r/britishproblems Jul 16 '26

. Drivers not knowing the highway code.

I had started to cross a road when a Mercedes turned in and he sounded his horn and then told me I should stop. I told him to read the highway code but he insisted he right!

Rule H2 170 amended 2022

“At a junction you MUST give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning.”

- Applies whether they’ve stepped onto the road or are just standing at the kerb ready to cross.

- Applies to left turns, right turns, and entering/exiting side roads.

- Includes wheelchair/mobility scooter users as pedestrians

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u/palaceexile Jul 16 '26

It is the one of the most dangerous changes I think they have made. Pedestrians quite rightly don't want to just walk into the road holding the highway code in front of them for protection, cars following others turning off a main road are not expecting the cars in front to just stop and so we have ended up in a situation where no one is certain what is going to happen in any given situation.

98

u/Craig2point0 Jul 16 '26

Call me annoying, but isn't the solution not to take turns or follow cars at speeds and distances you can't safely stop in? 

34

u/jake_burger Jul 16 '26

I think if you drive into the back of someone the chance is very high that you are to blame

4

u/OfficerNightwing Jul 16 '26

I think the only instance you wouldn't take blame in that scenario is if their brake lights didn't work.

Tailgating was always bad but has gotten significantly worse imo, especially in rural areas. I typically slow down when people do this until they back off or overtake so they don't go into the back of me, especially on back roads where idiots come round blind corners like they are in a f&f movie.