Priority over incoming vehicles rules

[tommytaylor]

Like the ones where there is either a restriction sticking out into the road or in this case an old bridge that can only support one car at a time so they restrict the traffic.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.4104944,-2.41271...

Going the way of the maps you have to give way to traffic coming the other way, however you can only just see the signs at the opposite end of the restriction and then it goes round the bend so you cant see what traffic is approaching. There are always problems here, people go through and then a car appears round the bend and just barrels into the restriction forcing the other car to reverse back out again, its frustrating mainly the people reversing cant reverse for toffee so by the time they have got back out there traffic is built up on both sides.

Now is my understanding correct in that if there isn't a car already in the restriction you have priority and if a car does happen to come the other way its just tough and they have to wait, signs or not, surely its just a single track road at that point where no-one has any sort of priority over anyone.

I'd class it similar to a roundabout where you have to give way to the right, but if there isn't anything on the roundabout to your right then you can go, even if another vehicle is 6" from entering the roundabout to your right.

[TheDrownedApe]

Very badly designed and should be traffic lights. However one would assume if you are already on the restriction you have RoW and anyone coming would give way. Anyone who reverses whilst there is a muppet.

The law indicates that if there is already a vehicle travelling in the narrow area, you should wait for them to pass before progressing (taken from WBAC as couldn't find it quickly in highway code).

[Scarletpimpofnel]

You'd have to be a right prat to enter that when a vehicle is already there (regardless of whether if empty you had priority).

[qwerty360]

TheDrownedApe said:

Very badly designed and should be traffic lights. However one would assume if you are already on the restriction you have RoW and anyone coming would give way. Anyone who reverses whilst there is a muppet.

The law indicates that if there is already a vehicle travelling in the narrow area, you should wait for them to pass before progressing (taken from WBAC as couldn't find it quickly in highway code).

Not that traffic lights solve the problem fully though they would help here... See the number of tts incapable of grasping that a bicycle can't necessarily get through TL controlled single track within the all red phase (seen lights for road works where starting as the light went green, you couldn't get through before a green light the other way in both directions!)

The concept that a green light still requires you give way to vehicles within the controlled area doesn't compute to the *bleeps*. As a result it can make issues even worse (because clearly if the light was green it is everyone elses fault regardless of what they could see by looking 20ft past the light...)

[Zeeky]

Oncoming traffic has priority over that part of the carriageway between the signs regardless of who gets there first. In this case it might work better if the priority was the other way round.

[tommytaylor]

Zeeky said:

Oncoming traffic has priority over that part of the carriageway between the signs regardless of who gets there first. In this case it might work better if the priority was the other way round.

Technically yes but what are they supposed to do about it. when you approach the signs where you should stop and there isn't anything in the section, and you cant see if anything is coming then your only option is go through, if not then you either wait there forever or turn round. So if you do go through and a car comes round the corner they may well have priority over you but what can you do about it? Its like a green light, just because its green you cant just plough on if something is still in the junction, you have to wait.

This section of road has been like this for years and I've lost count on the number of times its come to gridlock because of the previously mentioned scenarios, its quite a busy road as well because its a cut through to a major town, and the tip.

[Scarletpimpofnel]

tommytaylor said:

Zeeky said:

Oncoming traffic has priority over that part of the carriageway between the signs regardless of who gets there first. In this case it might work better if the priority was the other way round.

Technically yes but what are they supposed to do about it. when you approach the signs where you should stop and there isn't anything in the section, and you cant see if anything is coming then your only option is go through, if not then you either wait there forever or turn round. So if you do go through and a car comes round the corner they may well have priority over you but what can you do about it? Its like a green light, just because its green you cant just plough on if something is still in the junction, you have to wait.

This section of road has been like this for years and I've lost count on the number of times its come to gridlock because of the previously mentioned scenarios, its quite a busy road as well because its a cut through to a major town, and the tip.

TT you're right, as I said above only a prat would steam in to this section of road if something is already on it. The only benefit to human kind is that this readily identifies all such prats so they can be castrated forewith to prevent any prat offspring with the prat gene continuing the prat lineage thus making life better for everyone.

[akirk]

Zeeky said:

Oncoming traffic has priority over that part of the carriageway between the signs regardless of who gets there first. In this case it might work better if the priority was the other way round.

they do have priority (theoretically) but not regardless of who arrives first exactly - but think about what priority means...
priority means that you go first if you are both there at the same time otherwise you ceed priority - it does not mean that you have the right to bully someone to reverse back when they are established in that part of the road having gone when no-one else was there...

so you arrive at the obstruction where you DO NOT have priority:
- someone else already coming / approaching and about to go - they have priority, you wait
- no-one else there, so no-one to have priority over you, you are allowed to go and you have use of that road

you arrive at the obstruction where you DO have priority
- no-one else coming / someone waiting / someone approaching - you have priority, you can go / they should stop or wait
- someone else already having started to proceed through the obstruction - you do not have priority over them, you wait.

priority means the right to precede others / take precedence - that only applies if you are both there and one has to decide - exactly the same as at a roundabout, you both arrive at the same time, the one to the right takes priority - but if they arrive later, they don't have the right to expect the other to come off the roundabout, they wait...

think of it as 'first dibs'

understanding priority better would transform our roads
anyone who assumes that having arrived second they can somehow force the other driver to reverse is a bully who doesn't understand the english language or the highway code

Edited by akirk on Thursday 24th August 13:55