[User5432x]

So I am a very new driver who passed very recently. I just need someone to put my mind at rest after a genuine mistake that happened today.

So i decided to do a bypass completely on my own today. It was not my intention, but it just happened. The slip road joining the bypass is long so drivers can join the dual carriageway in plenty of time. I don't know what happened, but I stupidly thought this was a left lane, and continued down it until near the end, when i realised my error. I slowed down just before it ended, and someone behind slowed down and kindly let me join.

I am incredibly anxious about this being labelled as careless or dangerous driving. Please could someone help put my mind at rest? I stopped just before the solid white line, and it was just before the merge to the left road marking. As a new driver i am really worried about receiving penalties.

Thank you.

[TC1474]

Do not worry, you have not committed any offence. You simply made a error of judgement which many much more experienced drivers have made and will continue to make.

For clarification, to be guilty of careless driving under section 3 of the Road Traffic act, it has to be established by the prosecution that your standard of driving fell below the standard expected of a reasonably safe and competent driver, whilst it is often subjective, a slight error of judgement which has not resulted in any crash, injury or damage would fail that test.

There are 2 elements to careless driving, driving without due care and attention and driving without reasonable consideration for other road users (Used mainly for reporting centre lane hoggers on the Motorway)

To prove dangerous driving under section 2 of the Road Traffic act, same rule applies but it has to be established that the standard of driving fell seriously below the standard expected of a reasonably safe and competent driver. This was brought in in the 1988 act to replace Reckless driving as it was an easier test to satisfy simply because for reckless driving we had to prove a state of mind which was nye on impossible.

So back to your original point, do not lose any sleep over it, put it down to experience and move on, we have all made similar and anyone who says differently is a 100% liar.

[Nick]

Yup - 100% agree with @TC1474 here - I've made plenty of silly mistakes in my time as a driver - just ask my wife! Don't give it another thought @User5432x

Oh, and welcome to the RAC Forums, it's great to hear from you, congrats on passing your test and keep coming back if you have other questions down the line - there's some great knowledge and experience in amongst our members!

Have a great day!
Nick

[Drivingforfun]

My Dad once made the same mistake but was already on the motorway and actually moved over into the on-slip road thinking it was the left hand lane 😁

[Rolebama]

Personally I don't believe anyone is perfect, and so long as you learn from any mistakes you make... If it wasn't for the mistakes made in the past, we wouldn't be where we are now in terms of road safety.