Bristol "bus gate"
Discussion
No, it isn't some conspiracy theory that people feel the need to add "gate" to the end of everything.
I've got one come through today, and maybe two more on the way from Bristol council, for driving in a bus lane., High Street (Junction Baldwin Street/Bus lane 4) quick search and seems to be a bit of a cash cow, signage is poor, and there are no real signs to tell you that it is a bus lane, but on the picture it actually shows that I appear to have gone through a "bus gate" not a lane.
Is it worth contesting or just pay it? By definition it isn't actually a gate, ticket says bus lane, bus lane isn't painted on the floor or denoted by a different colour lane (green)
I'll pay it if I have to obviously.
Code34J: Being in a bus lane
No lane is marked as a bus lane
I went through a bus gate (never heard of one)
By legal definition it isn't a gate at all, just like it isn't a door.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/dr...
I've got one come through today, and maybe two more on the way from Bristol council, for driving in a bus lane., High Street (Junction Baldwin Street/Bus lane 4) quick search and seems to be a bit of a cash cow, signage is poor, and there are no real signs to tell you that it is a bus lane, but on the picture it actually shows that I appear to have gone through a "bus gate" not a lane.
Is it worth contesting or just pay it? By definition it isn't actually a gate, ticket says bus lane, bus lane isn't painted on the floor or denoted by a different colour lane (green)
I'll pay it if I have to obviously.
Code34J: Being in a bus lane
No lane is marked as a bus lane
I went through a bus gate (never heard of one)
By legal definition it isn't a gate at all, just like it isn't a door.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/dr...
CharlesElliott said:
I wouldn't know what a bus gate is either, but from Street View there is additional signage saying that only buses, motorcycles, taxis and bikes are allowed to continue on that road.
Just looking at Street View also, and was coming back to say - why the need for all the other 'stuff' temporary yellow sign, red tarmac and large white Bus Gate on road when there are two standard Motorbike, Cycles, Buses and Taxi only signs.We had a similar situation in Bath when a bus gate was installed and people didn't understand Motor Vehicles Prohibited signs despite, probably, having a driving licence.
I got done in Woking twice, I went through their bus lane that runs by the station, I'd not been to Woking for years and ended up dropping my daughter there twice, 2 weeks apart.
Looking back at Google earth there is signage but I think what I didn't notice was, I am used to the tarmac on bus lanes being red, this bus lane wasn't red.
Anyway the first time I contested it, I just held my hands up and said it was an accident, I admitted that I did it and it was a genuine mistake, the fine was waived as a "goodwill gesture", but future occurrences would be unlikely to be waived.
I was expecting the second fine as I knew I had done it a second time, the fine came through, I was in a different car, I thought I had nothing to lose, so I contested it using the same reasoning as above, using a different e-mail address and sure enough it was waived, as a "goodwill gesture".
I guess you have nothing to lose OP if you just go in hands up and admit you made an error, it may work.
Looking back at Google earth there is signage but I think what I didn't notice was, I am used to the tarmac on bus lanes being red, this bus lane wasn't red.
Anyway the first time I contested it, I just held my hands up and said it was an accident, I admitted that I did it and it was a genuine mistake, the fine was waived as a "goodwill gesture", but future occurrences would be unlikely to be waived.
I was expecting the second fine as I knew I had done it a second time, the fine came through, I was in a different car, I thought I had nothing to lose, so I contested it using the same reasoning as above, using a different e-mail address and sure enough it was waived, as a "goodwill gesture".
I guess you have nothing to lose OP if you just go in hands up and admit you made an error, it may work.
The issue is because when you were approaching down Baldwin St there was no indication that you had to turn right into Queen Charlotte St, and you were effectively driving into a cul de sac.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4534411,-2.5938816...
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4534411,-2.5938816...
Annoying though it is when a council closes off a perfectly good through-route, unfortunately you're bang to rights here. Beyond putting up signs telling you not to go through there (which they have done) there doesn't appear to be any obligation for councils to either obstruct it (e.g. with a barrier that only opens for authorised vehicles) or to provide a sensible place for those who missed the signage to turn round before getting to the gate.
It's worth a "sorry, don't know the area, someone was up my jacksie so I couldn't turn round when I saw the gate, any chance of letting me off this once?" email, but don't start trying to define what a gate is; it's purely semantics. When Milton Keynes started issuing tickets with MK City Council on them people argued they were invalid because MK is a town. Didn't work, because it's irrelevant.
It's worth a "sorry, don't know the area, someone was up my jacksie so I couldn't turn round when I saw the gate, any chance of letting me off this once?" email, but don't start trying to define what a gate is; it's purely semantics. When Milton Keynes started issuing tickets with MK City Council on them people argued they were invalid because MK is a town. Didn't work, because it's irrelevant.
It's a 
's trick; I got stung by GCC in Glasgow; for some reason they think it's perfectly reasonable to designate 24hr bus lanes despite the city's buses only running a mere 18 or so hours a day, so charging me £80 for driving in the wrong lane on Maryhill Road at 3AM also seems like business as usual.
's trick; I got stung by GCC in Glasgow; for some reason they think it's perfectly reasonable to designate 24hr bus lanes despite the city's buses only running a mere 18 or so hours a day, so charging me £80 for driving in the wrong lane on Maryhill Road at 3AM also seems like business as usual. 
Mammasaid said:
The issue is because when you were approaching down Baldwin St there was no indication that you had to turn right into Queen Charlotte St, and you were effectively driving into a cul de sac.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4534411,-2.5938816...
It may not be that obvious, but there is a signhttps://www.google.com/maps/@51.4534411,-2.5938816...
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4534013,-2.5943205...
surveyor said:
That is appalling road design. Cynically designed to trap. I think I would spot it, but my wife would absolutely drive-through for sure...
Perhaps if she cannot see, read, and understand the signs she ought to post her licence back to the DVLA marked 'not fit to drive'.https://goo.gl/maps/hunSgweTizzWmh5M9
PF62 said:
surveyor said:
That is appalling road design. Cynically designed to trap. I think I would spot it, but my wife would absolutely drive-through for sure...
Perhaps if she cannot see, read, and understand the signs she ought to post her licence back to the DVLA marked 'not fit to drive'.https://goo.gl/maps/hunSgweTizzWmh5M9
surveyor said:
PF62 said:
surveyor said:
That is appalling road design. Cynically designed to trap. I think I would spot it, but my wife would absolutely drive-through for sure...
Perhaps if she cannot see, read, and understand the signs she ought to post her licence back to the DVLA marked 'not fit to drive'.https://goo.gl/maps/hunSgweTizzWmh5M9
Notice the two Parking spaces directly in front of the sign? I wonder what parks there?
Then your in a cul-de-sac before any road markings. If you turn right you will end up a long way away from where you wanted to be
Would help if the road markings made it clear the right turn was the main route by pushing you towards that lane. I was nearly caught out by a bus gate in London once, you could go straight on, but not in the lane I was in and the lane to the right had a car in the way. I took a left turn which took me into the congestion zone with no way to then turn off before entering it. It was a Sunday fortunately so I got away with that and just looped back eventually.
Theres one of these near broad st in Birmingham , its purely a cash making scheme. Regardless of whats written on the road if there is a sign stating buses only then they probably have you.
For the one in Birmingham You now have to take a detour of about 500m through a housing estate that diverts you off just before the new signage then brings you back on to the road just after. I’d be very unhappy if i lived there as its turned a quiet residential neighbourhood into a high traffic zone.
For the one in Birmingham You now have to take a detour of about 500m through a housing estate that diverts you off just before the new signage then brings you back on to the road just after. I’d be very unhappy if i lived there as its turned a quiet residential neighbourhood into a high traffic zone.
JimbobVFR said:
I think that's from a different approach to where the op got caught, the op appears to have driven down wine street, then the high street towards Bristol bridge. The signage is (or at least was) worse that way.Basically a big cash cow from the council, I nearly got caught out myself after being resident for 35 years in the city, travelling along redcliffe street wanting to turn left onto Bristol bridge. It's a route I'd been taking for 17 years so I went on autopilot, even beginning to turn left only to realize at the last second I was turning into a bus lane (which never used to be a bus lane) so had to turn right and towards Victoria Street then onto template way.
One of my work colleagues who lives just outside of Bristol got caught out himself and had to pony up the fine. His attitude since has been to never travel into the centre of Bristol, but to rather go to cribbs instead.
My approach was to move out the city altogether
Bristol is a horrible place for driving around - I have vowed never to return again!
I was driving along some unfamiliar streets and saw signs indicating that the bus lane was only active between certain hours - well outside I started using them.
Street after street, all seemed well and we returned to our hotel.
End of holiday, get home, bus lane fine. Would appear that one small bus lane on the journey was in use all the time - this was 11:00pm, the roads were empty.
I complained based on inadequate signage, saying it was 11:00pm and I saw no further signs than the "Bus lane active between" ones, certainly nothing to indicate it was in force where I was snapped.
They sent me a picture of a small sign, in bright daylight and told me that was the sign.
Took it to the appeal and was most surprised when I actually won - nobody was able to supply a picture of said sign at night to indicate that it was visible and when my route was mapped, the only large signs were the ones saying bus lane wasn't in use.
Just seemed like the entire road network through town was setup to catch as many people out as possible - lane you can use, then suddenly you can't, then you can again......it was just horrible.
We go around now
I was driving along some unfamiliar streets and saw signs indicating that the bus lane was only active between certain hours - well outside I started using them.
Street after street, all seemed well and we returned to our hotel.
End of holiday, get home, bus lane fine. Would appear that one small bus lane on the journey was in use all the time - this was 11:00pm, the roads were empty.
I complained based on inadequate signage, saying it was 11:00pm and I saw no further signs than the "Bus lane active between" ones, certainly nothing to indicate it was in force where I was snapped.
They sent me a picture of a small sign, in bright daylight and told me that was the sign.
Took it to the appeal and was most surprised when I actually won - nobody was able to supply a picture of said sign at night to indicate that it was visible and when my route was mapped, the only large signs were the ones saying bus lane wasn't in use.
Just seemed like the entire road network through town was setup to catch as many people out as possible - lane you can use, then suddenly you can't, then you can again......it was just horrible.
We go around now
It is my own fault for not spotting the poorly placed signage, but as someone who doesn't drive in big cities, trying to follow a sat nav which leads you down that route, and you do end up bksed as you can't escape it.
I will wait and see if any more come through first, then batch them all together and write on one explaining, I am not from the area, if I knew this was a thing I wouldn't have kept going through it, I am happy to pay them, but if possible can I get at least one cancelled?
ksed as you can't escape it.I will wait and see if any more come through first, then batch them all together and write on one explaining, I am not from the area, if I knew this was a thing I wouldn't have kept going through it, I am happy to pay them, but if possible can I get at least one cancelled?
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