I just want to ask you guys and girlys whether you can drive in bus lanes after the times stated on the signs?

Its in operation on mon-fri. I had some prick crash into me on a sunday....

Karwing

round where i live and work we have 3 versions of bus lanes

1) 7am till 10am and 4pm till 7pm, mon to fri

2) 7am till 7pm every day

3) 24 hours a day every day

i have driven in a bus lane regularly on the way to and from work at about 2-3 pm whilst in a lane controlled by rule 1) and not got a ticket yet

as for the accident? plenty of fotos of area, lots of points of view, road signs leading scene good too, if theres a dispute, then at least you can show your insurance firm what the local situation is, when my mrs had her uno written off on hospital grounds it was a foto i took by accident of a 5 mph sign that screwed the other driver, he'd already told his insurers he was doing 25+!!! bonehead!

Hello mate, the bus lane is in operation in the times stated as 1) in your post.
So i take it, its alright to be in that bus lane on a sunday?
The bloke who crashed into me is saying that its my fault because I was in the bus lane.

well thats what both of you do, say what happened from your point of view to your insurers, and they sort it out from there, after all they get paid the big bucks to do that!!! as i said make sure the insurer is well aware of the restrications on that road, helps when they make their decision

I don't know how the law stands, but personally I wouldn't drive in a bus lane, because I don't drive a bus, but then I haven't seen any bus lanes around here that are only bus lanes at certain times.

Sorry, that wasn't very helpful at all was it.

I drive in bus lanes most days i go out driving...

they have times for a reason. In those times it's a bus lane, don't drive in it. Outside of those times consider it to be a normal lane and use it as it is the left lane.

As per the highway code.

I sometimes drive in bus lanes, depending on the local sign posts. Some round here are 24/7, others aren't.

If that bus lane in question only operates on Mon-Fri, then take a pic of the relevant sign and send it in to your insurance company.

Definitely plenty of signs showing the times etc.

unlucky Karwing. the other guy is wrong.
Its fine to drive in bus lanes outside of the times mentioned...
its really annoying when drivers don't pay attention to those signs too.. i had a driver cut me up once cuz he didn't know he could drive in the bus lane!
grrr...

musings: driving withour due care and attention.......

Sorry to hear about the accident.

It is more than likely that you will be held at fault for the accident by the insurance companies because you were "creating your own line of traffic" and a bus lane is meant for buses no matter what times of operation are in place.

If I was dealing with your claim on your behalf I would push for a 50/50 split as (I know this seems harsh) you shouldn't have been in the bus lane but the other driver should have checked he was clear to complete his manouver.

I have tried to find a legal precident that matches this case but have not been able to so far. If I do find one I will let you know as the other insurance company will not be able to argue about who is to blame if there is a legal precident stating otherwise.

If your insurance company do blame you dispute this and the should return to the other insurer and argue your case further. Most insurers will accept a 50/50 settlement rather than taking the case to court. But there will be a clause in your policy saying that your insurance company can deal with the claim as they see fit.

With regard to the highway code most insurers only see the highway code as a list of recommendations and not law. It depends on the insurer, doesn't seem right does it?.

I thought you were legally entitled to drive in bus lanes out of hours?

Same here - outside of the operating times it's treated as a normal traffic lane AFAIK. Sounds like some insurance companies are trying to get out of paying by inventing their own laws, nothing new there then *sighs*.

What?! "Creating your own line of traffic"? A bus lane is a standard lane when outside of its operational hours. You're doing wrong by not driving in it!

About the highway code, it's not a list of recommendations (I am sure you know) but law (well, the part of it that is law):

Bus and tram lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or stop in a tram lane or in a bus lane during its period of operation unless the signs indicate you may do so.
Law RTRA sects 5 & 8

If an insurance company blamed me for this accident I would take them to court to keep my NCB and excess (if applicable) and I am pretty darn sure I would win.

He SHOULD have been in the bus lane. Outside of the hours of operation it's a normal lane and as it is usually the inside lane, should be your lane of choice. It's not for buses outside of the hours listed.

If I was handling the claim I would argue that it is ok to use them in the times stated but I very much doubt that the insurance company will accept that. But they will take into account the attention paid by both drivers thats why I think a 50/50 settlement will probably be offered

It really all boils down to the insurance company as some are far more lenent than others. If the other insurance is Admiral they will push for a 100% settlement as all the employees have shares in the company and dont like paying for anything!

Paul, If you wanted to take your insurance company to court over NCB and Excess they wouldn't let it go that far and would refund your excess and NCB to satisfy you.

If you were to do this the best thing to do would be make a complaint to the insurance company and then write to the ombudsman 14 days after. The insurance company would almost definitely refund the excess and reinstate the NCB as it cost £300.00 for a case to be reviewed by the ombudsman and the insurance company would have to foot the bill.

Although insurance companies can partially reinstate the NCB and would not tell the customer that it was not fully reinstated unless they asked.

you know your stuff

I agree.

When I did my driving lessons, my driving instructor told me if the bus lane is not within the restricted time zones, use it otherwise you will be penalised for using the overtaking lane on a dual carridgeway for regular driving. Tis not your fault mate.

The Negotiator said:

I drive in bus lanes most days i go out driving...

they have times for a reason. In those times it's a bus lane, don't drive in it. Outside of those times consider it to be a normal lane and use it as it is the left lane.

As per the highway code.

Click to expand...

Thanx for eveyone's help! Nice debate
Thats what i though guys because when I was learning to drive, my instructor would ask me what the signs state and if it was out of hours I can go in the bus lane. Although I did want to check with you guys because I wanted to be 100% sure.

Although I was in the bus lane, the guy hit me when the bus lane finished.....