Bikers for Bus Lanes

[JonB]

I used the search function and could not find any thread for this...

Bennetts, the insurance company have started a campaign to let motorcyclists legally use Bus Lanes, which should save lives...

There is a petition on the Bennetts website: -

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/buslane.htm


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[Sparks!]

[JonB]

Well I guess the reasons it will save lives is because cars *shouldn't* filter into those lanes, giving the Biker less things to concentrate on.

*However you should still look at the cars as they are most unpredictable.
____________________
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[dainesefreak]

You can already use the bus lanes around Brum.

To be honest it's worth avoiding most of them. Terrible rutted/holed road surfaces/buses. Vehicles pull straight across them without looking for bikes to make left hand turns too.

In fact they can be quite dangerous and I only use them occasionally, might contribute to more accidents than before!

[Sparks!]

[Robin]

Well done Bennetts

Both MAG and the BMF have been working on this for years, with a large degree of success.

Below is a blatant cut and paste of a MAG press release on the subject. Read it and think about whether or not it is worth £20 of your money to support the lobbying organisations who spend all year trying to get things like this through to government.



Mag Press Release (from the MAG website)

Motorcycles in Bus Lanes Bill Introduced

On Wednesday 22nd Oct 03 Bill Wiggin MP presented a Bill to the Commons to 'allow motorcycles to use bus lanes'.

MAG now needs you to write to your MP details are Here

Text of First reading of the bill

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes.

As possibly the only Member of Parliament who motorcycles to work every day, I am one of more than 1 million motorcyclists in Britain who recognise the pleasure and convenience of filtering past the gridlocked traffic and steering clear of public transport.

However, transport policy on motorcyclists is inconsistent and unfair. It does not provide for motorcyclists as vulnerable road users, yet it encourages people to get out of their cars and on to a bike. The Bill seeks to turn promises into actions to give motorcyclists a fairer deal.

The Government recognise the important role of motorcycling. A Treasury consultation document on vehicle excise duty for motorcycles stated in November 2001:

'The Government believes that motorcycles should be encouraged where they replace car use . . . because of the lower environmental impact and the reduced congestion of travelling', and that they were 'an affordable alternative to the car'.

Despite that recognition, however, the Government's overall policy towards motorcycles is inconsistent. On the one hand, motorcycles are exempt from the congestion charge in order to promote the motorcycle as a more desirable mode of transportation, which I support.

That has produced the desired effect, with more than 20,000 motorcycles being bought in London last year, and it could well be a longer-term solution to traffic gridlock. On the other hand, however, the Government are penalising and placing motorcycle users at a disadvantage by not providing for them in road traffic and safety schemes.

The Bill would introduce a national system of bus lane access for motorcyclists. It would require the Government to carry out their commitment to reduce congestion, improve safety and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by giving motorcycle users the extra incentive of traffic isolation, ease of access and life itself. With more than 1 million motorcyclists in Britain today, it is only correct and fair that, as citizens of a free society, we should have the right to ride where it is safest and most convenient.

This is about civil liberties and the Government protecting the lives of a growing population of motorcyclists-a group whom they are promoting. By allowing motorcycles in bus lanes, we would be saving lives. Traffic isolation is the key to motorcyclist safety and accident reduction, which pedal cyclists have been afforded through schemes of segregation and access to bus lanes.

Such schemes have proved successful, with pedal cyclist casualty rates decreasing by 22 per cent. since 1997, which is likely to be a direct consequence of road isolation schemes. Most motorcyclist casualties arise from collisions with cars. Allowing motorcycles to travel independently of those vehicles would minimise potential collisions. Thus, motorcyclists nationwide want a share of the benefits of traffic isolation that are currently enjoyed by pedal cyclists across the country. Surely the correct position to adopt is a net safety benefit that takes the casualties of all road users, motorcyclists as well as pedal cyclists, into account.

I understand that access to bus lanes would mean motorcyclists overtaking in the inside lane. That is a risk, but it would be their choice and decision to do so. Obviously, riders who chose not to do so would travel in other lanes. The point is that motorcyclists should be able to ride where they feel safest. For a great many, including me, that may well be in the segregated bus lane.

The Bill aims to make nationwide a policy that has been successfully tried and tested in nine places across the country: London, Bristol, Reading, Swindon, Bath, Hull, Colchester, Birmingham and the M4 bus lane. I ask the House to consider the experience of those trials, which have successfully admitted motorcycles to bus lanes. The Government welcomed the pilot studies in their 1998 transport White Paper in order to: 'help inform decisions on whether there is a proper case for motorcyclists to be allowed in bus lanes'.

How many successful precedent local authority schemes do the Government need to conclude that that is the best policy for transport, especially as local authorities had to fund the initiatives themselves to provide the Government with the proof that they said they require?

The Government stated that the work of the advisory group on motorcycling would be completed by 2004. The Bill would ensure that motorcycle access to bus lanes nationwide was included in their strategy.

In my role as shadow Environment Minister I can highlight the positive environmental impact that results from the replacement of cars by motorcycles. A typical scooter consumes up to 81 per cent. less fuel than a car on the same journey. We should be doing everything we can to have a low-carbon economy, targeting transport as one of the worst climate change offenders.

Providing motorcyclists with the option of travelling safely and more conveniently in bus lanes is likely to act as an added incentive to travel in that much more environmentally friendly way. Motorbikes do not create demand for new roads and they occupy efficient parking and garaging space. Indeed, five motorcycles can be parked in the space occupied by one car.

It is a simple equation. First, motorcycle admittance to bus lanes would improve motorcycle safety, which equals accident reduction.

Secondly, giving people the incentive to filter past the traffic gridlock without the risks they currently face will encourage more to switch from their car, which will alleviate traffic congestion. Thirdly, encouraging people to use a motorcycle benefits the environment, potentially helping the UK to achieve its ambitious commitment of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent. by 2010.

I am grateful for the help of the British Motorcycle Federation in introducing the Bill. It has campaigned widely for freedom of
motorcycle travel in bus lanes in the UK. I hope that the Bill will be approved because it can only mean fewer people in cars, the alleviation of traffic gridlock, more lives saved through traffic isolation, a reduction in environmental damage and a fulfilment of people's rights. It is a fair deal for motorcyclists. For those reasons, I commend the Bill to the House.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Bill Wiggin, Mr. Don Foster, Angela Watkinson, Mr. Mark Todd, Mr. Stephen Pound, Peter Bottomley, Dr. Brian Iddon, Mr. Robert Key, Mr. Adrian Flook, Mr. Bill Tynan, Mrs. Jackie Lawrence and Mr. Roger Gale.

The bill was presented and read to the House to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes.

The bill will now receive a second reading on Friday 21st November 2003.

Action MAG now needs you to write to your MP further details Here

Issued by

Trevor Baird
Director Of Public Affairs


More information from MAG Public Relations or Public Affairs

[dainesefreak]

Cor bloody hell Robin that'll do your Karma no end of good!

[tgabber]

[Visitor Q]

[tgabber]

[Shade_BW]

There is alwasy a down side though.

Like being behind a bus.

Busses do not always indicate their intention of stopping when they are in a bus lane, so make sure you leave plenty of room.

When they do stop, you then have to filter back in to the main traffic flow. You will also have to do this if you intend to turn right at any point.

Bus lane use is a good idea, as long as the users practice the due level of care.

Shade
Riding Safe

[fuzz]

[dainesefreak]

Check some of the bus lane signs. You need to be careful though as some drivers think you are doing it illegally as they can't read pictures and do some odd things.

[Davo]

[aqualung1]

just dont mention the M4 bus lane, we can use this, but every few yards a sign to put on lights, taxis can also use this

but as robin says has been on the cards with BMF and MAG for a ling time..always worth checking their sites for latest updates, which also includes secure parking etc etc

[silent]

Im all for it, as we can use the bus lanes around bristol and bath, I think that there are only a couple that we cannot use. However there is alot of oil and diesel on the bus lanes so you need to be careful on them I find.

[Shade_BW]

Used the M4 bus lane today, great way for filtering past traffic.

What is your problem with it, other than the signs? Oh, and the speed cameras. And the way it ends chucking you into traffic who aint looking for you....

Shade
Bus driver

[dvarpala]

[Whosthedaddy]

Would you filter if you could ride in the bus lane, probably not, if not as much, so should be safer for bikers

Agree that buses are not always the most vigilant in looking in mirrors prior to pulling out
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[G]

Can use some Reading - usefully including one going the wrong way down a bit that's one way for everyone else .

It bits where it's part of a normal road I do try and keep an extra look out at junctions as people often ignore the buslane unless there's a ten tonne bus bearing down on them .

[Josh|RD125LC]

I use the bus lanes, simply to get ahead of the traffic, usually to get to the front of the queue. I don't why bikers shouldn't be allowed in them, I think they can be better off in the bus lanes, a much easier way of filtering I reckon.
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[GSXR_Warrior]

Bus lanes in Liverpool are also open to taxis and cyclists, not motorcycles. Just wondering if there could also be a problem with diesel spillages as both taxis and buses tend to be diesel powered.
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[Whosthedaddy]

[ISLAND GIRL]

I did hear this rumour.....over here on the Island we have only just got bus lanes
Would be handy though if we could, would make our lives a little easier perhaps.
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[Stevie GooGs]

Its a good idea but if you are using them, be careful and watch the diesel. You are also right when you talk about people just cutting straight into them. I was on my old 125 and cut into the bus lane and there was an artic on my right who did not bother to check his mirrors well enough (by this time i was half way up the side of him), he swerved into the lane and i had to brake hard and mount the kerb or i was gone. As you can imagine i was not to happy when i rode up to his door.
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