The New Highway Code says you should give way to pedestrians if they are waiting to cross at a junction. Is the exit from a roundabout a junction? Is the answer the same if there is a dedicated exit lane with no white lines that the vehicle must cross?
Is a roundabout a junction?
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Best Answer
14-12-24 20:43Best AnswerA junction is any road where 2 or more carriageways meet, and so a roundabout is defined as being a junction.
You are right in what you say about the Highway Code and it is hoped that the next edition will have this rubbish piece of advice removed given the number of pedestrian crash for cash scams that have occurred at junctions when they are also so close to a pedestrian or pelican crossing. -
15-12-24 14:53
Agree with this 100%. I would also add Bus Stops. In fact I would say that crossings and bus stops should be removed from all 'hazards'. I say this not just as a motorist, but also as a pedestrian and occasional cyclist. -
16-12-24 12:43Whenever I give way to pedestrians at junctions they usually look at me wondering why I've just stopped
When I'm a pedestrian drivers rarely give way to me and my intuition tells me not to expect them to
In my view, the HC here seems to just fuel the modern desire not to take responsibility for ones own actions and let others work around you ... add in the fact that well over half don't even know it's in the HC, and it's made a mess -
16-12-24 15:34As to the Highway Code, I would like to sit down with the clowns who write some of this rubbish, and then the bigger clowns who OK it for publishing.
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16-12-24 16:53
Been there done that and its like talking to a brick wall.
HMSO do not question the contents, they just print what they are told to, but the "clown" who wrote the bit about pedestrians is a member of the Pedestrians Association and it got included without being questioned until members of various organisations (which is where I came in) started questioning it.
I am what is called a subject matter expert and is on the panel of people who write the theory test questions, and the number of times a question has been submitted only to be bounced back because it is deemed to be too difficult. Those deciding on what questions get included do not have the first idea themselves.
That is what we are up against. -
17-12-24 13:20TC1474 said: " That is what we are up against." I worked for local government as a mid-level executive for a year. Common sense and rational thinking were alien to them as well. Hence a year was all I could stand.
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18-12-24 13:47I think the problem is, very few people appear to understand that everyone has a right to use public roads, apart from motorways.
This may be inconvenient or even dangerous, especially if some users are unaware that others have the right to be there but that is the current situation.
I think, in 2022 there was an attempt to improve the safety of vulnerable road users but in true British fudging, adjustments were made to guidelines.
In my opinion, guidelines are not appropriate where safety is involved, matters should be black and white and never grey.
A car turning right into a junction can safely delay for a pedestrian to cross the junction because following vehicles expect the right turner to stop.
When turning left, following vehicles will be surprised if the car actually stops to turn into the junction.
Roundabouts are worse, a roundabout feels and looks as though it was meant to keep everyone moving, the idea that a vehicle should stop, when leaving a roundabout is not what others would expect.
Similarly with entering a roundabout, unless the roundabout is clearly blocked drivers are expected (by other drivers) to enter without stopping.
If the intention is to assist pedestrians at road junctions, then it must be in the form of a clear law or make the junction into a pedestrian crossings in some form. -
23-12-24 13:12I live near the borders of three local boroughs. They all have zebra crossings ridiculously close to roundabouts. Stopping half on the roundabout is bad enough, having to stop so far from the roundabout, for fear of blocking the crossing on approach to the roundabout, when you can't see traffic on the roundabout, because of trees, undergrowth etc, is just madness.
