Cutting a corner

sevenhills

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

CKhalvashi

Section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 and Section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 are your friends.

The only time it is acceptable is to access a property (such as a driveway) or in an emergency.

As an aside, we used to have a large-ish fleet of LWB Sprinters (2 remain). Going out into the road and then left was the order of the day for safety of pedestrians. I always taught it like this (mainly as that was how i was taught to drive such vehicles) and weirdly our fleet contained some of the few vans of this type to not routinely have damage in the panel behind the side door despite often visiting town centres (I think this happened once in the last 17 years).

facade

Would a careful & competent driver run the back wheel over the kerb making that turn?

No? - then under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is the offence of Careless Driving. (3-6 points + potentially unlimited fine)

If a pedestrian had to jump back or he ran over someone's foot it would likely pass the threshold for Dangerous driving

(minimum 1 year disqualification + compulsory retest & community order or custodial sentence)

If the pedestrian was injured & broken foot meant the victim would never walk again without a stick it would be Causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving (same penalties as Dangerous)

or

Causing serious injury by dangerous driving (2 years disqualification + 26 weeks to 5 years imprisonment)

(If the driver couldn't turn properly because he was holding his phone with one hand it would be the high end of the sentencing range...)

Car_54

facade said:

Would a careful & competent driver run the back wheel over the kerb making that turn?

No? - then under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is the offence of Careless Driving. (3-6 points + potentially unlimited fine)

It's 3 to 9 points, or disqualification.

Car_54

sevenhills said:

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

You need to curb your tendency to mis-spell "kerb".

user1977

Car_54 said:

sevenhills said:

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

You need to curb your tendency to mis-spell "kerb".

Should be made a felony.

Dustyevsky

user1977 said:

Car_54 said:

sevenhills said:

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

You need to curb your tendency to mis-spell "kerb".

Should be made a felony.

Ah, but nowadays, that word is American English. We have 'arrestable offences.' The correct spelling of 'kerb' in the US would be 'curb,' so over there the OP could be correct. However, for obvious reasons, Americans turning left would be less likely to clip kerbs than when turning right.

user1977

Dustyevsky said:

user1977 said:

Car_54 said:

sevenhills said:

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

You need to curb your tendency to mis-spell "kerb".

Should be made a felony.

Ah, but nowadays, that word is American English.

My attempts at Sunday morning humo(u)r are obviously lost on the readership here...

jimbo6977

If you position right to turn left, watch out for the cyclist in a hurry. 

baser999

jimbo6977 said:

If you position right to turn left, watch out for the cyclist in a hurry. 

 . . . . . . . because he might not be looking out for you 😏

Dustyevsky

user1977 said:

Dustyevsky said:

user1977 said:

Car_54 said:

sevenhills said:

As a driver of a large van, when I turn left at a junction I make sure that I don't clip the curb. 
Driving over the curb could damage my tyres, the pavement, street furniture or even harm a pedestrian. 
So I am surprised that car drivers seem so indifferent to driving over the chrb
Is driving over the curb illegal? 

You need to curb your tendency to mis-spell "kerb".

Should be made a felony.

Ah, but nowadays, that word is American English.

My attempts at Sunday morning humo(u)r are obviously lost on the readership here...

Not entirely. However, 'felonie' is French, and they drive on the wrong side of the road too.