Which types of vehicle are too important to stop behind ASL?

[Arch]

<stares at shoes; shuffles feet>The builder's van.

And how is the blood pressure today?

 

[bonj2]

*sigh*..........
mr_hippo, you've obviously become incredibly confused as to the minor, finer details of how this situation came about so I've taken the liberty of drawing you a li ttle diagram.

Key:
thin black lines/arrows = road / direction of travel of lane
burgundy = ASL
red = bus
thick grey line = the roadwork-constraining railings which you can see beyond the bus
pink = traffic lights
blue = me
yellow = angle of sight of camera

Are you just asking these questions for the sake of it, or do any of them matter?
The fact is, the bus went into an ASL, because of either ignorance, arrogance, or both. There were no mitigating circumstances. There was no traffic, it was about 9pm. The photo was taken by me with my phone from my (stationary) van when I was pulled up in the lane to the right of the one the bus was in, waiting with the handbrake on while the lights were on red. It is a one way road with two lanes.

The traffic lights are a reflection and possibly on a central island behind the bus. Is the road in front of the bus fenced off for roadworks?

No, the road the bus is on curves round to the right, the roadworks you can see are on the road which you would be going along if you turned left from where the bus is.

Are the traffic lights single- or multi-phase?

No idea - what does "single/multi phase" even mean?

Is that junction normally a cross road i.e. does the road that runs across the photo continue past the bus or is it a T-junction?

It's a crossroads, but it's a one way road.

On the bodywork of the bus, beneath the reflected traffic light, there appears to the reflections of three cars - on the first car we can see both headlights and an illuminated front licence plate with only one light visible on cars two & three.

The reflection going from underneath the "N" of the word 'salavtion' (of which you can only see the last 4 letters) to the army logo of the advert on the bus is the reflection of my windscreen fan, and the white thing is the reflection of a piece of paper at the base of the windscreen. The reflections of headlights are the reflections of either my headlights or those of cars behind me, but I dont' think you can really tell which is which.

Alternatively, the visible traffic lights and road could be at an angle to the bus on the road going L to R in the photo.
We cannot see the traffic light that controls the bus, the photo may be a still from a video clip and stopped at an appropriate moment to 'prove a point'.

It isn't from a video clip, it's a picture taken by my mobile phone.
The traffic light you can see the reflection of on the front offside corner of the bus is I would guess the bottom one in the diagram, i.e. the one nearest to me, but again - I'm not sure, and more to the point i'm not really sure why it matters.

 

[bonj2]

Stopping in ASLs has nothing to do with being in a rush Bonj. It's just laziness and inattention.

or arrogance - "it doesn't apply to me"

 

[Kirst]

I'm not surprised to see a First Bus doing that, but I have to say Lothian Buses and their drivers are usually so considerate and thoughtful towards cyclists that I actually emailed them to let them know.

 

[magnatom]

Not wanting to cause trouble here bonj (that usually means I will ), but you do realise that you should not have been using your mobile phone at that time? That's probably a greater crime than sitting in an ASL! You should only use your phone when safely parked with the engine switched off.

Personally I don't mind traffic sitting in ASL's as I don't generally use them, unless I happen to get to the lights first. Sitting one or two cars back is much safer.

 

[bonj2]

Not wanting to cause trouble here bonj (that usually means I will ), but you do realise that you should not have been using your mobile phone at that time? That's probably a greater crime than sitting in an ASL! You should only use your phone when safely parked with the engine switched off.

Personally I don't mind traffic sitting in ASL's as I don't generally use them, unless I happen to get to the lights first. Sitting one or two cars back is much safer.

It may have been technically a crime but as I've said the handbrake was on so therefore it was perfectly safe. I've always maintained that, for me, safety and the law aren't synonymous. Safety overrides the law.

 

[magnatom]

It may have been technically a crime but as I've said the handbrake was on so therefore it was perfectly safe. I've always maintained that, for me, safety and the law aren't synonymous. Safety overrides the law.

If that's you take on the law bonj, then what was your problem with the bus being in the ASL? Surely, the bus was not causing any safety issues if there were no cyclists in the ASL?

I'm not religious but I believe this saying from the bible covers this:

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye




Mobile phones should always be kept out of reach and sight when driving. They are a distraction IMHO.

 

[bonj2]

If that's you take on the law bonj, then what was your problem with the bus being in the ASL? Surely, the bus was not causing any safety issues if there were no cyclists in the ASL?

I'm not religious but I believe this saying from the bible covers this:

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye




Mobile phones should always be kept out of reach and sight when driving. They are a distraction IMHO.

My point is not to illustrate that the bus driver is a law breaker, but just to prove that bus drivers are arrogant. He had stopped perfectly behind the front line of the ASL, so he clearly abides by what laws he believes are relevant to him, but takes the viewpoint that he 'doesn't recognise' ASLs, because he doesn't personally see the point in them.

Anyhow, my phone wasn't in phone mode, it was in camera mode. Therefore it technically wasn't a hand-held mobile phone, but a camera.

 

[bonj2]

Anyhow, it's not MY problem with the bus being in the ASL that matters. My problem is with buses in general, I just hate the sodding lot of 'em. They might annoy me, but this just shows they can't even play the 'whiter than white' card. They're ugly, noisy, diesel-belching, climate-change-causing, road-blocking, selfish behemoths. I quite frankly hate them.

 

[magnatom]

Blimey, bonj! I think you need to take some happy pills! Let not generalise about any road user. Is that not what we hate when cyclists are generalised with RLJing, pavement cycling etc.

There are bad apples in all walks of life.

 

[Joe24]

It may have been technically a crime but as I've said the handbrake was on so therefore it was perfectly safe. I've always maintained that, for me, safety and the law aren't synonymous. Safety overrides the law.

I thought they brought in that you had to have the engine off, not just have your hand break on. I'm sure that came in when they ban came in.
Not meaning to annoy you or cause trouble, just saying.

 

[gambatte]

Bonj, is that part of the new IRR?

If so, where abouts?

 

[Gerry Attrick]

BMW's every time.

 

[biking_fox]

"climate-change-causing" Buses? Compared to everyone on it cycling* maybe? But compared to everyone on it driving their own car, I think not.


Here in S manchester it's mosty taxis that feel the ASL is not applicable to them. Buses a bit, but mostly because I'm never sure that they actually knwo where the front of their vehicle is.

If I'm feeling grumpy I'll stop my bike in directly front of the vehicle in the ASL, and then be extra slow pulling away so that they lose the seconds they thought they'd gain by being a metre ahead. I'll always make sure I'm out of the way of cars that respect the ASL.


*This would be ideal, but I think we all recognise not every journey is suitable for biking.

 

[Cab]

Delivery vans always seem to be the worst for encroaching in to ASLs.