Conundrum: Pedestrians on a narrow country road with no footpaths - who gives way?
Outside towns and cities, but often just outside quite well populated villages, there are roads with no footpaths, just not particularly easily accessible verges.
It's a sunny day on a quiet road, with not much traffic. You're driving a car - you spot a couple of pedestrians out for a walk and coming towards you. There are two of them, side by side, on your side of the road, but having seen you they move into single file.
It's a narrow road, just about wide enough for two vehicles, there's another car coming towards you, and you expect the pedestrians to get off the road, onto the verge, to allow you to continue your journey without having to stop. But they don't - they just carry on walking single file.
What do you do?
1 Stop before you reach the pedestrians to allow the other car to pass safely.
2 Blast your horn at the pedestrians to get them to move out of the way.
3 Carry on regardless and take a chance on brushing against the pedestrians?
Real life situation - I see it every day. What's the correct answer? An increasing number of drivers seem not to know what it is.
It's a sunny day on a quiet road, with not much traffic. You're driving a car - you spot a couple of pedestrians out for a walk and coming towards you. There are two of them, side by side, on your side of the road, but having seen you they move into single file.
It's a narrow road, just about wide enough for two vehicles, there's another car coming towards you, and you expect the pedestrians to get off the road, onto the verge, to allow you to continue your journey without having to stop. But they don't - they just carry on walking single file.
What do you do?
1 Stop before you reach the pedestrians to allow the other car to pass safely.
2 Blast your horn at the pedestrians to get them to move out of the way.
3 Carry on regardless and take a chance on brushing against the pedestrians?
Real life situation - I see it every day. What's the correct answer? An increasing number of drivers seem not to know what it is.
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Comments
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You need to stop or get on to the verge yourself. Since a vehicle is coming the other way the first option is more appropriate I would suggest.
If you blasted your horn at me you wouldn't be getting past at all.
The pedestrians may have reasons for not wanting to step on to the verge, very annoying but not much you can do.0 -
It is your right of way, pedestrians should move over, however it is also your responsibility not to run people over so... yes, if they are not moving, you must stop. Highway code explicitly states that if pedestrians are in the road you must slow down and stop before you hit them!0
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The pedestrians are doing the right thing - walking single-file facing the oncoming traffic. If they can get onto a verge they probably will do. If passing them safely would put you over the centre line and in conflict with the oncoming vehicle; you should wait until it is safe. Same situation would apply if the pedestrians were a non-bological obstruction - roadworks, parked emergency vehicle, fallen tree.
But speaking as one who has been on that sort of road on foot, a goodly number of drivers go for
4 Accelerate to get past the pedestrians and make the oncoming driver stop instead.Wash your Knobs and Knockers... Keep the Postie safe!0 -
Do you really need to ask?0
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Is exactly what I thought.Shaka_Zulu wrote: »Is it ?
It's scary! :eek:0 -
I'd stop as the other car has a priority and there is an "obstruction", whatever the sort, on my side. It'd be dangerous driving without regard for other road users to do anything different.
If there were no car coming the other way, I'd slow down and pull out so they knew I'd seen them and to have more options should one stumble.
There are rights, priorities ... and courtesy.0 -
I don't care whose right of way it is.
I would do whatever it takes to avoid an accident. I don't want to spend months/years dealing with my insurance company and having to pay higher premiums even if it wasn't my fault.
I also don't want to injure/kill someone and have that on my conscience for the rest of my life.0 -
If you have an obstruction on your side of the road you should be the one that gives way to oncoming traffic. Doesn't matter what that obstruction is.0
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