You would expect a bus driver  to know the rules about bus  lanes.

But a Huddersfield driving  instructor has told of his shock after a  bus driver wrongly accused him of  illegally driving in a bus lane.

Longwood-based tutor Nigel Deans  was involved in a road rage incident  with a bus driver on Tuesday.

His pupil had been legitimately using  the bus lane in Wakefield Road when a  bus driver pulled alongside the young  learner driver and hurled abuse at them  for being in the lane.

The rules of the road say normal  vehicles SHOULD use the bus lane  when it is not restricted.

On the inbound Wakefield Road it is  restricted from 7.30am to 9.30am from  Waterloo on weekdays only.

Closer to town the restrictions are  also in place from 4.30pm to 6.30pm  and then become 24-hours-a-day at  Aspley.

Mr Deans said his pupil was not  breaking the rules and when he  approached Huddersfield Bus Company he was told the driver had known  that.

He said: “The bus stopped alongside  us at which point the driver shouted  that if I was intent on teaching my  learners to drive in bus lanes it was  about time I went back to be  retrained.

“Ironically only that morning I had  passed my Check Test.

“The way he spoke to me was  extremely rude and very public in front  of all his passengers.

“It was also quite intimidating for  my learner.”

Mr Deans complained to the Waterloo-based company and said he was  unhappy with their response.

He said: “They said the driver knew  I was able to drive in that lane but he  was running late and trying to keep to  his timetable.

“The fact that he went out of the bus  lane purely to  have a go at me and my  learner, I find that incomprehensible.”

A spokesman from Huddersfield  Bus Company acknowledged the incident but would not confirm if the driver  had been disciplined.

He said: “The driver will be dealt  with how we see fit, within our internal  systems.”

Mr Deans, who has been a driving  instructor for 18 months, has now  appealed for better knowledge of bus  lane rules.

He said if motorists had a greater  understanding of bus lane times then it  would ease congestion around town.

He said: “The whole issue of bus  lanes is quite confusing.

“They’re there to allow buses to keep  to their timetables on bus routes at  certain times.

“But outside of those times people  need to realise the bus lane is just the  normal left hand lane and it should be  used.

“If we don’t utilise the full road space  it causes congestion.”

Mr Deans also called for Kirklees  Council’s Highways department to  review its lanes as some may not be  necessary.

“There’s a 24 hour bus lane but I’m  not aware of any 24 hour bus services,”  he added.

A spokeswoman for Kirklees Council said: “Bus lane hours of operation  are designed to provide consistency for  all drivers, help compliance and maintains the safety of road users.

“In some cases the hours of operation are varied to take into account of  times of the day when delays occur or  when there are specific kerbside  requirements, possibly for local businesses.

“In the case of Aspley  it was decided  that it was safer to have fewer vehicles  merging at this point so this lane is  restricted to buses-only at all times.”