T HERE is little that stirs the emotion of most motorists in Bristol more than traffic-related issues, whether that is the daily grind of getting to and from work or the frustrations of other motorists who feel that for whatever reason they are able to ignore traffic directions.

And so for 90 minutes last week both my police community support colleagues and me were, in the eyes of some, the devil reincarnated. To others, we were seen as a breath of fresh air.

The reason for these mixed reactions was the enforcement of the bus lanes which run inbound along Fishponds Road. Now, those who know me also know that traffic-related matters fail to get me excited, but as the beat manager covering this area I react to issues raised by the residents and this can also include people passing through the beat even if they are sat in their vehicles.

On Tuesday of last week, donning our highly visible fluorescent jackets we stood in wait at the bottom of Fishponds Road to pounce on unsuspecting motorists who, on a daily basis continue to treat the bus lane as their own personal stretch of road that gets them to work or school easier than the other law-abiding motorist who choose to stay in lane.

I could write a whole column on the excuses given by the motorists who were stopped and issued with £30 on-the-spot fines, but some of the more imaginative ones claimed that they were only turning left into the next junction, even when we had observed them drive a whole length of the bus lane with their indicator flashing and passing at least three left turns in the process. Others claimed that this was the first time they had ever done it and if we let them off they would never do it again. The more genuine ones were resigned to the fact that they had been caught fair and square, accepted their punishment and were relieved to find they didn't incur any penalty points on their licence.

It wasn't just the motorists that we caught who had something to say about our little operation. I was even accosted by a drunken young man holding a can of his favourite tipple staggering down the road accusing us of being fascists and that he paid my wages and I should be catching real criminals. When he saw that I wouldn't engage in a conversation with someone who substitutes a cup of tea at that time of the morning for a can of lager, he decided to seek solace by venting his frustrations at a lady who was standing at the bus stop waiting for her bus, which, had we not been enforcing the bus lane in the first place, would probably have been late anyway. It was good to see the lady just roll her eyes and turn away, allowing the male to continue on his merry way.

The positive side of enforcing the bus lane was that genuine motorists, who sit patiently in line on a daily basis enduring the nightmare that is Bristol's rush-hour drivers were able to see that we were doing something about the selfish minority who don't do the right thing. In fact, several of these genuine motorists wound down their windows and shouted out tips about the best locations, and times of day to continue this type of enforcement.

This type of operation will not be running every day on Fishponds Road, but rest assured that when the complaints roll in, we will be there ready to react.