Bus lane fine! With pics.

[SunnyPineapple]

I just received a fine for going in this bus lane but think I should try to appeal it retrospectively ( DH says I can’t, as the leasing company have already paid it).

I was indicating left to get in lane to take the left turn, when a car undertook me meaning I had nowhere to go. My choices were:
A Stop dead well before the traffic lights and wait for him to pass
B carry on changing lane, across his path and hope he stopped
C Hold my path for a split second longer and move in behind him.

I chose C and clearly entered the bus lane for a second.

AIBU to think that this bus lane set is grossly unfair and maybe even unlawful because:
1 The lane for left turns only exists from the bus stop bay onwards ( there is no lane before the bus stop, it’s just a bay - you can see the bus stop markings in one of the pics). So drivers have a very short distance of a few meters to get in lane.
2 Surely bus lanes aren’t allowed to suddenly appear forcing motorists to change lane just before a set of lights.
3 The blue sign on the roadside seems to contradict the road markings ( the sign implies you can’t be in the left turn lane yet the road markings suggest the opposite!)

So AIBU? WWYD?

@Pawtriarchal thank you so much for your sympathy! I haven’t seen the photo as it went to the lease company. I will investigate!

OP won't get anywhere appealing on the basis of not liking the layout. These things don't just appear for shits and giggles and frankly it seems reasonable enough to me.

Fact is, the only way that a driver behind her could have got into the left hand lane on that layout first is if OP was late moving over herself, and with that done she should have then stopped before the bus lane and moved over.

I disagree. Before moving over you need to check it’s safe to do so. In that moment, if a car is coming up behind and alongside you quickly, your judgement may be that it’s safer not to move over. This is more likely in an unfamiliar layout that doesn’t allow you time to make the decision. Shits and giggles aside, there are plenty of mistakes made with suboptimal road layouts.

@CapMarvel I understand your comments although I disagree. What do you think of the blue sign issue? Can you see the ambiguity- regardless of what anyone thinks about my lane changing technique, this is a separate issue!

@Pawtriarchal You’re my hero.

But if the light was green why not wait a matter of seconds and pull into the left lane when the car has gone through?! I feel like I’m losing my mind in this thread

If OP had moved over when the lane to the left began it would be literally impossible for anyone to come up alongside her as it's a new lane leading to the left hand turn. It's not like it's an existing lane she is moving in to. The road splits into to, you take the left split and anyone behind would HAVE to follow. The driver behind probably assumed that OP having not moved over was going straight on.

Regardless, what you don't then do is carry on driving into what is a clearly marked bus lane. OP doesn't have a leg to stand on.

What "blue sign" issue. You realise that the blue sign is about 3 pixels high on the uploaded picture?

@Giraffesandbottoms because stopping at a green light is counterintuitive, unless turning right, and in the split seconds one has to make a decision within the context of such a bizarre and unusual layout, it was not a natural or seemingly safe thing for me to do. Maybe read @Pawtriarchal’s post, as it sums it up better.

Because stopping at a green light at what looks like a busy junction is quite likely to also cause a collision. That’s also assuming that a space in the turning lane then becomes available, as people behind you continue to move into the turning lane. It’s causing a situation where getting a ticket is the safest option which benefits only the council collecting those fines. I wouldn’t be surprised if accidents happen here based on that split second decision for those unfamiliar with the junction.

@CapMarvel why so rude? I’m just trying to chat with you.

Looking at the pictures too, you’ve also got a bike lane between the two to consider. I wouldn’t want to be a cyclist stuck between drivers being forced into that split second decision either.

I'm not being rude, I'm just saying it's impossible to make out what the sign says in the picture you have uploaded.

The image may still be unclear. The blue sign is divided into a right and left hand side. The left lane is picturing buses and cyclists . The right is left blank - presumably indicating a lane for cars. This is the opposite of what the road markings indicate .

I picture posters like this as the type of driver to both undertake / beep at the driver who stopped at a green light. Eg you can’t win.

She'd be stopping at the start of a bus lane, indicating to move over and with brake lights showing when she was already slowing down to navigate the junction.

To argue that it was safer to go into the bus than rather than do something drivers do all the time (realise they are in the wrong lane and then move over to get into the right one for a turn our roundabout) is pretty tenuous, to say the least.

@CapMarvel You hint don’t think you were rude? Okay…

Indeed@Pawtriarchal

That's just a standard bus lane sign, they don't necessarily indicate which lane the bus lane is in. There are clearly markings on the road stating it's a bus lane.

@CapMarvel i didn’t drive along in the bus lane. I literally clipped the corner of whilst moving across.

Not really. Am I supposed to prefix everything with a nice complement or something. I was saying that the sign was unreadable, I'm sorry if you for some reason think I said your shoes were shit as well.

Because stopping at a green light at what looks like a busy junction is quite likely to also cause a collision.

But she wouldn't be stopping at a green light for no reason, she would be slowing down and waiting to merge into the correct lane so she could turn left before reaching the traffic lights ahead of her.

There are quite a few junctions here that are similar - there are turn offs to the left (or right) just before the junction line, so you have to stop in advance to turn safely.

To me, it seems like it's the same for the OP, except in this case, there are traffic lights instead of a normal stop junction.

Well, obviously you did, hence the fine.

I think you have a valid point as that whole junction seems to be confusing as fuck. I say that as an experienced professional driver who saw your thread title and came on to say you should suck it up!

Sorry it’s probably me but I don’t understand who you were worried you’d be holding up by stopping unless it was a bus? People coming up behind you were presumably filtering into the left turn lane?

@CapMarvel I didn’t drive ALONG the lane. I cut across the corner. There’s a difference.