The 4th 'victim' is a Toyota Aygo, how on earth did they manage to hit the bollards?!

That's what I don't understand - it's a width restriction (the middle lane of the three is solely for emergency vehicles and buses on a right turn to the road in the background on the left of the video), but ALLOWS vehicles narrower than 2.1m wide to pass, so why on Earth does this thing keep going off for vehicles way narrower than 2.1m? It looks more like a 'centre of lane' bollard rather thansomething at the edge to pops up to put the 'offending' car into Knight Rider 'ski mode'. Very strange.

Why not just have what the did before - big girder-like poles that will severely scrap the side of your vehicle, with (as Herts CC is now going to do) a camera to photograph those either taking the centre path or are too wide and scraping the side through the narrow one?

I don't understand the point of the rising bollard, as it obviously can't differentiate between those allowed to pass and those not. What genuis designed or allowed this system to be installed?

Whilst I don't know the road like the back of my hand, I have driven (work/shopping) and been driven (family shopping visits) down this road a few times over the years when the normal route into the centre of town (the St. Albans Road further up the A41 at the 'Dome' roundabout) was blocked/closed or generally conjested.

Maybe it's become more of a rat run in recent years than I remember (admitedly the last time I went down that road was 10 years or so ago).

The 4th 'victim' is a Toyota Aygo, how on earth did they manage to hit the bollards?!

Very poor design by council. The third pair seems narrower than front two.

Without a 360 degree camera, which very few cars have, drivers cannot see near side accurately. For this case, precision calculation is necessary.

and a video from the site back in 2019 gives a better view:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_3xnTNCk8E

Both vehicles with problems there are Transits and almost certainly exactly the sort of commercial vehicle the restriction aims to deter.

couldn't cost more than a written-off car and some other possible injuries that may cause further frustration in someone's life.

btw, I found this ibb.co/KyKQR9G another image from google maps, and that ford galaxy's width is 1916 mm, and it seems like a near miss actually, yeah the driver managed to pass however still a bit freaking narrowing that no one would prefer to drive through.

edit: www.confused.com/on-the-road/cost-of-motoring/bus-...0 it says,

What are the penalties for using a bus lane?

If you use a bus lane incorrectly, you could be issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN), which is a fine. The size of the fine varies across the UK. Typically the fines are highest in London and can be well over £100. You usually get a 50% discount if you pay within a certain number of days though. It’s a civil matter rather than a criminal offence, so it's unlikely to involve points on your driving licence and therefore shouldn't impact your car insurance either. But it means that incorrectly using a bus lane can be as needlessly expensive for you as belting past a speed camera or parking illegally.

Edited by balaban.b on 14/12/2021 at 12:22

What is the legal implication of going via wider bus lane here?

I think in order to prosecute someone for using bus lane the car has to travel a minimum distance using bus lanes. In this case, just for using the middle lane seems shorter than prosecution threshold.

If you look at Google Streetview you can see that bus lane law is irrelevant. The lane is clear marked no entry except buses with two signs in each direction.

What is the legal implication of going via wider bus lane here?

I think in order to prosecute someone for using bus lane the car has to travel a minimum distance using bus lanes. In this case, just for using the middle lane seems shorter than prosecution threshold.

The signage is a bit odd as although the words 'Bus Lane' are written on the road the actual restriction sign is No Entry with an exception for busses. That can be a fixed penalty and 3 points.

There have been problems enforcing those signs in the past leading to them being re-signed as Bus Lane with Camera Enforcement.

What is the legal implication of going via wider bus lane here?

I think in order to prosecute someone for using bus lane the car has to travel a minimum distance using bus lanes. In this case, just for using the middle lane seems shorter than prosecution threshold.

There's no concept of a threshold distance in the Road Traffic Acts - like a Stop line, going over the start of a bus lane is an absolute offence.

Edited by RT on 14/12/2021 at 12:41