Safe Speed Forums

I was just reading through april issue of 'The Road' a MAG publication and there is a piece entitled 'Mayors Office buries good news on bus lane access'.allegedly!.......A study was carried out allowing M/bikes to use bus lanes, the report was held up for two yrs yet it showed overwhealming evidence of startling benefits to pedestrians and cyclists as well as bikers. Report showed net reduction in collisions involving Bikes and Pedestrians 46%......involving cyclists reduction of 44% .........and 45% reduction in M/biker casualties. The traffic migration also is taken into account where bikers changed route to take advantage of bus lane routes on trial and increase of 25 to 40% biker traffic. It also showed that cyclists did not abandon bus lanes through fear of M/bike traffic ( a claim often used against the M/bike argument) it actually increased.

There is a lot more in the piece but ask yourselves why it has been surpressed and NOT acted upon when the evidence clearly shows benefit.I like the way the piece was ended...
Quote;MAG had long suspected that TfL were not getting the results they wanted from the bus lane trials.With the Mayoral election approaching no doubt the Mayor is anxious about upsetting the cycle lobby which is assumed to be supportive of him.How ironic that despite the enhanced safety of cyclists when sharing bus lanes with motorcyclists, it is still assumed they will be unhappy. A classic case of the ascendancy of prejudice over reality, if ever there was one, thats politics for you.quote.

I saw a ped knocked down by a motorbike a few days ago, ped crossed empty bus lane, walked across the front of a stationary lorry (traffic queue) and into the path of a motorbike passing the traffic by riding down the white line. ped obviously wasn't expecting the bike to come down the "wrong" side of the road and was looking left, if the bike had been allowed in the bus lane the accident would not have occurred. It's disgusting that a rule amendment that'd make things safer for so many is seconded to the anti-motorist ideology, it just underlines what is and isn't important to the pricks in charge.

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Fear is a weapon of mass distraction

Yes this is old news and I believe there are threads on it before. I understand Boris intends to allow the bikers into bus lanes soon

That'll solve a load of problems.
Mostly, the peds will be run-down by buses, cycles and m/cycles. So cars will get less bad press.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Doubt it will have any bad effect tbh - lets remember a large number of bus lanes are only temporary so the time they are not in effect they already have bikes, motorbikes, cars and buses (and vans + lorries) using them. Not to mention the parked cars the peds decide are good places to cross. Allowing motorbikes into the lanes during active hours will simply mean motorbikes get places faster... peds shouldnt be stepping out in front of vehicles regardless of what time of day th ebus lane is operational

With apologies to Marin Luther King:

I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day all road users will be treated equally.

I have a dream that one day there will be no such things as bus lanes giving preferential treatment to certain groups.

I have a dream that one day people will take responsibility for their own actions and not walk in front of vehicles without looking.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

The unfortunate thing is this. The PTB have brow beaten the motorist so much that even when allowed to us Bus Lanes they simply refuse to do so. This is down to the poor signage and changes in rules from one length of BL to another on the same road. Together with the hefty penalties imposed for slight misunderstandings in most cases.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Trust me to get my issue late

I have noticed this - the upshot is it gives those of us more confident of beingable to read signs a free lane to use!