garda?

If a bus lane is not in operation then it's not a bus lane. For example, the bus lanes along the N11 only operate until 7pm. After this time, you are not only allowed to use them but obliged to (unless overtaking or turning right), as they are then the left hand lane.

mloc123

eireal wrote:

Guy's,If a bus lane is closed and not in use yet can you legally drive in it without being stopped or fined by the garda?

Anyone who travels the new nangor road to parkwest may be aware of the T junction to head into woodford/clondalkin on that road.At the same point theres a set of traffic lights and a bus lane to the side of them on the left which whenever im stopped at the lights people just shoot up along the bus lane,it also happens if traffic is quite heavy but i just wondered if it was legal/illegal to use

Drive that road a few times and I always use the bus lane as there are orange signs up saying it is no longer in operation... never seen anyone else use it tho.

Savman

"BUS LANE NOT IN OPERATION"

Er, what else could it mean?

5500

Its the island part where the traffic lights are that get me.The bus lane is in place to the left of the traffic light so if the traffic light is red,and theres a big line of cars waiting to get by,can you still drive up it undertaking all the cars or should you obey the red light?

People always shoot down it when the lights are red and i was unsure weather there being smart or stupid!

Saruman

Always use them... the whole nangor road is bus lane not in operation! You might get some ASS who thinks you should not be using it move over and cut you off.. like the ass who did that to me nearly killing me when the navan road was having work done and the 2 lanes were moved over to the left.. i.e. hard shoulder became left lane.. left lane was overtaking lane... the ass actually speeded his car up to cut me off where it merged out again then jammed on the breaks when he got past me almost making me hit him when i moved in.. all the while im beeping my horn.. he then moved in to the normal overtaking lane.. slowed down till he was beside me and made a show of taking out his mobile as if to report ME!! I tried with my fingers to shout to him its 2 lanes but i do not think he got the message... He was a middle aged pr!ck driving a silver avensis.

Actually i posted this before.. still makes my blood boil!!! drivers STOP TAKING THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!!! Even if you think you are right and its the right thing.. its not up to you.. had that guy caused an accident he would be in **** and be in for a real surprise when the guards arrested him for dangerous driving and knowingly causing an accident.

Idleater

Saruman wrote:

...the whole nangor road is bus lane not in operation
... the ass actually speeded his car up to cut me off where it merged out again...
but i do not think he got the message... He was a middle aged pr!ck driving a silver avensis.

I know that stretch of road and I have driven up the buslane too.

HOWEVER...

Bear in mind that where you merge with the normal traffic lane again, there is normally a YIELD sign for you, so (if we are talking about the same place), by right you should wait there for the normal lane drivers to let you in "when it is safe for them to do so" ie most likely after the last one of the queue. In the meantime you can sit there patiently waiting at the YIELD sign.

Also, Because the "bus" lane is in fact a normal driving lane, there is no need to "whoer" down it passing the schmoes at speed. There may be pedestrians crossing in between the cars and might assume that the buslane is empty.

I am very weary of this when driving down the buslanes, so I normally only go down them at 30 or so if the traffic in the "normal" lane is stopped, or at a similar speed to the "normal" lane if the traffic is moving.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying be careful when doing it because non road users may not be aware of the timings of the lanes.

L.

FuzzyWuzzyWazza

nereid wrote:

I know that stretch of road and I have driven up the buslane too.

HOWEVER...

Bear in mind that where you merge with the normal traffic lane again, there is normally a YIELD sign for you, so (if we are talking about the same place), by right you should wait there for the normal lane drivers to let you in "when it is safe for them to do so" ie most likely after the last one of the queue. In the meantime you can sit there patiently waiting at the YIELD sign.

Also, Because the "bus" lane is in fact a normal driving lane, there is no need to "whoer" down it passing the schmoes at speed. There may be pedestrians crossing in between the cars and might assume that the buslane is empty.

I am very weary of this when driving down the buslanes, so I normally only go down them at 30 or so if the traffic in the "normal" lane is stopped, or at a similar speed to the "normal" lane if the traffic is moving.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying be careful when doing it because non road users may not be aware of the timings of the lanes.

L.

yeah gotta agree...


... anyway most people on our roads do not know what the rules are in regards to bus lane's. For instance there is a bus lane on the N4, just before Huston station, it is only in effect for 3 houyrs of the day 07:00 - 10:00, and pretty much nobody uses it the rest of the time, it's a real time saver for me..........oh, wait, should I have let the secret out????

colm_mcm

I regularly use the closed bus lanes on the nangor road, very handy!

dubtom

FuzzyWuzzyWazza wrote:

yeah gotta agree...


... anyway most people on our roads do not know what the rules are in regards to bus lane's. For instance there is a bus lane on the N4, just before Huston station, it is only in effect for 3 houyrs of the day 07:00 - 10:00, and pretty much nobody uses it the rest of the time, it's a real time saver for me..........oh, wait, should I have let the secret out????

Actually most people don't even bother reading the bus lane signs, a lot of them are for short periods of time at rushhours, generally only roads like the palmerstown bypass or fonthill roads are 24 hour.

mloc123

FuzzyWuzzyWazza wrote:

For instance there is a bus lane on the N4, just before Huston station, it is only in effect for 3 houyrs of the day 07:00 - 10:00, and pretty much nobody uses it the rest of the time, it's a real time saver for me..........oh, wait, should I have let the secret out????

Its great at 10am to get up past all the traffic in the outside lane....untill it turns into the taxi rank at heuston.

mdebets

Are you allowed to enter or leave a buslane (which is not in operation or at times, where it is not a buslane) and thereby cross the unbroken white line, or can you only enter and exit at the begining and end of a buslane?

Keith K

nereid wrote:

I know that stretch of road and I have driven up the buslane too.

HOWEVER...

Bear in mind that where you merge with the normal traffic lane again, there is normally a YIELD sign for you, so (if we are talking about the same place), by right you should wait there for the normal lane drivers to let you in "when it is safe for them to do so" ie most likely after the last one of the queue. In the meantime you can sit there patiently waiting at the YIELD sign.

Also, Because the "bus" lane is in fact a normal driving lane, there is no need to "whoer" down it passing the schmoes at speed. There may be pedestrians crossing in between the cars and might assume that the buslane is empty.

I am very weary of this when driving down the buslanes, so I normally only go down them at 30 or so if the traffic in the "normal" lane is stopped, or at a similar speed to the "normal" lane if the traffic is moving.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying be careful when doing it because non road users may not be aware of the timings of the lanes.

L.

just wanna say how i hate that drivers who use bus lanes dont actually seem to see or just disregard the yield signs, and how us using the normal lanes must wait to just continue along our own lane, how i have been beeped and intimidated on the roads from speedy bus lane drivers not seeing the yield sign as their bus lane merges with regular traffic and nearly losing the wing of my car in the process

DMC

As a golden rule, at the start of a bus lane, check for the Blue sign that indicates the bus lane AND the plate underneath indicating the times when the bus lane is in operation. There are enormous variances on bus lanes, some change in a matter of a few 100 metres.

I heard on Live Drive on 103.2 that if there is no white plate underneath the blue sign, the bus lane is not in operation.

Conar

FuzzyWuzzyWazza wrote:

yeah gotta agree...


... anyway most people on our roads do not know what the rules are in regards to bus lane's. For instance there is a bus lane on the N4, just before Huston station, it is only in effect for 3 houyrs of the day 07:00 - 10:00, and pretty much nobody uses it the rest of the time, it's a real time saver for me..........oh, wait, should I have let the secret out????

It's so funny to see people scrambling to get into the "normal" lane when the bus lane is no longer in operation, except when I'm in the "normal" lane and some dick tries to force his way in in front of me cos he thinks the bus lane is operational.

AntiVirus

Unfortunatly that bus lane is now in operation.

OldmanMondeo

That Bus lane has been in operation for a few weeks now. Most people that us it are turning left into Woodford or further up into Clondalkin. It's the Que jumpers that should be done. I have seen people drive up the bus lane, see a gap and cross so they can turn right at the 9th lock junction.

I won't come down that way in hte mornings, the amount of people who force their way back into traffic, just because they used the bus lane, feckers. May blood pressure has come down loads since I stopped using it.

Guy:Incognito

didnt look at date, just the last couple of posts, boo urns to me.


Plus they are 24hr, so they are always active.

NeMiSiS

Allways use Out of Operation Buslanes.. but correctly.. I suppose, as in joining it at the the broken white line, and leaving at same. What wrecks my head is people entering and leaving them over the continuous white line, just drifting in and out of them like idiots. Taxis do this also, maybe I'm wrong in thinking you can not cross a continuous white line.. on a bus lane.. I would not imagine so though.

The new bus lane on the Longmile road is doing my head in alltogther, I was sat round there for an hour lately.. having lunch, and counted a grand total of 3 buses in an hour.. all at the same time... I may have blinked and missed one. That's great use of road space !

Around Lucan seems to be the land of "Not in operation" bus lanes.. and also.. roundabouts..

TK

Victor

DMC wrote:

I heard on Live Drive on 103.2 that if there is no white plate underneath the blue sign, the bus lane is not in operation.

I would assume that with any sign without an information plate that the sign applied 24x7.

OldmanMondeo

Just a heads up to the bus lane users, I've seen the Gauard's stop people that were in the bus lane, both outbound and inbound. Had a great laugh at people, who normally force their way back into traffic, getting tickets last night.

Also that lane came into use on March 4th.

NeMiSiS

That's not a heads up for bus lane users, it's a heads up who people who use them illegally.
TK

craichoe

If the bus lane becomes a normal lane should you not use it normally as it becomes the left hand lane and the keep left rule applies unless turning right.