I'm an idiot - Drove in bus lane twice in a day...

I have no idea what those signs are saying.
That looks so confusing. If I had come across this randomly I don't think I'd know it was a bus lane.

I still don't really understand what's going on there. Usually bus lanes are marked on the road.

Is the only relavent bit "no right turn"

Or better.. "No right turn except Buses and cycles only"

That's my take on it, I agree the smaller signs above it can be confusing, but from a car perspective they're irrelevant as it's telling you unless your a cyclist you cannot go right. Whether a bus goes right (even though there's a separate sign also saying bus lane on right) is also irrelevant.

Ideally they'd reduce the signage clutter and say bikes/cycles only for right turn.
 
another option:

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My favourite
 
That's my take on it, I agree the smaller signs above it can be confusing, but from a car perspective they're irrelevant as it's telling you unless your a cyclist you cannot go right. Whether a bus goes right (even though there's a separate sign also saying bus lane on right) is also irrelevant.

Ideally they'd reduce the signage clutter and say bikes/cycles only for right turn.

But then they wouldn't be making 100s a day by just having poor signage. It's not illegal and most people just pay up.

I wonder if the contractors who maintain it get a cut.
 
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even round the corner it doesn't look like a bus lane.

this is a bus lane:

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I was thinking what a drab and dreary place that looks to be, compared to the first picture in the op. Then I realised it’s very familiar :( :D

Any reason you chose this particular picture/place to highlight a bus lane?
 
Did your sat nav take you down that road?

Classic case of looking at nav instead of road signs. Pay the fine and move on. It is quite clearly marked up as no right turn.
 
Did your sat nav take you down that road?

Classic case of looking at nav instead of road signs. Pay the fine and move on. It is quite clearly marked up as no right turn.

No, was more a case of thinking i knew the road layout as i've done the same journey before, and been through walking/cycling.

However not driven through that section since they've changed it. I'll definitely know for future.

I think it would be clearer if they'd not tried to do the stupid paving and put markings on the road where it's a lot clearer. Whilst it's easy in retrospect (as i've acknowledged in my OP), to spot the sign, there's so much going on around there, that you're not really noticing the fairly small sign because there's so many people crossing the road which you need to watch out for.
 
It is a bit unclear. The one in Birmingham is much clearer but dinged me the first time it was setup:

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I feel for you Martyn and you have my sympathy but if the ticket comes, there is no defence i am afraid. There is a sign that says No Right Turns so with that alone you've broken a rule.

Chalk it up to experience on this one, unfortunately.
 
I put 2 wheels into a bus lane a couple of weeks back avoiding a bus driving the opposite way who didn't give way to some parked cars and driving towards me at speed. I didn't think much of it at the time but Googling it later it was apparently not allowed, no fine (yet!) but I should have stopped and confronted the driver if necessary.

Back to your situation, I didn't like the lack of on road markings but the word 'should' is used a lot. I look at this section as a contraflow bus lane, page 97.

 
I put 2 wheels into a bus lane a couple of weeks back avoiding a bus driving the opposite way who didn't give way to some parked cars and driving towards me at speed. I didn't think much of it at the time but Googling it later it was apparently not allowed, no fine (yet!) but I should have stopped and confronted the driver if necessary.

Back to your situation, I didn't like the lack of on road markings but the word 'should' is used a lot. I look at this section as a contraflow bus lane, page 97.


There are stories of people moving in to bus lanes to let emergency vehicles though, then getting a fine. Then having to fight an appeal. You can always rely on councils to be full of jobsworths.
 
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There are stories of people moving in to bus lanes to let fire engines and ambulances though, then getting a fine. Then having to fight an appeal. You can always rely on councils to be full of jobsworths.
When you say fight....do you mean send a letter in explaining the context and it being written off?
 
google suggests there have been 2010 tfl debate about best way to show motors aren't permitted - so perhaps you can defend yourself 'law is an ass' - a test case
1.2.3 At present the convention for signing cyclists’ exemption from one-way restrictions is to use the TSRGD 619 sign, known as the ‘Flying Motorcycle’ sign, which indicates that motorised vehicles are prohibited. The use of this sign has been questioned as it does not specifically indicate that cyclists are permitted and in addition TfL, London Boroughs and other local authorities have identified that this sign is generally not well understood by road users of all classes.
 
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