Roundabouts & blocking entry

[Centurion07]

I was waiting to enter a roundabout earlier when my way was blocked by a police car that stopped right in front of me because the traffic on the exit she was taking had stopped (was already stopped when she entered the roundabout and could have been seen from her entry point).

So I gave her a beep. Her hand gestures & her mouthing of "I'm a police car/I'm on a roundabout and have right of way" left me thinking she thought she was in the right.

I was under the impression that it's pretty much the same as blocking a T-junction i.e. at the very least a driving test fail, if not in fact actually illegal?

Any opinions?

[Centurion07]

Torquey said:

I didn't think it was illegal to block the entry, unless there is a yellow box.

Just courtesy not to do so.

I don't know, that's why I asked.

HantsRat said:

Stop being so petty. Probably inconvenienced you for about 30 seconds? This happens every day up and down the country. Chill out and wait to you can move on.

Thanks for the very helpful input. I couldn't give a st if it was 30 seconds or 3, if it's because somebody is doing something illegal and not just bloody selfish, they can jog on.

So, any actual relevant info pertaining to the question I asked?

[Centurion07]

Vaud said:

https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/round...

185
When reaching the roundabout you should

• give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights
• check whether road markings allow you to enter the roundabout without giving way. If so, proceed, but still look to the right before joining
• watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout; be aware they may not be signalling correctly or at all
• look forward before moving off to make sure traffic in front has moved off.

I'm fully aware of all of that, thanks.

I was asking if it's ok to block an entry to a roundabout.

[Centurion07]

HarryW said:

Should have tooted again, followed by the coffee beans, that would work..........

I did take an extra couple of seconds to debate tooting in the first place, don't think that would've gone down particularly well!

[Centurion07]

desolate said:

She is less wrong than you sounding your horn

You think so? Using my horn to make another road user aware of my presence? I thought that was actually the point...

[Centurion07]

Vaud said:

Centurion07 said:

I'm fully aware of all of that, thanks.

I was asking if it's ok to block an entry to a roundabout.

Well if you read the highway code you will note that unless there is a yellow hatched box or other warning, then it is legal.

Not sure what answer you want.

It is mildly inconsiderate at best.

Yep, according to the Highway Code unless there's yellow hatching/some other warning then no, it's not illegal. I was wondering if it would've been covered under the same thing that makes it illegal to block someone's driveway by parking in front of it?

As you say, just inconsiderate, but as she was trying to let me know she had right of way AND the fact she was a police officer, I thought I'd ask on here for my own clarification as to who was in the wrong.

Either way, still inconsiderate so I stand by my toot!

[Centurion07]

R_U_LOCAL said:

Were you stationary?

I was, yes, because I couldn't move 'cos of a bloody police car blocking me!

[Centurion07]

Derek Smith said:

Where were you going to go? If the car in front of the police car was stationary, then it is a matter of priority, the the police car had that.

I'm not sure why there should be an 'after you' moment.

Straight over from 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock. She had entered from 3 o'clock going to 9 o'clock and the traffic on that exit had stopped BEFORE she got anywhere near my entry point so there was no need to block me.

I was looking for clarification as to it's legality since she seemed to think she had priority PURELY because she was on a roundabout and I wondered if that trumped everything else i.e. the blocking of an entry road, which it would appear to.

My annoyance was down to the fact that 1. she could see she wasn't going to clear me before she entered the roundabout and 2. rather than stop a car length or two earlier, she drove right up to the other car and stopped me moving.

ETA: just for clarification; I only mentioned it was a police car since had what she did proved to be illegal rather than just selfish, it would've been quite a pertinent point. Not that I was going to rush up to the station and make a complaint before all the driving gods & resident BiB accuse me of being an "Eclassy".

Edited by Centurion07 on Tuesday 19th May 17:33

Edited by Centurion07 on Tuesday 19th May 17:35

[Centurion07]

walm said:

Not knowing the rules for a roundabout or for using your horn just makes you a non-PH-level driving god. AKA normal person.

Actually I knew the one about not using the horn when stationary, but that clearly is one to be ignored. Sometimes I go to an empty car park & toot my horn whilst stationary just to feel like a badboy!

Also, whilst the highway code may not specifically mention blocking a roundabout entry as illegal, it does have multiple mentions, the general gist of all them being "pay attention & don't inconvenience other drivers".

So not illegal, just arrogant.

[Centurion07]

ging84 said:

Is this a troll?
you beeped at a police car for not leaving a gap, then freely admit you have absolutely no idea if they were doing anything wrong.

do you regularly beep at other cars for no good reason? or just police cars?

As much as your comment is trolling.

Just because something is not illegal, doesn't mean it's not inconsiderate, which is why I tooted at her.

Whether or not something is illegal and/or inconsiderate does not necessarily make it "wrong".

I asked on here for clarification, because of her reaction, as to whether or not what she did was actually legal or not and I have my answer.

Thanks for stopping by.

[Centurion07]

Devil2575 said:

Centurion07 said:

ging84 said:

Is this a troll?
you beeped at a police car for not leaving a gap, then freely admit you have absolutely no idea if they were doing anything wrong.

do you regularly beep at other cars for no good reason? or just police cars?

As much as your comment is trolling.

Just because something is not illegal, doesn't mean it's not inconsiderate, which is why I tooted at her.

Whether or not something is illegal and/or inconsiderate does not necessarily make it "wrong".

I asked on here for clarification, because of her reaction, as to whether or not what she did was actually legal or not and I have my answer.

Thanks for stopping by.

Just because he said something you didn't like doesn't make him a troll.

I think he actually made a pretty good point.

Using your horn to point out what you percieve to be inconsiderate behaviour is not appropriate either.

Exactly what point was that, because I couldn't see one?

[Centurion07]

ging84 said:

It's not that i don't like it, it's that i find it almost unbelievable that there are people out there who beep at any other motorists, let alone a police car without at least being certain they've done something wrong.

But it shouldn't really surprise me, the ones beeping at others on the road are usually the ones who don't seem to know what they are doing.

It was "wrong" in the sense it was bloody inconsiderate in that if the unobservant bint had stopped just one car length earlier I could've carried on with my journey without inconveniencing her in any way. I came on here to get clarification as to whether or not it was actually illegal. Turns out it wasn't. Would I do it again? Yes I would because if somebody is going to drive with no consideration for anyone else out on the road, the least I can do is draw their attention to it in the vain hope it might make them think twice if the situation arises again.

[Centurion07]

Jonsv8 said:

I have sympathy for the inconvenience but breaking the law because somebody inconvenienced you?

And once they've blocked your path, what do you expect them to do when you blow your horn? Reverse on a roundabout?

At the risk of repeating my posts, I asked if it was illegal in the same way it is illegal to block someone's driveway, not purely because I was being inconvenienced.

No, I did not expect her to reverse, I was drawing her attention to the fact she had needlessly blocked me in and therefore she should maybe pay a bit more attention to her surroundings and the other drivers she's sharing the road with.

[Centurion07]

Half of which are posts like that offering nothing to the thread topic. Good job.

[Centurion07]

walm said:

Out of interest - how did the police-lady know you were going 6 to 12?
She could have reasonably assumed you were going 6 to 9 in which case it really isn't that inconsiderate to continue on the roundabout and ignore you, is it?

However, more important is to note that you have learned two things: it's nothing like blocking a T-junction as you initially suggested and that sounding your horn when stationary and in no danger is an offence.

Despite all that you would do it all again.

From which I can only surmise that your OP was simply an opportunity to (attempt to) bash the police rather than a genuine request for info, which does in fact make you Eclassy.v2.

The ONLY reason I mentioned it was a police car is I would expect them to drive to a slightly higher standard than Joe Public. FYI I have nothing but respect for the Police, to the point where (since it crops on here every now and again), I'm more than happy for them to park on double yellow lines even if it's just to nip to the shops for their lunch since the less time they take doing that, the more time they have to do the important stuff. So no, it was not an opportunity for a bit of police-bashing otherwise there would've been no question asked.

It was fairly obvious where I was going (at least it would've been to me since I use these things when I'm driving) due to my positioning on the road and also the direction my front wheels were pointing i.e. it would've been clear I wasn't taking the exit she was taking.

Tooting (TOOTING, which is what I did, not blasting) your horn when stationary, although technically an offence, is a lot less inconsiderate than blocking another driver imo.

[Centurion07]

Jonsv8 said:

It's now ok for the police to break the law when it does not matter to you but not to be legal and inconvenience you.

Keep digging

If it doesn't inconvenience ANYONE then yes. Parking on DYL does not automatically cause anyone a problem. Blocking another car does. Keep trying though.

[Centurion07]

ging84 said:

grimmac said:

So if she had waited and not entered the rb... To avoid inconveniencing you..

what about the car behind her wanting to take the first exit - which is clear - but can't because she is keeping the entry clear for you?

How long were you actually inconvenienced for?

anyone behind would be far less important than the OP, but that doesn't actually matter, the OP's eagle eye surveyed the whole traffic situation of a busy roundabout, and was able to work out that no one else would have been inconvenienced for the 10 seconds or so he would have needed to pull out, and the woman was a useless bint for not being able to work out the same from her limited view in the rear view mirror in the half second or so she had to made a decision on where to stop.

All you two need to know is that as I was the only one out of the three of us that was actually there, I'm the only one in a position to say what was possible given the road layout and amount of traffic at the time, but feel free to carry on making stuff up to have a swipe.

[Centurion07]

ging84 said:

Centurion07 said:

All you two need to know is that as I was the only one out of the three of us that was actually there, I'm the only one in a position to say what was possible given the road layout and amount of traffic at the time, but feel free to carry on making stuff up to have a swipe.

You weren't in the woman's car either, so you were not seeing it from her perspective, yet you were happy to call her a stupid bint

Yep, because it was plain as day as to what was going to happen to anyone with eyes, whichever car they were in, hence the OP.

Keep going though if it makes you feel better.

[Centurion07]

Vee said:

The answer you wanted was provided in the first reply you received from Torquey.

Yep, something I'm fully aware of yet it hasn't stopped a select few piling in trying to take the moral high ground has it?

Not that it's a surprise; I've been here long enough to know how it would go.

[Centurion07]

Hackney said:

grimmac said:

Or the fuller version...

112
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively. You MUST NOT use your horn

• while stationary on the road
• when driving in a built-up area between the hours of 11.30 pm and 7.00 am

except when another road user poses a danger.
Law CUR reg 99

Taxi / minicab drivers throughout the country are turning themselves in as we speak.
(Twice)

This one isn't!