Bus Lane Grace Period

[TheBALDpuma]

I was driving home from a bit of coaching at my gym pon Wednesday last week. Lots of traffic sitting in the road, with a bus lane on the left. The bus lane opens to the public at 09.30am, I check my clock and it's 9:31. Great, nip intio the bus lane and carry on my journey.

I've just received a ticked for being in the bus lane at 09:29am! My clock must have been 2 minutes fast in the car.

I'll see what Bradford Council say tomorrow. PH's thought on my chacnes of not having to pay £30?

[Beetnik]

Well worded letter should get you off; bombastic letter will see you paying £30 :-)

[JM]

Is your clock 2 minutes fast?

[55palfers]

...or maybe the Council's clock is slow?

[codenamecueball]

55palfers said:

...or maybe the Council's clock is slow?

Maybe ask who calibrates the clock and how often, and how likely drift is? If you've got a modern-ish car it should grab the time automatically from the radio, at least mine does.

[numtumfutunch]

Just pay it and move on

Having got a bus lane ticket on Easter Monday when the only bus using the route has no service taught me a lot about anger management

The other bank holidays including Christmas Day are also enforced as is council policy here

[SantaBarbara]

Some forward looking Cities have rightly stopped the use of Bus lanes and traffic moves much freer there now

[Amateurish]

JM said:

Is your clock 2 minutes fast?

+1

Were you actually in the right or in the wrong?

[SpamCan]

numtumfutunch said:

Just pay it and move on

Having got a bus lane ticket on Easter Monday when the only bus using the route has no service taught me a lot about anger management

The other bank holidays including Christmas Day are also enforced as is council policy here

This.

I got snared at 18:19 (bus lane closed at 18:30), I simply forgot about it and obeyed the keep left unless overtaking rule in the HC (especially as I was going left ahead) the only road traffic on the active bus line was me, and a cyclist I had passed several hundred yards behind me.

In summary:
1) Bus lane fines, like all "decriminalised" fines are enforced by cold hard logic and faceless, humorless beurocrats.
2) You have to appeal common sense for emergency vehicles (to which they do have exemptions) rather than the human that checks the photo looking at the photo and going "ohh and ambulance; we can bin this one" on the off chance that you will simply pay up rather than fight it.
3) its going to cost you £30 unless you can prove beond all reasonable doubt (guilty until proven innocent) that their clock is wrong and yours is right.

[speedking31]

Are you getting the offence time from the paperwork or from a timestamped image? Is there a discrepancy?

[pavarotti1980]

i would ask for their calibration certificates etc as you dispute the timings as you felt it was after the prohibited time which was the reason for using the lane. See what they come back with.

[speedking31]

Perhaps its time for 'smart' bus lanes™ where the sign is only displayed when relevant. Since the offence is recorded by CCTV then that would also capture the sign, leaving no doubt.