Was I at fault?
Discussion
Earlier today I had a near miss and upon reflection I'm not convinced I was entirely in the wrong. I would like to hear your thoughts.
I was parked in front of another car, with a another parked car further up ahead of me. I (in green) was waiting to pull away, checked and pulled out. Before doing so I had seen the approach car (in red) some way back. I pulled further along and went to overtake the other parked car (second pic). The approaching car had overtaken the first parked car and rather than pulling to the left, continued all the way along as if to overtake the final parked car. At this point the driver encountered me (third pic). A lot of honking of the horn ensued, and I went on my merry way (turning right at the junction seen in the pics).
Now, my reasoning is that I was not a parked car well before the car reached me and was very much part of the flow of traffic, so their attempted overtake of a moving car and a parked car simultaneously was a hasty move. On reflection, the driver was probably going a lot faster that they realistically should have done. Their whole approach reminded me of how a dash cam warrior would behave (trying to accelerate into creating a problem).
Obviously, had I waited until they were past then there would not have been an issue, but I pulled away before they even reached the first parked car.
So, am I the s
t driver?
I was parked in front of another car, with a another parked car further up ahead of me. I (in green) was waiting to pull away, checked and pulled out. Before doing so I had seen the approach car (in red) some way back. I pulled further along and went to overtake the other parked car (second pic). The approaching car had overtaken the first parked car and rather than pulling to the left, continued all the way along as if to overtake the final parked car. At this point the driver encountered me (third pic). A lot of honking of the horn ensued, and I went on my merry way (turning right at the junction seen in the pics).
Now, my reasoning is that I was not a parked car well before the car reached me and was very much part of the flow of traffic, so their attempted overtake of a moving car and a parked car simultaneously was a hasty move. On reflection, the driver was probably going a lot faster that they realistically should have done. Their whole approach reminded me of how a dash cam warrior would behave (trying to accelerate into creating a problem).
Obviously, had I waited until they were past then there would not have been an issue, but I pulled away before they even reached the first parked car.
So, am I the s
t driver?It depends on the relative speed of the red car.
It's impossible to tell from the information available but if you judged or exit from the parking space well it should not have been an issue.
Given you were going to turn immediately right after rejoining the road perhaps it would be been better to wait until the red car had passed.
It's impossible to tell from the information available but if you judged or exit from the parking space well it should not have been an issue.
Given you were going to turn immediately right after rejoining the road perhaps it would be been better to wait until the red car had passed.
The thing to remember with advanced driving is not - was I right or wrong, but could I have done anything to improve the situation - and I think you have already realised that you could have done - so waiting for the red car would have been a better choice... why risk an accident / having to argue with insurance companies when the easy option is to have no issue...
were you in the right? Well UK driving laws generally have no rights, only priorities etc. And you have a weaker argument there because even if as the foremost car you would generally have priority, a car without priority can gain priority by arriving somewhere first, (rather like passing parked cars with oncoming traffic - they have priority but if you are there first you acquire priority) - and it could be argued that the red car believed that they had acquired priority by having moved out and taken priority for that stretch of road...
As mentioned - a tricky argument and possibly no clear answer, but not guaranteed that you would be found to have still retained priority...
So - back to the first para. if possible do whatever produces the best outcome - here, it would have been to wait...
were you in the right? Well UK driving laws generally have no rights, only priorities etc. And you have a weaker argument there because even if as the foremost car you would generally have priority, a car without priority can gain priority by arriving somewhere first, (rather like passing parked cars with oncoming traffic - they have priority but if you are there first you acquire priority) - and it could be argued that the red car believed that they had acquired priority by having moved out and taken priority for that stretch of road...
As mentioned - a tricky argument and possibly no clear answer, but not guaranteed that you would be found to have still retained priority...
So - back to the first para. if possible do whatever produces the best outcome - here, it would have been to wait...
From the information you've given, it doesn't sound like you were entirely at fault. That would be a blinkered view of the situation; unless I was in the car with you I don't know exactly what happened. A DVSA examiner might say that if it was safe when you committed, then the other driver is entirely responsible for their action and reaction. However, as akirk says, conflict avoidance is more important to advanced driving than right or wrong. It may be that although you didn't cause the problem all by yourself - the approach car's speed may have contributed - you could have potentially helped yourself out by waiting that extra few seconds. Advanced driving doesn't mean that the other driver isn't responsible for what they do, but that we should be able to compensate for their mistakes to avoid conflict or danger.
This is approaching a school and a zebra crossing, you can see the 30 sign in the road. What may have happened, the person approaching is either impatient, going too fast or a bit dumb. So when you pulled out and then pulled in again they may have assumed you were parking again and gone for the pass. I've tried to give way to numerous buses coaches and cars in narrow streets with indicator on too and they come sailing past.
Most people are just not awake, or aggressive and impatient. Is this situtation worth losing sleep over? Nope! It's perhaps worthwhile letting them go in that situation, what else can you do. Just forget it and don't react with a horn or aggression / blocking etc, let them go on their merry way and win some stupid prizes.
Most people are just not awake, or aggressive and impatient. Is this situtation worth losing sleep over? Nope! It's perhaps worthwhile letting them go in that situation, what else can you do. Just forget it and don't react with a horn or aggression / blocking etc, let them go on their merry way and win some stupid prizes.
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