Left lane for left and straight on, right for right?

Inactive

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Presumably you consider yourself to be one of these experts.
.

Well one thing is for certain, you obviously do, and you really haven't got a clue.:rotfl::rotfl:

Perhaps you should ask the AA for your money back.

AlexisV

I have a question on a similar vein!

Here is a junction. Can I take the turn marked in red? The lights are plain green with no filter arrows. There is a straight ahead arrow on the road - is it compulsory or advisory?

The path other vehicles take are marked in orange and blue.

The reason I ask is that the lights to turn left, with the filter arrow, only activate about 20 seconds afterwards, so vehicles turning left are held on red.

I've tried the sneaky turn twice with no problems.

Strider590

AlexisV wrote: »

I have a question on a similar vein!

Here is a junction. Can I take the turn marked in red? The lights are plain green with no filter arrows. There is a straight ahead arrow on the road - is it compulsory or advisory?

You'll find you shouldn't do that, however you wouldn't be creating any additional hazard or danger..... BUT If you had a collision doing so then you wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

Can I assume these are normal lights? ie they change North/South - East/West?

AlexisV

Yep, normal light sequence.

I think you're right about not having a leg to stand on!

Come to think of it, knowing my luck, a cop car will come out of McDonalds and turn right into the path of my naughty route.

almillar

We need to separate out 'law' 'Highway Code' (guidance based on law), 'advanced test standard' and 'L test standard'.
As an example, you'll fail your L test if you don't apply the handbrake at a stop junction (sortof foolproof method of making sure you're stopped), but you would pass your advanced test. Make sure you understand what people are talking about things being acceptable under.

AlexisV - the way you say 'sneaky' suggests you already know you shouldn't be doing it, use the filter lane. I certainly wouldn't want to be behind you wanting to go straight on whilst you carefully crawl round a sharp left.

DirectDebacle - yes it's nice that this is happening in a reasoned way, although I 100% disagree with you in this case! I simply can't get past the approaching of any type of standard junction, including roundabouts, in the right lane, and going left. Even in your totally safe HGV example, it just feels like cheating, and doing wrong. I can't say it's illegal, I can't say the Highway code says not to do it (but the highway code doesn't say not to throw lions out the window either!), but I CAN say that in my L test or advanced test, I wouldn't do it, because I believe that it is wrong. i do stuff every day that I wouldn't do under test conditions, often in the name of progress, but not that.

Many drivers execute a similar manoeuvre but not at roundabouts. For example two lanes of traffic at traffic lights. HGV, bus or whatever and a quicker vehicle next to it waiting for the lights to change. The road ahead narrows from two to one lane and when the lights change the quicker vehicle gets ahead and safely gets in front of the other and feeds into the single lane. Pretty much what you can do at a roundabout as long as it safe and the conditions permit it.

This isn't similar. This is a merge on a straight road. It's in the highway code.

Similarly it is not necessary to always signal on a roundabout.

It is. You should ALWAYS signal left to leave the roundabout just after you pass the exit before yours. Please don't use the 'indicating to the birds' argument.

Inactive

almillar wrote: »

We need to separate out 'law' 'Highway Code' (guidance based on law), 'advanced test standard' and 'L test standard'.
As an example, you'll fail your L test if you don't apply the handbrake at a stop junction (sortof foolproof method of making sure you're stopped), but you would pass your advanced test. Make sure you understand what people are talking about things being acceptable under.
.

Sorry, you are 100% wrong, you only need to bring your vehicle to a complete stop, handbrake not required, on either a standard ( L ) or advanced test, there is no difference.

DirectDebacle

DirectDebacle - yes it's nice that this is happening in a reasoned way, although I 100% disagree with you in this case! I simply can't get past the approaching of any type of standard junction, including roundabouts, in the right lane, and going left.

Thought you might. I cited that example as the OP was about roundabouts. I wouldn't be even thinking about it any other type of junction, unless I had to turn left across a broken down vehicle for example.

I can understand the manoeuvre is not one for you and no argument there.

It is. You should ALWAYS signal left to leave the roundabout just after you pass the exit before yours. Please don't use the 'indicating to the birds' argument

It was explained to me that you give signals when they will be of benefit to other road users or those you could reasonably expect to be on the road at the time.

This applied to all situations where a signal may be required so I am curious as to why you appear to be applying the 'always signal' rule at roundabouts. I am assuming that you weren't instructed to automatically signal at every manoeuvre that may require one.

As far as the H.C. goes with Rules 184-6 it states to give appropriate signals. This is a should rule, not a must rule and can be disregarded if there is a good reason. I would suggest that if there is no road user to benefit or likely to benefit from a signal, then that is a good enough reason not to signal.

It is a minor point and probably due to a slightly different view taken by different driving instructors/examiners.

Note:

I never mentioned 'birds' once. Or lions.

cajef

DirectDebacle wrote: »

The Highway Code is not law. It is a set of rules.

Suggest you read the introduction to the highway code, some of the rules are law.

Many of the rules in the Code are legal requirements, and if you disobey these rules you are committing a criminal offence. You may be fined, given penalty points on your licence or be disqualified from driving. In the most serious cases you may be sent to prison. Such rules are identified by the use of the words ‘MUST/MUST NOT’

Wig

Inactive wrote: »

You seem to be confused, nobody stated " the driving instructor said ".

You seem to be being pedantic, you did say that the word of a driving instructor was somehow to be regarded as beyond reproach.

The fact is the words in the HC say "in the absence of lane markings, the most appropriate lane is to be used", this will clearly change with conditions on the ground at the particular RBt. If it was as you say, it would say so in black and white. It is clearly written like that so that you can opt to take either lane, otherwise there would be no sense in writing it like that.

Wig

AlexisV wrote: »

I have a question on a similar vein!

Here is a junction. Can I take the turn marked in red? The lights are plain green with no filter arrows. There is a straight ahead arrow on the road - is it compulsory or advisory?

By doing that you would be running into cars emerging from the left on a green light, your saving factor is that there are 3 lanes so a collision is not likely - if you take the third lane. If the traffic opposite is also on green at the same time and can turn right then the emerging cars are more likely to expect cars from the right (your car).

There would usually be a no left turn sign. There is no "ahead only" under the arrow, so theoretically the arrow is only a guidance. If you can do it safely keep doing it. I wouldn't like to say if you could get collared for doing that or not.