Otherwise known as “cyclist forward areas”… I saw an interesting argument raging not long ago about whether you can stop in these or not. It involved some strange and novel interpretations of the Highway Code.
178
Advanced stop lines. Some signal-controlled junctions have advanced stop lines to allow cycles to be positioned ahead of other traffic. Motorists, including motorcyclists, MUST stop at the first white line reached if the lights are amber or red and should avoid blocking the way or encroaching on the marked area at other times, e.g. if the junction ahead is blocked. If your vehicle has proceeded over the first white line at the time that the signal goes red, you MUST stop at the second white line, even if your vehicle is in the marked area. Allow cyclists time and space to move off when the green signal shows.
In actual fact, this is extremely clear. The stop line for motorists under normal circumstances is the first line. If you are driving along normally and the lights start to change (amber or red), the only line that matters is the first line. The HC says “MUST ” in bold (and red in the paper version), which means you are breaking the law if you drive into the area when you stop at lights.
If you brake and stop beyond the first line under normal circumstances, this is exactly the same as stopping over the line at a normal set of lights. You must not stop in the area reserved for cyclists any more than you should stop part-way into a junction as a result of reacting late or insufficiently. If you do it on your test then it would be a serious fault.
At other times (i.e. if the junction is blocked), if the lights are green and if you have moved into the forward area, but then the lights change, the second line can be used as your stop line. In this case, you should give especial priority to cyclists before moving off again when the lights change back to green. Arguably, having to stop in this area even under such circumstances constitutes poor planning, and it probably warrants a driver fault at least if you did it on your test.
The two situations described in the HC are entirely separate. It should also be remembered that no two on-road situations are the same, and no two examiners are either! But on test it is the examiner’s interpretation that matters, and you shouldn’t be relying on this by getting yourself into situations which are already questionable even before it comes to deciding how questionable.
The DSA has come up trumps with this reminder to cyclists about how THEY should behave on the roads.
Rule 66
You should
keep both hands on the handlebars except when signalling or changing gear
keep both feet on the pedals
never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends
not ride close behind another vehicle
not carry anything which will affect your balance or may get tangled up with your wheels or chain
be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary, for example, by ringing your bell if you have one. It is recommended that a bell be fitted
It’s almost laughable in some respects. You could probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of cyclists who are even aware that there are rules they’re supposed to follow, let alone be prepared to abide by them.
The Spandex boys – the ones who think they’re athletes, but aren’t – are the worst offenders. This year already seems much worse than usual. The Olympics has got them all worked up, I guess.
Another one of the DSA’s timely reminders about parts of the Highway Code, this time concerning roundabouts.
Rule 186
Signals and position
When taking the first exit to the left, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise
signal left and approach in the left-hand lane
keep to the left on the roundabout and continue signalling left to leave
When taking an exit to the right or going full circle, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise
signal right and approach in the right-hand lane
keep to the right on the roundabout until you need to change lanes to exit the roundabout
signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want
When taking any intermediate exit, unless signs or markings indicate otherwise
select the appropriate lane on approach to the roundabout
you should not normally need to signal on approach
stay in this lane until you need to alter course to exit the roundabout
signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want
When there are more than three lanes at the entrance to a roundabout, use the most appropriate lane on approach and through it.
Read all the rules about roundabouts (184-190)
As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s a great idea to circulate this kind of information. Whether it works or not is another matter entirely – the understanding of roundabouts among the general public (including many of those who think they’re “advanced” drivers and can therefore drive around them any way they feel like) is appalling.
Also, don’t forget my own articles on roundabouts here and here.
An email alert from the DSA advises people who have their tests booked May 10 to attend as normal.
PCS – the union involved – is obviously still determined to show the public what a bunch of prats it really is, whilst remaining under the impression that people are still mentally stuck in the Dark Ages with it, and are actually impressed by the idea of a strike.
As I’ve said before, not all examiners are in the union, and not all those who are get involved in strike action anyway.
If you’re worried, rearrange your test.
Why are the DSA on strike on May 10?
It isn’t specifically the DSA who are striking. It is various government bodies who are refusing to accept the government’s pension offer. Pensions are the latest tool in the armoury of those who prefer striking to working for a living.
The union involved claims it wants the government to “come to the negotiating table”. In plain English, this just means that they will not be happy until they get exactly what THEY want.
It isn’t just PCS either. The police are complaining about their pensions and are organising demonstrations. Unions involved cover the civil service, universities, schools, colleges, and the NHS.
The government has already made improved offers as a result of last year’s strikes, but as the union says, “these are not enough”. They demand a “fair settlement”. As I say, this amounts to EVERYTHING they are demanding, and nothing less will do.
Don’t forget that the tanker drivers are complaining about similar issues, which prompted the panic buying fiasco a few weeks ago. Pensions is the current hot topic.
I mentioned in Punitive Pettiness #1 that I often use industrial estates for lessons in the evenings when there’s no one around. Colwick MPTC (the driving test centre) is on one of these, and about ½ mile away is Colwick Quays Business Park.
I’ve been using this area for years at nights and weekends. It is usually dead out of business hours – apart from the occasional lorry doing a sleepover, or dog walkers taking their mutts to foul the wasteland round the back.
To be honest, I also think I provide a service, because when I’m there on a lesson I am a deterrent to anyone thinking of breaking into any of the units, the majority of which appear to be vacant anyway.
I cause absolutely no inconvenience whatsoever to the businesses or any of their employees. However, it is obvious that my mere presence is a problem to someone somewhere.
Colwick Quays has been there for years. In all that time it has not changed (other than for businesses which have gone bankrupt vacating various units from time to time. The picture below shows what the entrance looked like up until Friday of this week.
This one shows what it’s like now, with the shiny new barrier.
Maybe it’s just my suspicious mind, but I’m convinced that simply because someone resented the presence of the occasional learner down there the cost associated with installing this barrier – a barrier which has been totally unnecessary since the place was built – is considered a worthwhile expense. Looking at the huge gaps, it’s hardly going to stop any footpads (or dog walkers). It’s specifically designed to stop “unauthorised” vehicles (i.e. learners).
I’m sure the businesses down that way will now prosper dramatically now that they have this shiny new barrier in place, and that it will result in enormous profits for them that they’ve been missing out on over the years.
The owners of the business park have tried to victimise driving instructors previously. They weren’t too eager to target anyone else – just instructors, and that’s in spite of the DSA being tenants on the land. Naturally, the end to private clamping no doubt put a damper on their source of satisfaction.
Mind you, although this particular location has typically been free from learners, over recent months a few more instructors have found it. I know of at least one who has been stupid enough to use the car parks back there during working hours when the tenants are actually using them. Prat!
As I’ve said before, some instructors are an olive short of a pizza. Their stupidity just plays into the hands of those petty-minded idiots who recoil at the idea of learners being allowed on the roads.
Sometimes, people will go to great lengths to apply punitive measures which are purely designed to get something that THEY want – usually at the expense of denying something to others.
I was at the test centre the other day and saw this letter pinned up on the noticeboard. This is the full text:
Dear Sir or Madam/Driving Standards Agency Representative
Appeal for Increased Community Sensitivity and Consideration from Driving Instructors and Driving Examiners
I am the local Neighbourhood Action Officer and I am writing on behalf of Nottingham City Council, Leen Valley Ward Councillors and local residents who live in the roads frequently used by Driving Examiners and Driving Instructors around of by Robins Wood Test Centre. I have been facilitating public meetings in this area, which are chaired by local councillors and are designed to enable residents to raise issues of concern and share ideas for improving the neighbourhood.
A serious and consistent issue has been brought up at meetings concerning the way Driving Examiners and Driving Instructors behave on the streets surrounding the test centre. I am requesting your help to reduce the impact of this problem.
The issues that have been raised are:
Litter thrown from cars
Parking in places which obscure visibility, cause obstruction and increase the risk of road accidents
Remaining stationery (sic) for long periods with the engine running in particular outside the bungalow at [number deleted] Prestwood Drive. A lady who lives in this bungalow has a serious lung condition which she believes is greatly worsened by the car fumes that come into her bungalow and she is unable to open her windows because of this.
I would like Driving Examiners and Instructors to be made aware of the stress their behaviour is causing the local community. We appreciate that everyone on the road was a learner once and we fully recognise the need for such valuable resource for the city, but if it is possible for Driving Examiners and Instructors to alter their routes a bit to ensure disruption to local residents is spread about a wider area this would mean a lot to the surrounding community.
We also request that Driving Examiners and Instructors support us by parking in places which are safe to do so and do not obstruct visibility, and by not dropping litter out of their cars. If it is possible to turn your engines off if you are stationery (sic) for a while this would be greatly appreciated. In particular if cars could refrain from using the corner find a range of different corners to use this would huge improve the quality of life of lady with lung problems.
I have been to the Test Centre on Chalfont Drive and made them aware of the situation and requested their co-operation, but if there is anything you can do to help in addition to this, I would be most grateful. If you would like to chat through any suggestions you might have to help the situation please get in touch, whichever way is best for you. Whatever you feel you can or cannot contribute I would appreciate a reply to this letter and look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Have you ever read such emotive or libellous nonsense?
Although I use Chalfont Drive Test Centre, I can honestly say I have never used the corner referred to on Prestwood Drive. The road isn’t that quiet, and for as long as I can remember there has been a bloody notice up in the test centre waiting room asking people not to use Prestwood Drive because of residents’ complaints (probably, ONE resident in particular, judging from this). I honestly can’t recall seeing any other instructor using it because of the nature of the road – the test centre is about ¼ mile down and there is a school opposite. On weekdays it’s too busy.
In any neighbourhood you always get one habitual complainer and since modern councils are staffed by weak-minded idiots, they end up spending a disproportionate amount of their time and money involving themselves in things that simply aren’t worth the effort, but which tick all the necessary politically correct boxes.
The junction in question is shown below. Note the school to the left and Prestwood Drive to the right.
With all due respect to “the lady” who has complained, if car fumes are affecting her lung condition – and I seriously doubt that – the effect will be a thousand times worse as a result of the mummies and daddies who park dangerously outside the school for hours at a time when they come to pick up their little darlings (the school “specialises in the dramatic arts”, so you can imagine the mummy-o-meter being off the scale most of the time). It’s horrendous down there most of the day, and not from learners. The specific complaint here is against learners – not car fumes – and it is part of a concerted attempt by someone to get their own way (the notice at the test centre being part of the campaign).
That leads on to the other ridiculous accusation about dangerous parking and increasing the risk of accidents. The standard of driving around that area is appalling, and it is NOT learners who are to blame. The only direct effect you could attribute to learners is that their mere presence makes the average jackass who lives around there (or who goes to pick up the next generation of Big Brother applicant from that school) drive even more dangerously than usual.
And as for “dropping litter”: someone should take the stupid idiot who wrote the letter to court over that. It’s just libel, and spawned by old dears who want learners – all except their grandchildren, obviously – banned from the roads.
Using me as an example, this is how it works. I’ve already said I don’t use Prestwood Drive (and never have). I do use Aspley Park Drive a couple of times a week. I do use the retirement bungalow estate between Beechdale Road and Wigman Road a couple of times a week (several roads on there are subject to “please don’t” notices in the test centre, and I avoid those). I do use areas in Bramcote a several times a week. I do use lots of other areas, too. I travel as far as Bingham to do manoeuvres – even with pupils who will do their tests at Chalfont Drive – because I can take in different road types. I use industrial estates all over the city (see Punitive Pettiness #2) in the evenings when they’re not in use. And so it goes on.
The bottom line is that if some Neighbourhood Watch Official, just out of college and with a shiny new NVQ in Local Government Affairs, decides to take a single road out of context with all of what I do, then I am suddenly a Criminal against The Community.
The author of that letter is very naive if she thinks moving the problem elsewhere will solve anything. She’s also even more naive if the can’t see that it is just a handful of chronic whingers she is siding with. If she satisfies all of them, there are plenty more ready to crawl out of the woodwork on every street in the county.
I forgot to post this one up. The April edition of Despatch is now available.
Topics this month include a bit about how more driving test candidates are to benefit from better local services, ADI renewals, some information about changes to the driving licence rules, and a few general snippets.
anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
on the approach to a level crossing or tramway crossing
opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles
in front of an entrance to a property
on a bend
where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities
except when forced to do so by stationary traffic.
Read all the rules about waiting and parking (238-252)
Again, it’s a good idea to circulate this information – far too many people (especially the mummies during school runs and 99.9% of taxi drivers) ignore the rules completely.
You MUST NOT enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear. However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.
At signalled roundabouts you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping.
I think the DSA has started doing this as a way of trying to keep drivers’ knowledge up to date – which is a good thing, since most appear to have great difficulty doing it themselves, and have have had for many years (poor knowledge of the HC has always been a problem).
During rush hour, many people have difficulty in dealing with box junctions. Lorry drivers are one of the worst culprits. However, I honestly think most people simply don’t know they’re there – or only realise once they’re stopped in them (judging from the sheepish looks you get when they’re blocking you).
This one shows what it’s like now, with the shiny new barrier.
With all due respect to “the lady” who has complained, if car fumes are affecting her lung condition – and I seriously doubt that – the effect will be a thousand times worse as a result of the mummies and daddies who park dangerously outside the school for hours at a time when they come to pick up their little darlings (the school “specialises in the dramatic arts”, so you can imagine the mummy-o-meter being off the scale most of the time). It’s horrendous down there most of the day, and not from learners. The specific complaint here is against learners – not car fumes – and it is part of a concerted attempt by someone to get their own way (the notice at the test centre being part of the campaign).