No excuse for driving in bus lane
I WOULD like to take issue with Juliette Blunkett's letter (February 21) when she says bus lane cameras are there to extract more money from, what she terms, the unwary motorist who she suspects was 'merely chopping off a corner or two'.
On many occasions at the merge-arrow I have been ready to move across and had to brake – not because of a bus, taxi or motorcyclist, but because of one of Juliette's unwary drivers speeding along the bus lane from a position several cars back. I would like to suggest to Juliette that the term for these motorists is not unwary, but inconsiderate, impatient and in some cases downright dangerous.
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A bus lane camera in Tavistock Road
I also wonder if her unwary motorists are the same ones who stop on zigzag lines outside schools and park in disabled bays when not entitled to?
Often the excuse at schools, when printable, will be: "I'm only waiting here, not parked". The fact that they have cut off the line-of-sight of children having to pass in front and behind their vehicles over these zigzags they feel is not their problem. It is a similar case when drivers, who are not entitled to park in disabled bays, do so and, when questioned, provide a tirade of abuse. In both cases I would suggest the responses are from people who know they are doing wrong and have been caught out, just like the majority of people who use bus lanes.
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JOHN WHITE
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2 Comments
by sasquatch1
Monday, February 25 2013, 5:00PM
“Mr white is absolutely spot on and its only impatient ignorant drivers that cause a problem at this junction,there is little wrong with the setup.While there is often traffic there,it is always moving,so waiting a few seconds shouldn't be too much to ask.Cutting in early is downright dangerous.”
by cavalierd73
Monday, February 25 2013, 12:12PM
“Of course, John White is one of those PERFECT drivers who never do anything wrong, or is ever likely to. What he fails to understand is that what's wrong with that particular junction on the Tavistock Road is simply bad road design.
Even if the Bus Lane was empty, and the car lane was full, sometimes right back to McDonald's or more, car drivers still have to wait in the car lane until about one car length of road is available to turn left into BQ. Is it any wonder some drivers get impatient.
What also makes this an incredibly bad junction also, is the fact that sometimes Buses, Cycles, and Taxi's roar down the Bus Lane making it difficult for people to move over. I wait for the day when there is going to be a fatal accident at that junction.
Those turning left into B&Q should at the very least, have a much longer filter lane in order for them to proceed safely.
So if this junction is dangerous, it's because of bad road design and not as John White insists, where it's due to impatient drivers.
As it's been said, this is nothing short of a money spinning gimmick for the Council, and has NOTHING to do with road safety.”