Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

[venta]

I have long since ceased being surprised by the number of drivers who don't appear to know how yellow boxes work, ie you mustn't stop in them. However, of late I have been surprised by the number of people whom I'd regard as good drivers who don't appear to know how yellow boxes work, ie you may stop in them if you're turning right and are only blocked by oncoming traffic.

In fact, I've been so surprised that I've gone so far as to actually check I'm right, rather than just mouthing off at random.

Paragraph 174 of the Highway Code states:

Box junctions. These have criss-cross yellow lines painted on the road (see 'Road markings'). 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.

So... now I want to know. How many people know this ?

[Poll #1248362]

Comments

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Hmm, and I only learnt to drive a few years ago! Good thing it didn't come up on the test. In my feeble defence, I don't think there are any examples of such round here; turn-right at big junctions seems to usually have its own waiting area in the middle.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just had a driving instructor who loved edge-cases :)

The very first lesson I had, before I'd driven anywhere, he asked me if I knew the sequence of light-changes at traffic lights. I did, having learned it in cycling proficiency. He was very surprised, though. So maybe he just liked passing on obscure road lore.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

The very first lesson I had, before I'd driven anywhere, he asked me if I knew the sequence of light-changes at traffic lights. I did, having learned it in cycling proficiency. He was very surprised, though. So maybe he just liked passing on obscure road lore.

I got that, too, and they were similarly surprised that I knew. I just knew from, well, having eyes and using them!

[ulfilias.livejournal.com]

passing on obscure road lore

That can be useful....I once got nicked for parking on the off side at night.....A fully lit residential street of terrace houses mind. Obviously the cops were bored that night !

Another oddity i hit was a Y shaped traffic intersection, where two roads merge into one. Normaly there is a dotted line or something indicating who should give way, however this didn't...as such you should proceed slowly and cautiously checking for oncomming vehicles and it even came into my test. Nice. Normaly it only occurs on housing estates and private roads, but somewhere in cottingham seemed to be odd.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Maybe he wanted you to get it wrong, so he could establish a crushing ascendancy over you from lesson one, and you would never dare to question his arbitrary-seeming instructions.

(Or maybe that's just me...)

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

I know that because as a pedestrian it's vitally important to tell the difference between "red and amber" (approaching motorists will honk annoyedly when you dash out across the road in front of them) and "amber" (approaching motorists have their foot on the gas and their eyes on the horizon, and won't even see you if you dash across the road in front of them, except possibly in the rearview mirror on your second bounce as they check whether anyone ran the light behind them (see my comment to ulfilias above)).

OK, I lied, it's cycling proficiency.