my wife has a 34J charge for Bolton Road Bradford. She had never been to Bradford before
As far as I can see, there IS signage when the lane becaomes a bus lane but the road is a single carriageway two lane one one way one the other. So, at the point that the lane becomes a bus lane you are suddenly faced with the choice of STOP and do a 3 point turn or turn suddenly right up a little narrow side road which goes who knows where.
The person on the phone says there should be signage at the start of the road that says it becomes a bus lane further on and also signage at every entry point at earlier points along the road, but my wife remembers none of this.
Also, to my mind earlier along the road at the most useful point there ought to be "something like" road markings, even a give way and a clear sense that you are about to head towards a bus lane and signage which very clearly directs all NONE-BUS traffic to "turn right here" or something of that ilk. My wife saw none of that either.
SURELY If the intention is to disuade people from using the bus lane on purpose for their own convenience (as news reports suggest) then better and more (than what is already there) signage and road markings would be better, I have no proof but I very strongly suspect that most of the milions made is from one of users who do not know the city. Why not have a first time warning and a second time fine.
It would be interesting to have stats on the addresses of the finees. If most fines are one off to people out of the area then the action is going to have little or no actually impact on the infingement of the law, but simply just make money right?
Could those stats be available under freedom of information?
Finally I guess in the end my wife should have wizzed up the tiny side road or just stoipped dead in her lane right?