Entering too early before a left turn remained a bus-lane contravention (2026)

Case 225042265A / 2025-12-27 / Adjudicator Carl Teper

High Street (North)

“I find that they entered the bus lane too soon to turn left”

Carl Teper

The PCN concerned use of the bus lane at High Street (North) on 8 April 2025 at 18:04. The motorist explained that they were turning left and had not obstructed a bus. Bromley supplied the recording and evidence of the restriction.

Having considered the evidence, Carl Teper found that the vehicle entered the bus lane too soon for the left turn. He also explained that actual obstruction of a bus was not an element that the authority had to prove. The appeal was refused on 27 December 2025.

The explanation did not establish an exemption from the restriction. The adjudicator also noted that mitigation had already been considered by the authority. The result illustrates why an intended turn is not enough without evidence showing where the lane ends, where crossing is permitted or which order exception applies.

A driver disputing this issue should mark the entry point, junction and lane boundary on the recording or a site plan. Compare the movement with the exact order provision relied on. This differs from case 2250466994, where a particular exemption covered a short approach to a lawful parking bay; neither decision creates a universal distance allowance.

Source and case reference

Use case reference 225042265A in the London Tribunals register to find the official decision. This commentary distinguishes the adjudicator's finding from a possible argument in a different case; previous tribunal decisions do not bind another adjudicator.