How to Survive an English Yellow Box Road Junction

A yellow box road junction is there to ease the flow of traffic. A driver should not enter the space in the yellow box unless their exit is clear.

If the red car was going to go straight ahead, then they can go straight on without stopping, but if it was turning right, then it has to wait until the road is clear.

This is so that no car stops the flow of traffic by holding up the oncoming traffic.

Some councils police their yellow box by having cameras installed and issue fines for those people who break these rules.

 

How to Survive an English Roundabout

Roundabouts can be so confusing. There can be many different lanes and if you get it wrong, there is the danger that the other drivers will beep you, or worse! The way to survive an English roundabout is to be clear about which lane you should be in and to stay in your lane. If you miss your turn, then do not worry, you can always go all the way round and get off at your exit. There are usually signs well before you get to the roundabout to tell you which lane to be in and the names or numbers of the roads to tell you where to go. A Blue sign tells you that there is a roundabout approaching.

Then later on, more signs tell you which roads lead off the roundabout at the different exits. In general, it is quite straightforward if you follow the rules.

• Drive on the Left in England
• Go around it in a clockwise direction.
• Stay in your lane until you come to your exit.
• The left hand lane is usually for turning left or going straight ahead.
• The right hand lane is usually for turning right, unless it is also for going straight ahead.
• If there are three approach lanes, then the middle one is definitely for going straight ahead.
• Cyclists decide where they should be positioned according to where they are going. Each cyclist is unique and must be watched carefully. 
• Give way to traffic coming from the right. 
• The rule is: Do not enter the roundabout unless your exit is clear. Many people do not understand this. 
• Once someone is already on the roundabout, then it is their right of way. There is no point beeping them.
• If you are half way round and your exit is blocked, then it is polite to leave a gap so that cars coming from the left lane can go round. Again, many people ignore this and leave no gap. They have to sit there, blocking the lane and getting glared at by drivers in that lane.
•   If you miss your exit, then simply go around the whole roundabout again until you see the correct exit. 

If there are many exits and a lot of lane markings, work out which one yours is and stick to that lane.

• There may be traffic lights any where around the roundabout.

 

How to Survive in a 20mph Zone

It is my opinion that the 20 miles per hour zone is one of the most dangerous driving speeds that there can possibly be.

This is true for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists – all road users.

In living in an area for over ten years, I never before heard of a single accident nearby. But within 6 months of a 20mph zone being introduced there have been three actual accidents, one where the whole road had to be closed and the traffic diverted, countless collisions and many near misses.

A lot of drivers don’t even notice the 20 sign and just drive right on through. The people who live in the area drive more slowly.

The trouble is that for pedestrians, the traffic is going slowly enough to be able to walk between cars if there is enough distance between them. This means that the poor driver constantly has little old ladies appearing the in the road in front of them with a determined look on their faces and the setting on their zimmer frame set to ‘speed’ as they slowly wander across the road.

What this really means for the driver is that you have to be extra careful and not take your eyes off the road for a second.

Kids, delivery van drivers, gentlemen in suits, it doesn’t matter who they are, they will see a space and wander across the road. This also applies to cars turning into the road. They assume that you are going more slowly than usual so they happily cut in front.

What prompted me to write this today was this: I have just driven home through such a zone at 5.30pm – quite dark at this time of year. A young lady, with black hair, dressed in black clothes and shoes and carrying a black bag was walking along texting on her black phone.

She was completely oblivious to the world around her – and completely invisible to me, until she suddenly appeared in the headlights of my car.

I slammed on the brakes, she looked up for a second, no change of expression to her face, then looked back down and continued on her bovine way.

My message to help you survive:

Drivers: be extra careful in these dangerous road conditions! It is not only within the 20mph zone. It is for a good few feet either side too as people only assume that you are going to slow down ready to enter the slow zone.

 

How to Survive Being Cut Up

You are driving along, minding your own business, when suddenly a car jumps into the road in front of you. You are jerked out of your daydream about chocolate cake and just have time to slam on the brakes.

You are well within your rights to be very annoyed and show this in whichever way you normally do. This could be by beeping loudly, flashing your lights, shaking fists, swearing, rolling your window down and shouting something withering – anything. For some excessivley sensitive souls, it could mean tailgating the offending car for a few miles while glaring hotly at them in their rear-view mirror shaking your head and mouthing ‘you fool’ every time they glance worriedly at you.

Stop!

You are a survivor in life’s little struggles. There may be a good reason why this jerk  (sorry) person has done this to you. Last time this happened to me, I saw that the driver was a sweet little old lady who had not only failed to spot my whole car on the road in front of her, but also failed to stop at the next red light. She could just about see over her steering wheel. So it may not always be a wanton act of malice aimed directly at you.

Another thing is, will it turn out that you know the person, or that someone you know is in the car behind? If you live in a small town or city, then the chances of this are highly likely. Remember, real life, walking around, driving etc, is a lot like social networking. And just like social networking, never, ever do anything in public that you wouldn’t want to get back to your mum.

Finally, although you might be a strapping six-foot lad, is the person in the car who just cut you up, actually an axe-wielding giant? Always be careful whom you offend on the road.

So, how do you survive being cut up?

If you can, let it go completely. Cultivate an atmosphere of calmness in your car so that when little things like this happen to you, you can just shake it off. If you are stressed, thinking about your horrible day, have loud music blaring or arguing kids in the back, then just one more kick could light your fuse. But if you are perfectly at peace and stable listening to your favourite thing, then this will be just as if nothing happened. You can just brush this annoying little person aside as if they were a passing fly.

That is fine if they have turned off or are in another lane. Sometimes someone has cut you up and then you have to follow them for miles seething and fuming behind them. Usually they are also in a better or newer car too (…the effing, bleeping…calm down, breathe). The only thing to do here is to pull up somewhere for a second, or let another car in between you and them. Turn off and go another way.

You will find, that as soon as that car is no longer within your sights, then it is gone from your mind. It can become a funny story that you tell when you get home, nothing more, nothing less.

Don’t forget, someone who has cut you up really might have a pregnant woman in the back or be rushing home to their dying dog. These things do happen too. Give them the benefit of the doubt.