In some cities of Russia, a lane for public type transport was recently made. Therefore, not all drivers of vehicles know how to move on it correctly. In this regard, it is important to understand why this lane is intended, and in what cases other modes of transport can ride on it.
Essence
To understand the essence of this innovation, it is necessary to study the rules of the road related to roads on which lanes for passenger transport are marked.
Buses and trolley buses are entitled to move along the indicated lanes. Moreover, due to the presence of markings with the letter "A" throughout the line, these lanes are usually called bus lines.
From the name of the allocated section of the road (lanes for public type transport), we can conclude that only such types of vehicles are entitled to carry out traffic on them.
There are a number of exceptions to this rule in which any vehicle can use the public lane. It is possible to drive on a selected section of the road with extraneous vehicles only in cases directly specified in the relevant regulatory legal acts.
The main point in using this lane for public transport - buses and trolleybuses are not required to travel strictly along the allocated section of the road.
According to the rules, the movement of cars and other vehicles not belonging to the category of public transport is prohibited in the lane under consideration. But buses and trolleybuses can drive along it, as well as along other sections of the road accessible for travel.
You can give an example of the situation with the bus (trolleybus) lane for transport (public), when you can get off the allocated section of the road. If a separate part of the route is separated from another part of the road by an interrupted marking line, and in this direction there is another lane for traffic, which can be used by any vehicles, buses and trolleybuses, it may be reorganized, if desired, between the regular and allocated lanes an unlimited number of times.
Thus, if the road is equipped with a bus lane, then public transport gets more maneuverable space on the road than other cars on the carriageway.
Types
Highways with lanes for public transport are divided into two groups:
- Associated. There are several such lanes on the road. Often, along with a section of the carriageway designated for traffic, two, three or four lanes in the same direction form on the road.
- Oncoming. This is a separate section of the road for public transport, which is directed towards the main traffic stream. Often, such roads are similar to a one-way road, although this is not so. Therefore, going to the oncoming lane is a direct violation of the rules of the road and entails the deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle.
Road signs used to indicate
The rules governing road traffic contain the delineation of signs designating a separated section of the road.
According to regulatory legal acts, signs are divided into six types:
- beginning of the oncoming bus lane;
- end of the bus oncoming lane;
- a bus lane located on the intersected section of the road that goes left (vehicles are forbidden to turn left in this lane if they are not in the exclusive group);
- the beginning of the bus lane (if the indicated sign is placed to the right of the road, its effect only applies to the lane located to the right);
- a bus lane located on the intersected section of the road that goes right (vehicles are forbidden to turn right in this lane if they are not in the exclusive group);
- end of bus lane.
Vehicles allowed to drive
Traffic in a public-type lane is allowed for the following types of vehicles (according to clause 18.2 of the Traffic Rules):
- route-type vehicles (trolleybuses, buses, minibuses);
- passenger taxis;
- buses carrying schoolchildren;
- buses weighing more than five tons, included in various lists of a special type, approved by the executive authorities of the country;
- bicycles.
It should be remembered that passenger taxis, cyclists, five-ton buses and buses carrying schoolchildren do not always have the right to use this lane for traffic.
According to the rules of the SDA, a lane for public transport in the presence of the sign "Brick" can be used by route transport. All other vehicles cannot ride on it. Therefore, if a person moves, for example, by bicycle, before entering the bus lane, he needs to make sure that there is no prohibition sign. Otherwise, he may receive a fine for violating traffic rules.
The list of vehicles that have the right to travel on the allocated lane does not include the following modes of transport:
- Cars for car sharing (they do not belong to the category of shuttle buses or taxis).
- Scooters and mopeds.
- Motorcycles.
- Buses that transport non-school children.
Departure cases for a bus lane
Public lane traffic is strictly limited. Cases of departure to the lane allocated for buses are regulated by the rules of the Road Rules.
The same regulatory act reflects the options for using the selected element of the carriageway for the passage of vehicles that are not classified as trolleybuses or buses.
Clause 18.2 of the Rules of the Road stipulates that if the lane for route vehicles is separated from the remaining compartments of the road by an intermittent marking line, cars and other vehicles must be rebuilt on it during a turn.
In places with a marking it is allowed to call on the bus lane at the time of entry to the highway, for disembarking and boarding passengers. In this case, the driver of the vehicle must stop strictly along the right edge of the road and only if his maneuver does not create blockages for fixed-route buses.
Right turn options
Drivers must make a right turn from the allocated lane of transport (public) in Moscow and other cities of the country, provided that it is separated from the other part of the road by an intermittent marking line.
If the bus lane is separated by solid markings, it is forbidden to drive on it. Therefore, in the absence of an appropriate opportunity, the vehicle must continue to move forward without turning to maneuver in the next accessible place for this.
Stop for boarding and boarding passengers
If on weekdays and weekends the lane of public-type transport is separated by intermittent-type markings, then drivers can go to it for boarding and alighting passengers.
In the process of moving and performing maneuvers, the person controlling the vehicle must ensure that his stop does not interfere with trolleybuses and buses. This can be achieved by braking on a strip that will be empty at a decent distance.
If the markings on the road are continuous, vehicles cannot enter the bus lane. At the same time, when driving in the second lane, you cannot stop, as this is prohibited by the rules of the road.
If the part of the road separated for buses is indicated by a sign, but there is no marking (neither intermittent, nor solid), it is implied that you must not enter this lane. If this rule is violated, the driver of the vehicle may receive a fine for the lane allocated for public transport.
Weekend weekend drive
Another common problem on the road related to traffic on the lane allocated for buses and trolleybuses is the work of these lanes on weekends and holidays.
In some Russian cities, part of the separated sections of the road do not work on weekends. To mark such sections of the road, a combination of the sign of the bus with the direction and the sign of the prohibition of movement outside of weekdays is used. This sign is located on the right in the direction of movement of the vehicles.
When studying signs for riding on a lane for buses and trolleybuses, attention should be paid to auxiliary factors:
- The presence of additional conditions that prohibit the exit. For example, if the brick sign is placed to the right of the indicated lane or above it, access to this section of the road is prohibited, regardless of whether it is a weekday or a day off.
- The presence of a solid marking line. If there is an appropriate sign, the bus lane ceases to function for other modes of transport, and the marking remains valid. Thus, if the separated part of the road is marked by a solid line, it is forbidden to cross it. If the driver has violated this rule, they can be fined for crossing a continuous lane, although the movement itself is not prohibited.
- Determining if a given day is a day off. The most difficult situations arise when the days off are postponed. For example, if Saturday is considered a working day in the current year, it is forbidden to travel to the bus lane on that day. Also, you can not ride on it on weekdays, to which the weekend is postponed.
How can I find out if it is possible to drive on a lane separate for buses and trolleybuses on a particular day?
Riding in the lane allocated for public transport is forbidden for ordinary vehicles on weekends. To understand whether it is possible to have a day off or work on a given day, it is necessary to study the provisions of the Labor Code and other regulatory legal acts.
Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that the following dates are considered to be public holidays in Russia:
- New Year holidays - from January 1 to 6 and 8;
- Christmas - January 7;
- Defenders of the Fatherland Day - February 23;
- International Women's Day - March 8;
- Holiday of Spring, Labor - May 1;
- Great Victory Day - May 9;
- Independence Day of Russia - June 12;
- Unity Day - November 4.
If the day off and public holidays are the same, the day off is postponed to the working day following the specified holiday. Exceptions are weekends that coincide with public holidays in February and March. These weekend holidays are rescheduled to another time in the next year.
The transfer of days of rest in order to maintain the continuity of the production process is carried out annually by the publication of special decrees by the Government of Russia.
In 2019, the procedure for rescheduling holidays due to holidays was established by Resolution No. 1163, issued by the Russian Government on October 1, 2018. The distribution of holidays is as follows:
- The fifth of January (Saturday) was postponed to the second of May (Thursday).
- The sixth of January (Sunday) is postponed to the third of May (Friday).
- The twenty-third of February (Saturday) was postponed to the tenth of May (Friday).
This distribution of days off should be known to each driver, since the size of the fine for driving in a lane for public transport is rather big. In practice, the issue of rescheduling holidays causes difficulties for many drivers. This is due to the fact that many citizens currently do not work according to a five-day standard scheme. Therefore, tracking extra days off is problematic for them.
For example, in 2018, December 29 (Saturday) was indicated in the Resolution as a day off. Drivers who left on the indicated day on the lanes allocated for public type transport received fines.
Amounts of fines for driving in lanes intended for public transport
For leaving the lane for public transport in the same direction in Moscow or St. Petersburg, the driver will be fined three thousand rubles. In other regions, the amount of the fine is two times less - one and a half thousand.
If the penalty for driving in a lane for transport (public) is small, then for crossing an oncoming lane to avoid obstacles, a motorist can get a monetary sanction in the amount of one thousand rubles to one and a half thousand. For other reasons, access to the indicated section of the carriageway is prohibited, and therefore a fixed fine (five thousand rubles) may be issued to the driver or deprived of the right to drive a motor vehicle for six months. If this violation occurs again, the term for confiscation of the driver’s license will be increased to one year, and the amount of the fine remains the same.
Features of weekend travel on public transport lanes depend on what dates this year are set as holiday days. Drivers should control this independently. Otherwise, they may receive a fine.