WITHIN five minutes of taking position where Fletcher Gate meets Victoria Street, I spied a black sports car taking a right turn into Carlton Street.
The driver appeared to know where he was going, but what he may not have known is that more than 10,000 people were fined for driving into Carlton Street last year.
And this street only accounts for three in ten of the fines handed out across the city last year, with more than 36,000 handed out in total.
Meanwhile across the border in the county, bus lanes are not enforced and there are no plans to clamp down on those driving in them. The amount the city council gathered in fines from the 36,786 people caught driving in bus and tram lanes is not available, but is more than £1 million if all fines were paid at the minimum of £30.
Graphic artist Brian Maguire, 27, of Musters Road, West Bridgford, said the figures brought in from fines seemed high.
He added: "You hear councils saying that bus lanes aren't money-making exercises, but £1 million a year isn't a small sum.
"I think some bus lanes are useful – like up Mansfield Road – but in other places you just wonder why they are there."
As well as Carlton Street, other places where motorists tend to stray into bus lanes last year included Goldsmith Street, where 9,043 tickets were handed out, and Milton Street, where 6,110 drivers were caught.
The number of drivers caught has also increased year-on-year, from 30,922 in 2010-11, to 35,249 in 2011-12 and 36,786 in 2012-13.
Bus firm Nottingham City Transport has said that bus lanes have helped to reduce the length of journey times on their routes. NCT marketing manager Anthony Carver-Smith said: "Bus lanes are one of a number of factors that keep NCT buses running efficiently and they undoubtedly play an important part in ensuring our network stays on time, particularly at peak times.
"We have also been able to reduce the length of some bus journeys as a direct result of bus priority measures."
And Jane Urquhart, portfolio holder for transport at Nottingham City Council, said the message of not driving in bus lanes was getting through, despite an increase in motorists getting caught.
She said: "New cameras coming online will sometimes cause a brief spike in he figures, but these quickly come back down once driver behaviour changes."
But Keith Peat, East Midlands coordinator of the Alliance of British Drivers, said the organisation had issues with bus lanes.
He said: "Bus lanes are incredibly anti-car as they create bottlenecks and congestion and increase journey times unnecessarily.
"Cutting the amount of road available for cars by half is just not a wise way of dealing with traffic problems."
"I can remember when there was a bus strike in London and the bus lanes were open and it was just like Sunday morning driving.
"The roads were clear and it was fantastic."
