London Road, Mitcham. Bus Lane PCN When Road Was Marked Bus Stop

[green_and_mean]

hitman126 said:

g_and_m, do you honestly think people only get issued PCNs outside of their local towns or boroughs? Dear me!

 

I will challenge you to post a new thread on this forum asking for people who've received PCNs within their local area and trust me, you will learn a lot. Just out of interest, do you drive and have you ever received a PCN yourself? If so, how far was the nearest offence to the place or town you live in? Truthfully.

 

No never had a PCN....sorry to disapoint. My point was you claimed initially to have mistaken the bus lane for a bus stop but now state you have been using that stretch of road for 15 years. It never ceases to amaze me the effort people go to after getting a PCN to look up the rules and regulations. If you had put as much effort into learning the rules regarding bus lanes when you first started to drive maybe you could have saved yourself a lot of bother. The highway code if you ever bothered to read it says...

 

141

 

Bus lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs that indicate which (if any) other vehicles are permitted to use the bus lane. Unless otherwise indicated, you should not drive in a bus lane during its period of operation. You may enter a bus lane to stop, to load or unload where this is not prohibited.

 

It makes no mention of driving 20 metres probably because as you kindly pointed out bus lanes are meant to stop in advance of a junction so there is no need to enter to turn left. Even if pulling in to load (if permitted) or drop off you should only travel the minimum distance required to pull in from the main carriageway. As I previously explained the manouvre is similar to turning right, if you had turned right instead of left would you have pulled onto the opposite carriageway and driven down the wrong side of the road for 20 metres? No, you would have pulled up oposite the turning indicated and turned right, why does turning left require driving down the wrong lane for 20 metres?

 

JimmySpangle said:

I may be wrong but I believe Green & Mean may be a fully qualified driving instructor.

 

No I'm not but just for my sins a BTEC qualified CCTV operator amongst other things.

[JimmySpangle]

I don't know why but I think I just became a member of the G&M fan club, LOL.

 

Apologies, I for some reason thought you were.

[green_and_mean]

Crem teaches driving I beleive

[JimmySpangle]

Then maybe he shouldn't if he is advising motorists to drive in bus lanes when they are in operation! Maybe the SEADI will drive down some on his next check test and that would make interesting reading.

[crem]

I don't recall advising anyone they should drive in a bus lane. Would you care to find that post?

 

I said, as ever, the council have an absense of common sense and last time I checked it was not a requirement of being an ADI to have ones brain and common sense removed.

[JimmySpangle]

As ever, the council fail to take into account the purpose and result of the OPs actions their own photos, no doubt due to being able to hear the ker-ching of their cash register. Whilst it may become a debate as to whether the entrance that the OP turned into is in fact a "junction" or not, it is perfectly clear that it was the intention of the OP to leave the carrigeway at that point at what he perceived to be a junction and no intention to "queue jump" by using a bus lane.

 

It is also apparent that in using that short length of bus lane he most probably believed he was clearing the main lane on the carrigeway at a more suitable speed so as not to impede other road users' speed unnecessarily whilst he slowed down for his turn and it is also clear there is no bus either at the stop nor within view of the photos.

 

As ever, it is clearly more about the money than common sense or driver education.

 

G&Ms comment about driving down the footpath, like many of his comments is simply stupid, (that is not to take away from all his good comments but he likes to through these daft ones in from time to time to maintain his bad boy "image" I think )

 

It is apparant is it? The op titled the thread 'Issued A Bus Lane PCN When Road Was Marked Bus Stop' which makes it apparant he didn't know the difference between a bus stop and a bus lane.

 

Where does common sense come into it? The law isn't open to intrepetation by certain individuals. It is clear and precise. Do not drive along a bus lane during its hours of operation, in a nutshell.

 

As an ADI you are no doubt aware that driver eductaion is not an incentive or deterant. All pupils want is to get the cheapest lessons and pass as quickly as possible. There is no interest in eductaion by the majority of drivers.

 

I accept that you were not advising people to copy him, so I apologise for that.

[green_and_mean]

Funnily enough you would be amazed at the number of driving school vehicles that get bus lane and parking tickets. I think the problem is both issues are not addressed properly in the driving test sylabus, therefore many instructors only learn what is needed to get pupils thru the test. The result is instructors unless they have a personal interest or advanced skills only have the same knowledge as your average driver. More education is probably required all round the driving test is far from adequate apart from making sure you can change gear, indicate and steer properly. Its possible to pass your test in parts of the Country where you are lucky to see a bus let alone yellow lines and then find yourself driving around London with its red routes, bus lanes and CPZs.

[JimmySpangle]

I cannot agree with the comment that instructors have the same knowledge as your average driver. The 3 parts of the ADI exams are a lot harder than the standard test, especially part 2 and part 3. No, there will be some instructors who are not particularly good, but I must say that the very vast majority I have encountered have been excellent.

 

I do however agree that the test is not balanced. On one hand it is not reasonable to expect someone taking their test in Shetland to have the same driving skill level as someone in Lewisham for example, if they only ever intend to live and drive in Shetland. On the other hand, the test is supposed to be balanced and take into account all types of traffic and situations WHERE POSSIBLE.

 

The only real answer would be for people to be re-tested every once in a while, perhaps every 10 years would be reasonable, when renewing the licence anyway. Then again, most drivers can put on the act to pass a test (with a little retraining) and will then drive like a twot the very next day.