Safe Speed Forums

This dawn on me as a fun topic when replying to lieber Earl P in the thread on topic of Kendigestion's latest burping.

OK my fave rules are

144 und 145 which say that if you are being overtaken - you do not speed up.

You assist the overtake by dropping the speed und creating a space for overtaker to nip into.

Ist greatest pity this one ist not read und quoted more often.

Und 145 say - you do not hold up line of traffic behind. You check mirror und pull in as und when to allow the traffic to flow.

This ist safety und good manners after all und I like it too because it stick in throaty of the dogmatic prats - und epitomises all speedy matters

So ... what's yours und why?

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146: Take extra care at junctions. You should

* watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way

I like this one because it emphasises that we are all road users and reminds drivers that they need to give consideration to the needs of pedestrians. It's the 'stop being so selfish' rule.

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160: Roundabouts

-Use MSM at all stages ... now that would be nice (of course we understand signals if they would benefit other road users)

-Time signals so as not to confuse other road users. Is that asking too much??

Many people actually need reminding what signals actually are.

Rule 233. Give way to the traffic on the motoerway when joining from the slip road.

One that seems to be being ignored more and more, especially if it is a HGV they want to get in front of then slam their brakes on

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Ah, but Rule 233 doesn't exactly say that. It says "give priority to traffic already on the motorway".

The change of wording isn't accidental.

I'm with Wildy with Rules 144 and 145 - they underline the need for co-operation and courtesy on the roads, which is not something that can be defined in black and white rules.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Seeing as the highway code chooses not to, would you like to explain the difference?

I'll have a go.

For a give way situation - such as a crossroads - the give-wayer should actively not pull into the major road if to do so would cause any traffic on the major road to have to take any remedial action - even lift off .

For a give priority situation, obviously in a "tie" (ie if both were to continue at their rate of progress until the latest merge point) the one who should give priority - on the slip road - should yield (and earlier than the end of the slip!). Otherwise it is far less clear cut than give way, and the one who should typically back off (if any backing off is required) is the one who would be further back, even if he is on the main drag, when the one who was/is on the slip road would have reached its end. Even then in certain circumstances (eg HGV with momentum to conserve) should be yielded to if practical.

In addition to Roger's explanation, I'd like to suggest:

- Stopping on a slip road is obviously a bad idea, but 'give way' would seem to promote it.

- 'give priority' is more like 75/25, while 'give way' is more like 100/0

[edited because I CAN spell 'addition']

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Roger and Paul have put this better than I ever could. It's a merge, not a Give Way.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

I have always felt that regardless of RoW issues,"The Duty of Care" in the slip road scenario rests primarrily with the driver with the best view, IE the one in L1!

Under Maritime law, there are rules about who should give way to who But, *everybody* still has a "duty of care" to avoid collisions! (That would be my *mod* for the Highway code!)

IE if somebody who has "Right of Way" Ploughs on regardless because they think they are entitled to do so in a manner that results in an accedent they can neverthless be found (RoW not withstanding) liable for the consequences!

Drivers in slip roads frequently have "Rotton" visability of what is going on on the main road. and It is not always possible to accelerate to the "56 MPH" that HGV's insist on in the distance provided (I can manage, in my van, 45 tops on a typical slip road! I will aim for a *gap* in L1 but this will typically require the guy behind to slow down or change lane THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!)

(In my car, this is a diferent issue. I believe strongly in the "Emergancy start" stratagy IE I accelerate hard and *brake* to enter the traffic stream! It never fails! , But then the Rover Vitesse has *four times* the power and *half* the weight!)

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I like the combination of rule 18, which tells pedestrians that at zebra crossings:

"always check that the traffic has stopped before you start to cross or push a pram onto a crossing"

and rule 171, which tells drivers that at zebra crossings

"you MUST give way when someone has moved onto a crossing"

This illustrates to me that sensible road usage is governed ultimately by common sense and co-operation, and that it is the interpretation of rules that matters more than their strict wording. If we were all to rigidly apply the rules then a zebra crossing would never work at all.

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Close call - whether to go with my wife or say the Rules 124 and 125 would be my choice as they really do go hand in hand with COAST

These two actually mention C O A in full - and suggest how to plan which - as we know is the giving of S and T

There's also 138 and 139 about the nitty gritty of overtaking too.

Ho-hum.


Have to hand it to Wildy.. Much as I know it comes across as a bit "cheesy" to praise my wife like this..

We know all present read the Highway Code - but perhaps this thread may get the lurkers and browsers out there to at least have another read and maybe even chip in with their fave one



May even get the message over and across that this campaign is very serious about improving road safety too.

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I like this:

109: Areas of white diagonal stripes or chevrons painted on the road.

These are to separate traffic lanes or to protect traffic turning right.

* If the area is bordered by a broken white line, you should not enter the area unless it is necessary and you can see that it is safe to do so.

I love the 'sleight of hand' in this rule that allows those that know to declare necessity, while those that don't know are steered firmly away from a risk they may not understand.

We REALLY need to pull off the exact same trick with speed limits.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

It means that a pedestrian can take control of a zebra by just putting a foot in the gutter! Seems simple, though rigid enough, to me.

If they ain't got a foot on it, don't stop. Then you aren't stopping unnecessarily for the 'zebra gossipers' !