Priority rules when turning into a side road
in [UK Drivers]
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From: GT on 14 Jul 2010 06:57 <boltar2003(a)boltar.world> wrote in message news:i1k45m$hs$1(a)speranza.aioe.org... > On Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:34:34 +0100 > "Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: >>I'm starting to doubt that I understand the highway code correctly. > > Does anyone actually care about it anyway? Other than knowing enough to > pass > the test and avoid a fine. Obviously to some of the anal retentives on > here > is their version of the Koran , to be studied at length and learnt by > heart, > but do any normal people give a damn about it? All drivers should give a damn, but unfortunately these 'normal people' don't, hence the number of accidents, injuries and deaths on our roads. The rules and guidelines are there for safety reasons, not just for the nerds!
From: GT on 14 Jul 2010 06:59 "Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message news:aKWdnSsrpPZLD6DRnZ2dnUVZ8gqdnZ2d(a)brightview.co.uk... > I'm starting to doubt that I understand the highway code correctly. > > Suppose you have a car on a major road, indicating to turn left into a > side road. Another car is approaching from the opposite direction and is > indicating to turn right, across the traffic, into that same side road. > > http://a.imageshack.us/img807/5531/turning.jpg > > Who has priority over whom? I've always understood that the left-turning > traffic has priority, and that the oncoming right-turning traffic has to > wait for gap in the left-turning (and also straight-on) traffic. > > But this morning I (car A) was waiting to turn left, in a long stream of > traffic. An oncoming car (C) was waiting in the middle of the road. Both > of us were indicating correctly. The straight-on car in front of me (B), > that had previously been blocking me from turning left, moved off and I > started to turn. So did the oncoming right-turning car. I was slightly > ahead of him so he had to wait, though he nearly went into the side of me. > > And he was furious! He was flashing his lights and sounding his horn all > the way down the side road, and gesticulating at me. I don't know whether > he thought that *I* should have given way to *him*. By the letter of the law, you did have the right of way, but perhaps he was expecting the old 'after you' guesture - you had only just started moving, so it wouldn't have held you up or anything! He might have been sitting there waiting for ages and was late for work etc etc.
From: Mortimer on 14 Jul 2010 07:31 "GT" <a(a)b.c> wrote in message news:4c3d9875$0$21714$c3e8da3(a)news.astraweb.com... > "Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message By the letter of the law, you > did have the right of way, but perhaps he was expecting the old 'after > you' guesture - you had only just started moving, so it wouldn't have held > you up or anything! He might have been sitting there waiting for ages and > was late for work etc etc. Whether I *should* have let him go first is another matter. The fact is that I didn't. In the absence of any clear signal from me (headlamp flashing, until someone comes up with a less ambiguous one) that I'm letting him go ahead of me, he should not assume priority. It's nice to have it confirmed that I *do* know the rules and haven't had a mental abberation! As to whether I should have let him go first, I tend to treat each case on its own merits. If the right-turning car is blocking other traffic behind it that wants to go straight on towards me, I tend to let the car go ahead of me because that benefits all the cars behind him. If there's plenty of space behind me so he can go immediately after me, I rarely if ever give way. Otherwise it depends on how I'm feeling that day! But I normally make the decision about giving way well in advance of the junction, and signal it with a two short headlamp flashes, so I can create a gap ahead of me by just easing off the power slightly and don't need to brake or come to a complete stop. That way I can resume my original speed and close up the gap again afterwards a lot more quickly. Today's situation was unusual in that I was in nose-to-tail traffic and was stationary behind car B when the opportunity to turn first became available.
From: Ian Jackson on 14 Jul 2010 07:46 In message <8a5iboFochU1(a)mid.individual.net>, Adrian <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> writes >"Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were >saying: > >> I'm starting to doubt that I understand the highway code correctly. > >I doubt it. You've heard of it, which is a big improvement over most road >users... > >> Who has priority over whom? > >B, then A, then C. > >> And he was furious! He was flashing his lights and sounding his horn all >> the way down the side road, and gesticulating at me. I don't know >> whether he thought that *I* should have given way to *him*. > >I think you're forgetting the adjunct to the HC. The one that says that >when one person is more important than the other, all other rules of >priority take a back seat. I have an innate instinct to give priority to someone on my right. B should not really have moved in the position indicated. It is pretty obvious that he will block vehicles like C. However, once B moves off, A will be clear to move off, and turn left. However... C is probably blocking a queue of traffic behind him (and, no doubt, cursing him). There is also probably a queue of traffic immediately behind A (you said 'long stream'), and there is a good chance that, as soon as A has turned left, the guy behind him (who just happens to be going straight forward) will move forward, and become another B. As a result, C is left sitting there, still blocked). In that situation, if I were A, I would certainly have done the considerate thing, and let C go before me (after giving him a suitable indication of my intention, of course), and then follow him left, into the side road. I do not consider this to be a significant inconvenience. -- Ian
From: The Peeler on 14 Jul 2010 07:48
On Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:34:34 +0100, "Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote: >I'm starting to doubt that I understand the highway code correctly. > >Suppose you have a car on a major road, indicating to turn left into a side >road. Another car is approaching from the opposite direction and is >indicating to turn right, across the traffic, into that same side road. > >http://a.imageshack.us/img807/5531/turning.jpg > >Who has priority over whom? I've always understood that the left-turning >traffic has priority, and that the oncoming right-turning traffic has to >wait for gap in the left-turning (and also straight-on) traffic. > >But this morning I (car A) was waiting to turn left, in a long stream of >traffic. An oncoming car (C) was waiting in the middle of the road. Both of >us were indicating correctly. The straight-on car in front of me (B), that >had previously been blocking me from turning left, moved off and I started >to turn. So did the oncoming right-turning car. I was slightly ahead of him >so he had to wait, though he nearly went into the side of me. > >And he was furious! He was flashing his lights and sounding his horn all the >way down the side road, and gesticulating at me. I don't know whether he >thought that *I* should have given way to *him*. This is what happens when you ban guns. An armed society is a polite society. |