Turning right: vehicle placement

[LotusOmega375D]

Is it just me, or does anyone else get frustrated by people who position their cars, so that the vehicles behind can't get past when they're waiting to turn right?

It happens both from a main road into a side road, where they just cannot bring themselves to stray a couple of inches over the white line to allow the traffic behind to continue pass, and also from a side road onto a main road where they stop at the junction bang in the middle of the lane, so preventing anyone being able to turn left until they have moved off.

[LukeR94]

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

[LotusOmega375D]

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen.

But it's not though is it? Most roads have ample room for 3 vehicles without scaring anyone. You're not going to drive head-on into another car just because he's waiting a couple of inches across the white line are you?

[manmaths]

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

Yea I wouldn't expect them to enter an opposing lane of traffic but this is a pet hate of mine. It's worse when there is a lane provided to turn right but they sit with their backside out into the main lane, forcing to traffic to stop.

Also lanes that are provided for left or right turns on main roads, and people do 95% of their braking in the main lane, before entering at the last minute.

[MitchT]

Yes, it's a nuisance. I encounter them on a regular basis. It's a shame 'bad' driving isn't treated the way speeding is.

[Hooli]

LotusOmega375D said:

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen.

But it's not though is it? Most roads have ample room for 3 vehicles without scaring anyone. You're not going to drive head-on into another car just because he's waiting a couple of inches across the white line are you?

I wish people could move over to the white line at all. The current tend is to swing left like a bus even in the smallest car they could buy. Not only does it stop me getting past on a bike but it hides their indicator (on the rare occasions they use it) from all but the car right behind making the traffic stop faster as they've not noticed any reason to slow.

[Stevie C]

I've got a cracking piece of video footage (I'll link it, once I've edited it for swearing!) of someone in front of me attempting to take a right turn. There is ample room on the road to position for the turn and allow cars behind to still pass. This woman was angled at 45 degrees blocking the whole left side of the road, then proceeded into the minor road, which had parked cars on the left but room to pass on the right, with the right hand wheels up on the kerb. I assumed she wasn't from the area, but actually lived down the road, so that must be her normal 'procedure' for that turn!

[beko1987]

Annoys the hell out of me when people sit in the middle of the lane to turn right rather than keeping right!

[Pan Pan]

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

When turning right, I was taught to stop with both offside wheels just touching the white line, has this now changed in driver training / testing?

[kambites]

Pan Pan said:

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

When turning right, I was taught to stop with both offside wheels just touching the white line, has this now changed in driver training / testing?

When I Was taught, I was told that no part of my vehicle should cross the centre-line, so similar but not quite the same. I was certainly taught not to cross the line until I was actually making the turn.

[Pan Pan]

kambites said:

Pan Pan said:

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

When turning right, I was taught to stop with both offside wheels just touching the white line, has this now changed in driver training / testing?

When I Was taught, I was told that no part of my vehicle should cross the centre-line, so similar but not quite the same. I was certainly taught not to cross the line until I was actually making the turn.

I was taught `just touching' but not crossing the white line. This in theory would give maximum space for vehicles on the nearside to get by, without impeding vehicles coming in the opposite direction.

[grayze]

close to the centre line with the wheels in a straight ahead position.

The problem is some people don't like turning the steering wheel and position at an angle so they use minimum effort, usually because they are imbeciles though.

[Riley Blue]

grayze said:

close to the centre line with the wheels in a straight ahead position.

The problem is some people don't like turning the steering wheel and position at an angle so they use minimum effort, usually because they are imbeciles though.

That's what I do too so if you get nudged from behind you're not shot towards the oncoming traffic.

[cptsideways]

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

Precisely wrong IMHO


By offsetting your vehicle to the centre line or over you become visible to the traffic behind, why bother even indicating to the traffic behind if they cannot see your indicators (except the one directly behind) You may as well not bother indicating at all!

It's also a well known defensive driving technique. I was taught this in my test in 1989 along with keep your wheels straight until actually turning right in case you get shunted from behind (see above to avoid)


Extra wide white lining also appears to make matters worse, so many people dare not drive over white lines of any sort.

[XJ Flyer]

kambites said:

Pan Pan said:

LukeR94 said:

Why would they want to cross the white line while waiting to turn right? thats an accident waiting to happen. However on the side road note, im totally with you!

When turning right, I was taught to stop with both offside wheels just touching the white line, has this now changed in driver training / testing?

When I Was taught, I was told that no part of my vehicle should cross the centre-line, so similar but not quite the same. I was certainly taught not to cross the line until I was actually making the turn.

^ This and that includes the mirrors which means stopping with the wheels just to the left of the line.Although to be fair road positioning in numerous situations seems to be a problem for many drivers these days.

However in general it's more often a case of people not going through on the nearside of a right turning vehicle because they can't judge widths.With the same type of problem happening at width barriers of people stopping and taking for ever to crawl through them.

As for right turns the issue of people cutting across the centre line of the road they are turning into is usually more of a problem.

[cootuk]

On one junction I do position myself to block cars from behind as the road is just slightly too narrow for two cars to pass safely. Some cars come roaring up from behind (50+ in 30mph road), think they can make the gap if you are over to the right, decide at last second they can't so go up onto pavement with horn blasting. I just keep further over left so they can see there's no room.
What I do hate is big 4x4 turning right onto main road at busy junction where they pull up to the line and block visibility for people turning left.

Edited by cootuk on Thursday 3rd July 14:44

[XJ Flyer]

cptsideways said:

Precisely wrong IMHO


By offsetting your vehicle to the centre line or over you become visible to the traffic behind, why bother even indicating to the traffic behind if they cannot see your indicators (except the one directly behind) You may as well not bother indicating at all!

It's also a well known defensive driving technique. I was taught this in my test in 1989 along with keep your wheels straight until actually turning right in case you get shunted from behind (see above to avoid)


Extra wide white lining also appears to make matters worse, so many people dare not drive over white lines of any sort.

If you're over the line and something,especially a bus or truck that needs most of the available width,hits you from the opposite direction you're to blame.That's why we have dividing lines to seperate traffic in opposite directions and it's also why insurance claims forms ask the question was any driver on the wrong side of the road at the time of the accident.

[Swanny87]

This boils my piss ad infinitum. This is especially more prevalent in London as people generally don't know what the white lines on the road mean/don't give a toss.

I'm talking about the roads that have a separate lane for people turning right of course. I don't expect people to drive into traffic!

[Swanny87]

I had one special case in a transit turn right from a dual carriageway half into the turn right lane and half in lane 2 slowing down to crawling speed. Its a short wheel base transit that can fit and turn in the same space as a car!! Not a fking articulated lorry!!

[benters]

MitchT said:

Yes, it's a nuisance. I encounter them on a regular basis. It's a shame 'bad' driving isn't treated the way speeding is.

good point well made