Driving Lessons - Meeting Traffic Scenarios

There are obviously many different reasons as to why people fail their driving tests. Here we will deal with one of them. One of the most common serious driving errors committed on driving tests is because of poor procedure when Meeting Traffic.

Meeting Traffic is a situation which is probably far more common than most of us think as on our English roads, especially in towns, we are dealing with this almost constantly. It is when there is some sort of obstruction on either side of the road, or both, which will prevent two vehicles from passing at the same time, requiring one of you to give way.

The general rule here is that if the obstruction is on your side of the road then it is your responsibility to give-way. After all it wouldnt be fair of course to feel you can suddenly swerve onto the other side of the road in front of oncoming traffic expecting them to stop! If your side of the road is clear then you would expect to be able to proceed as normal but with caution.

Obstructions can come in many different formats. The most common being parked cars, especially dangerous on main roads at school times one would think. When passing you must always slow down and be careful as you never know what or who might be in the car or hidden behind it. Look out for sudden opening doors or pedestrians stepping out between them. Others might be works vehicles either tending to someones home or to the environment around such as highway maintenance, trees or vehicle recovery. In all these instances, as with many others too, there will be a workman or more around who may also possibly be hidden from view. Again you must proceed with extreme caution so to avoid potential injury.

So, if your lane is blocked you must give-way to oncoming traffic. Sometimes it can be difficult to see whats coming so we have a set procedure which when remembered will be all you need to know. Once you observe the obstruction you need to get to the far right of your lane. This will give you the best possible view of whats coming. Before you drift to your right though you need to make sure you’re not being overtaken by anyone especially motorcyclists, who you could potentially knock off.

As always when moving to your right you will check your internal (rear view) mirror to see whats behind, and then your right wing mirror. Then if it is safe to do so you can move to your right. Move as far as you can without crossing into the other side of the road. Now you have a good view you can make a good judgement on whether to stop and give-way or to go. If there is oncoming traffic, stop and wait. If it is clear however you need to indicate right to tell the vehicles behind you your intentions (or anyone oncoming from distance) and proceed ahead.

Remember to be safe and never take a chance. If you have any doubts whatsoever, then always wait. Its better to be safe than sorry.