isn't parking in a bus lane during bus-lane hours a more serious offence than straying into a bus lane? the above picture was taken on a saturday but i have observed that on weekdays, during the bus-lane operation hours, there are still lorry drivers and motorists who persist in parking their vehicles at the same place.
i have also seen, during bus lane operation hours, motorists moving into the bus lane just because they would be making a left turn ahead. but the ironic thing is that when other motorists who dutifully wanted to move into the lane, after the broken yellow line, the motorist who was in the bus lane earlier would sound his horn at these law-abiding motorists. seems like if you perpetuate a wrong, in time it becomes a right or better still, it becomes your right.
another infringement which may be committed unwittingly is the dropping of passenger/s at bus bay which is within a bus-lane. the person may see it as a convenience for him and his passenger but he is actually breaking two rules: driving his vehicle in a bus lane during bus lane operation hours and stopping in a bus-day.
the other thing i have noticed is that quite a number of drivers are quite clueless about the bus-lane hours. on weekdays before five o'clock in the afternoon and on saturdays, i see some drivers trying their best to stay out of the normal bus lane where being in the bus lane will have provided them a smoother ride. on sundays, i still come across motorists who are fearful of entering the whole-day bus lane.
the penalty for bus lane infringement is a s$130 fine. no demerit points will be imposed on the driver.
2 comments:
I remember they mounted cameras in front of certain buses to catch such people, not sure how many are still in use.
The operation hours for a normal bus lane (demarcated by a thick yellow line) are from 7.30 am to 9.30 am and from 5 pm till 8 pm from Monday to Friday. It is not in operation on public holidays and Saturdays.
For a full-day bus lane (demarcated by thick yellow and red parallel lines), the operation hours are from 7.30 am till 8.00 pm from Monday to Saturday. It is not in operation on Sundays and public holidays.
With such a complicated system and confusing timings, many people cannot remember them so better avoid the bus lanes at all costs rather than to risk being fined.
I have seen people wearing blue pants and white shirts (probably from United Premas or the other contracted company) on 3 separate occasions pointing their video cameras at infringing vehicles in bus lanes. Two of the video cameras were on tripods while the third one was handheld. Unlike the old Uncle Sams, they made no attempts to hide behind lamp posts or bushes. They simply shot in the open.
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