pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
That is another point. IIRC, the speed limit for any vehicle in an urban bus lane is 20mph.
motorbikes in bus lanes
- Thread starter Termite Man
- Start date
That is another point. IIRC, the speed limit for any vehicle in an urban bus lane is 20mph.
TopCat
Putin fanboy
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Oswaldtwistle
Banned
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Nope Scotland may have been amongst the first but many UK authorities are now bringing-in 20mph zones in response to some directive or other & one of the tricks they use is to declare this for all the all the bus lanes first.
How so? anyone can use them and unlike buses which cruise around pumping out particulates whether they're full or empty, they go where you want, when you want.
For the 500 million quid that it's going to take to replace exactly the No. 22 bus route with an inflexible tram system with exactly the same carrying capacity, Edinburgh could have provided all its Council Tax payers with free taxi vouchers for life.
Now that would be a public transport system to be proud of (as opposed to a white elephant to burden generations to come).
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Yep, I'm restricted to 20 miles an hour in the bus lane.
this was not a problem on my bike, I doubt I went above Timotei advert speeds, but when I'm on the bus everyone hates me.
ymu
Niall Ferguson's deep-cover sock-puppet
You can't ride a motorbike in a normal cycle lane! 
I think this is sensible. Cyclists and motorcyclists occupy totally different spaces on the road - or should do if they're riding correctly.
Cyclists are generally not well catered for with separate lanes, but they should be in the bit of the road where these lanes are painted - ie close to the gutter - because due to their slow speed other traffic needs to be able to move past without changing lanes.
Motorcycles move as fast as the rest of the traffic and require too much time and space to safely overtake in the same lane, which is why motorcyclists should always be well out in the centre of the road (just to the right of the imaginary halfway line) to prevent other vehicles from putting them at risk by trying to overtake without changing lanes.
I can't see the problem, and it appears to be a highly effective way to reduce risk to motorcyclists. Of course, if the evidence to date ignores the impact on other road users this would need to be rectified and checked - but I can't see how it would cause problems.
I think this is sensible. Cyclists and motorcyclists occupy totally different spaces on the road - or should do if they're riding correctly.
Cyclists are generally not well catered for with separate lanes, but they should be in the bit of the road where these lanes are painted - ie close to the gutter - because due to their slow speed other traffic needs to be able to move past without changing lanes.
Motorcycles move as fast as the rest of the traffic and require too much time and space to safely overtake in the same lane, which is why motorcyclists should always be well out in the centre of the road (just to the right of the imaginary halfway line) to prevent other vehicles from putting them at risk by trying to overtake without changing lanes.
I can't see the problem, and it appears to be a highly effective way to reduce risk to motorcyclists. Of course, if the evidence to date ignores the impact on other road users this would need to be rectified and checked - but I can't see how it would cause problems.
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Not too close to the gutter, the road surface is at its bumpiest there. Cyclists should take up a 'confident line', i.e. where the cycle lane line would be if there was one.
And other traffic should only overtake without changing lanes if they are leaving the cyclist sufficient room, unlike that fucking black cab that used to overtake within a few inches of me seemingly every night through Kennington.
Sigmund Fraud
893 all the way.
As a cyclist and motorcyclist
Its fine - as long as motorbikes give cyclists room - which doesn't always happen in my experience, theres a tendency to do exactly what some cars drivers do ie if theres physically enough space to get a car past they get the car past with no account of the cyclist's need to avoid potholes, drain covers or other cyclists.
Its really no different if 500 lbs of fireblade and rider or 2500lbs of Hackney carriage are passing 10cm off you right elbow at 40mph.
Its fine - as long as motorbikes give cyclists room - which doesn't always happen in my experience, theres a tendency to do exactly what some cars drivers do ie if theres physically enough space to get a car past they get the car past with no account of the cyclist's need to avoid potholes, drain covers or other cyclists.
Its really no different if 500 lbs of fireblade and rider or 2500lbs of Hackney carriage are passing 10cm off you right elbow at 40mph.
snowy_again
Slush
Indeed Papingo, if I kept to the gutter on Brixton Road my front wheel wouldn't exist anymore, what with the state of Brixton Road from the bridge down to the Academy. I like the german law that makes car drivers overtake a metre and a half away from cyclists, but hardly practical in London roads.
ymu
Niall Ferguson's deep-cover sock-puppet
Agree - but the point is that push-bikes should be in the inner third of the lane width, whereas motorbikes should be in the middle or outer third. You do see a lot of smaller motorbikes acting like pushbikes, but that's down to the riders lacking confidence - they're putting themselves in more danger by not occupying their space in the lane properly.Not too close to the gutter, the road surface is at its bumpiest there. Cyclists should take up a 'confident line', i.e. where the cycle lane line would be if there was one.
And other traffic should only overtake without changing lanes if they are leaving the cyclist sufficient room, unlike that fucking black cab that used to overtake within a few inches of me seemingly every night through Kennington.
There shouldn't be any clash except when cyclists need to move across the lane to turn right - and they have to look out for other cyclists and deal with plenty of traffic in the other lanes when they do that anyway. If they're indicating and checking behind them properly, it shouldn't make much difference.
Sigmund Fraud
893 all the way.
ymu
Niall Ferguson's deep-cover sock-puppet
Sorry - I mean "should (under routine normal circumstances) if they're observing the Highway Code and their training".
You'd fail a motorbike test for riding too close to the gutter, and I'm pretty sure cycling proficiency trainers don't advise people to ride in the middle of the lane.
Sigmund Fraud
893 all the way.
Thats a fantasy frankly. For safetys sake you need to use as much road as you need to use, even if thats too much for some (impatient) folk - and outside of 'the third'. More relevant is the highway code stipulation that faster moving traffic must overtake sensibly and considerately - gutter hugging is likely to tempt some motorists not to do this.
quimcunx
imprimeo, lamino, distribuo
Why do we all sound like we're disagreeing when we are agreeing.
And yes, the cycling expert man who took me on my route to work the first time (I hadn't cycled since being a child living in a small village with no through traffic) advised taking a 'confident line' dictated by traffic which would generally mean holding a position at the outside of the cycle lane/a third of way out from the kerb, not to feel bullied into the gutter.
Lambeth provided this service for free, but I don't remember their details.
And yes, the cycling expert man who took me on my route to work the first time (I hadn't cycled since being a child living in a small village with no through traffic) advised taking a 'confident line' dictated by traffic which would generally mean holding a position at the outside of the cycle lane/a third of way out from the kerb, not to feel bullied into the gutter.
Lambeth provided this service for free, but I don't remember their details.
snowy_again
Slush
Lambeth cycling stuff...
http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/TransportStreets/WalkingCycling/Cycling.htm
http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/TransportStreets/WalkingCycling/Cycling.htm
Gixxer1000
cant wheelie a shaftie :(
Sigmund Fraud
893 all the way.
Its all there if you read the post...
Yep, you're right on the money. My old blade was 187Kg dry
Its down to consideration really, on both the cyclists and bikers parts.
A bike coming up on a pushbike is responsible for both their safety. He's doing the overtake from behind, he needs to allow for any reasonable manoeuvres the cyclist may make, including avoiding potholes/shite on the road/overtaking another pushbike himself. If the pushbike looks likely to move to the right then delay the overtake, unless you can use lane 1 safely.
The cyclists need to be aware that there may be a biker about to overtake him and always try to leave an escape route between himself and the bus lane white line.
The default position for both is cycles to the left, bikers to the right. If everyone sticks to that then both parties have an idea of what the other should be doing and we'll all be a lot safer as a result.
newbie
undisambiguated
I dunno what speed you cycle at, but for us slow moving, non-lycra types the gutter is fine.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
snowy_again
Slush
Haha, I was thinking about this again on my cycle home the other day (I commute along South Lambeth and Stockwell road from Vauxhall, up to Herne Hill).
On most of that route, the first foot in from the pavement has a manhole, drain cover or some other piece of badly fitted and now subsided road work on average every 50 yards. On top of that, bus traffic and the street sweeper things push dust, glass and general road rubbish towards the gutter. Cycle lanes don't appear to be swept in the same way that streets are and also collect more broken bottles etc.
In the rain, metal road furniture becomes slippery, glass punctures my tyres, pebbles spring from under my wheels and hit other cars (and a cyclist behind me last week), and cycling over the divets hurst your arse. So i tend to cycle further away from the kerb. That way i'm not in the rubbish, and I'm not suddenly swerving in and out of the line of parked cars and into the line of traffic. I'll pull in to let cars overtake if - on the rare occasion - I'm blocking their way, but I'm not going to think that a car driver has a superior right over the space in the road than me simply cos they're in a metal box.
Oh and just for the record, I've not got a single piece of lycra in my wardrobe (apart from that sensational party outfit from 1986 which I'm not going to talk about)!
On most of that route, the first foot in from the pavement has a manhole, drain cover or some other piece of badly fitted and now subsided road work on average every 50 yards. On top of that, bus traffic and the street sweeper things push dust, glass and general road rubbish towards the gutter. Cycle lanes don't appear to be swept in the same way that streets are and also collect more broken bottles etc.
In the rain, metal road furniture becomes slippery, glass punctures my tyres, pebbles spring from under my wheels and hit other cars (and a cyclist behind me last week), and cycling over the divets hurst your arse. So i tend to cycle further away from the kerb. That way i'm not in the rubbish, and I'm not suddenly swerving in and out of the line of parked cars and into the line of traffic. I'll pull in to let cars overtake if - on the rare occasion - I'm blocking their way, but I'm not going to think that a car driver has a superior right over the space in the road than me simply cos they're in a metal box.
Oh and just for the record, I've not got a single piece of lycra in my wardrobe (apart from that sensational party outfit from 1986 which I'm not going to talk about)!
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
btw - black cabs need to use bus lanes because they need to be able to pull in at the kerb when they are hailed and when they drop off. i always thought minicabs were supposed to be booked rather than hailed... maybe i'm wrong about that.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
Termite Man
zombie flesh eater
It was in the London Paper yesterday. The "fucking shite idea" reduced accidents by 42 % when trialled IIRC. Sounds like a "fucking" good idea...
The "fucking shite idea" was when I thought the suggestion was motorbikes in cycle lanes not motorbikes in bus lanes which I think is a good idea , it would be nice if people learnt to read before replying with sarcastic comments about peoples attitude to change wouldn't it
pogofish
Testicle Hairstyle
Well, despite refusing to accept the idea of motorbikes in bus lanes, the local alternative transport body have decided to campaign for trucks to be allowed to use them!
http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/local/bid-to-let-lorries-use-aberdeen-bus-lanes-1.840856
http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/local/bid-to-let-lorries-use-aberdeen-bus-lanes-1.840856
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