Should drivers give way to cars joining from a side road?

What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Should drivers give way to cars joining from a side road?

Down here in the South East, a habit seems to have developed where drivers stop to let other drivers out of a side road onto the main road. This is very courteous, and makes sense if you're in a queue of slow-moving traffic on the main road. However, this courtesy seems to have gone mad, with drivers on clear roads stopping to let others onto the road. A driving instructor once told me that if you did this in a test, you would be failed.

I feel that this will eventually lead to confusion on the roads, with people pulling out of side roads expecting other drivers to stop, to let them onto the main road. Do I have a genuine reason for my anger about this behaviour, or am I just a very rude driver?

Asked on 17 June 2022 by Matthew Stevenson

Answered by Lawrence Allan

This is a long-running debate that has never been fully clear. The Highway Code does not specifically say that you should or shouldn't slow to let people out of a side road or junction. However, as your driving instructor said it is usually considered poor road craft to slow down abruptly and let someone out if you have a queue of traffic behind that then has to slow down too. This causes cascading braking that can often lead to more traffic jams. If the road is clear or you have a sufficient gap behind and in front to let a car out it's courteous to do so, but to slow right down on a fast, busy A road can be dangerous. So in this respect I'd agree with you.

Tags: highway code

Similar questions

If I stop to let pedestrians cross at a box junction will I be liable for a penalty?

There is a new box junction near me. If I cannot clear it and stop to allow pedestrians to cross when turning right or left into the road (under the new Highway Code rules) will I be liable to a penalty?...

What protection is given to mobility scooters in the Highway Code?

Under the new Highway Code rules, what protection is given to road legal mobility scooters (invalid carriages) as they are most definitely "vulnerable." There is a lot being said about horses, bikes, pedestrians...

Does the pedestrian right of way at junctions apply to roundabouts too?

I know that the new Highway Code regulations give priority to pedestrians at a ‘road junction’ but I’d like clarification of this ruling when entering and leaving a roundabout. Do the entries and exits...