Use of Bus lanes in London

[simmdn]

Good Morning all,

This my first post on the site, and I'm really after some advise / words of wisdom from some more experienced riders. I have only been riding since June 2016, and was prompted to start riding by a combination of "mid life crisis" and a work move to Canary Wharf.. I have been commuting to the city on a motorbike in preparation to the move to the wharf and have enjoyed the experience and freedom until an unfortunate crash last Thursday morning!

I was travelling north on the Clapham Road approaching Stockwell Station in a bus lane, which I was permitted to travel in. The traffic to my right, also travelling north was slowing because of congestion, so I was effectively undertaking the traffic which was moving still. I was travelling at approximately 30mph when a van in to my right travelling north made a sharp turn left without indication, I believe to make a side turning at short notice. I was unable to brake and collided with the front passenger wing of the vehicle where I was then thrown to the ground.

Fortunately there were cyclists and motorcyclists to hand to help, and have come forward as witnesses, to confirm the above.. I found myself with a broken collar bone, 3 fractured ribs and a punctured lung as a result.

As the days have passed I have found myself questioning the use of the bus lane.... Should I have been traveling slower, should I have been giving the traffic on the right a wider birth or perhaps or would the advise be not to use the bus lanes full stop.

I am keen to get back on the bike as soon as its been repaired and I've recovered, but am unsure as to what I would do differently should.

Any help or advise would be appreciated.
Regards
Darren
____________________
Darren Simmonds

[Doink]

[Pete.]

Sorry to hear of your crash Darren.

Yes you can use the bus lane, yes you can go faster than the stationary traffic to the right, absolutely yes you should take care approaching left turns.

Van driver's fault, he turned across your lane without looking. Not much comfort to you with a punctured lung though.

By the way I suspect you had been riding carefully below the 30mph limit for that stretch or road, not 'at about 30mph'.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Derivative]

I have the same fear when riding in London.

There's a stretch on the North Circular, I think near Enfield somewhere, that has a bus lane running up to the lights. It is tempting to smash down it (no speed cameras) but I have the expectation that one day someone will decide they've had enough of the traffic and chance pulling out.

Ride like you're invisible, and even then it's a matter of something else killing you first.

I generally use bus lanes at low speed only and not as a way to do 30mph when the other lane is doing 25.

[M.C]

Bus lanes are dangerous places, but I use them a lot as the alternative would be filtering down the other side (just if not more dangerous) or sitting in traffic.

Personally if there's traffic in the lane to my right 30's the maximum I'll be doing, if there's any side turnings/petrol stations etc. you need to be slowing down further for them.

Unfortunately people think if there isn't a big red bus coming along its empty, so motorcyclists and cyclists have to be extra vigilant. Also I say this as a van driver myself, watch out for vans! They're hard to see out of, have a fairly large blind-spot, but mostly are just driven by f**king mongs.

Take care and GWS

[Andy_Pagin]

Develop a 'what if' mentality. As you ride think to yourself 'what if someone turned across me now? What would I do? That way when it does happen you already have an escape plan in mind, you're 99% of the way through the thinking phase of an evasive action and you can just get on with it. That's proper hazard perception unlike the bollocks you go through in the theory test.
____________________
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[c_dug]

I think a large chunk of it is down to experience - I subconsciously slow down for all sorts of reasons, just my brain picking up on patterns, or little tells such as a wheel not pointing in the expected direction.

The amount of near misses has tapered right off for me anyway, and I can only credit it to experience.

I don't think people can teach you that sort of thing, you just need to get luck enough to learn from the close ones before you potato yourself completely basically.
____________________
I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[M.C]

[Pete.]

Where the OP crashed is a hot-spot for people turning left suddenly because it's a place where a driver can decide whether to stick out the traffic down to the Oval or cut left a few roads and hit the Wandsworth Road. The A23 North of Brixton is another bad spot for it.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Robby]

It happens. Your spidey sense will improve in time.

I rely on a combination of experience, paranoia, and really good brakes and tyres. Your insurance payout will buy you a bike with the latter.

[hellkat]

Motorists still just "don't see you" because they are only expecting to see big red things*.

I have actually had someone insist over and over again to me "But it says Bus Lane ..." with the implication that it did not say Motorcycle Lane so therefore it's okay for them to have swung out on me

*Or possibly also big black things (taxis)

Most drivers forget that motorcyclists and bicycles use it too.

So ride defensively.
What Andy-Pagin and Robby said, basically.
____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[gorillaonabik...]

Sorry someone hit you and good luck with the recovery.

As you have asked about speed, I ride slowly in bus lanes and let scoots or even cyclists whizz past me if they want to. I know that sooner or later, someone will turn across me without looking so treat those turnings with kid gloves.

Hell, my last two accidents were from dozy muppets hitting me from behind at a zebra crossing and a traffic light. It's a given someone won't see a rider and slowing down is a lifesaver.
____________________
FZR400 (blown engine), ZXR750 (blown engine), ZX6R (accident), CBR600 which had engine issues after which I learned to change gear..., CBR900, CBR924 (stolen), CB600, CB1300 (everything blew up), BMW K1300GT (written off, hit from rear while stationary), Bandit 1250 for a couple of months, Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (nicked) and somewhere in there, I wrote off a Ducati 748 at Cadwell.

[bigdom86]

I commute in central everyday and use the bus lanes I am allowed to. if it is a long stretch I generally go about 20mph and make sure back brake and front is covered, and I slow down at every side-junction just to make sure somebody doesn't swing over, same with crossings even if on a green light you know some numpty pedestrian will just walk across without looking. but as others have said just need a "what if" mentality, i been riding in london 2 years and had two minor incidents one with a suicidal pedestrian and the other was my fault locking front brake in the rain, had many close calls but as i always anticipate then i keep out of trouble

[Amber Phoenix]

As everyone else has mentioned, you were perfectly in the right and the van driver in the wrong. However, there's no point being dead right, or just dead.

Bus lanes, although a great way to make progress, you need to be really on your guard:-

Slow right down at junctions, people will turn left as you've seen. Oncoming traffic will emerge out of the queue to turn across you.

Slow right down where there are pedestrian crossings or islands, if traffic is stationary, peds will step out regardless of whether the pelican cross is showing a red man... Ditto when you have to filter past a bus stopped.

As with most filtering, be super wary of any gaps in the queue adjacent to you, it's highly likely something will fill it and cause you trouble. If anything stationary traffic is more dangerous than slow moving traffic, at least with the latter it's reasonable to assume it will continue to move forward slowly. Whereas with stationary traffic anything can happen: u-turn, door open, ped step out, turn traffic let out etc.

Don't be put off, it can take time (and a few mishaps) to hone those essential biker sixth senses. You need your wits running at 110%, look far ahead to avoid surprises. Read the road, what it reasonable likely to happen? - anticipate it and ride accordingly.
____________________
Beginner Biker Adventures Blog
Yamaha FZ6 S2 2007

[sinedtomuch]

GWS. Nothing I can say that hasn't been said.
____________________
Gone: RS125, CBR125, SV650, R6.
Current: CBR1000RR 06.