Hi all,

This morning on my route to work driving through the city centre it was very busy at one point. As I approached to go through a set of traffic lights which were green may i add, because it was so busy I think I actually ended up blocking the pedestrian crossing, but when I went through it, it was green. There were lots of people wanting to cross but i felt i had the right of way to go. Then the cars at the other side started to move. It was quite scary to be honest.

I am quite worried about it, should I be?

Hi Soph, it sounds as though you were caught out by the cars in front of you actually blocking your free passage over and your exit from the junction. As you know, if it is a cross hatched yellow 'box junction' you should always proceed with great care and not enter or stop in the box unless your exit is clear, or at least has room to fully accomodate your car, including your tail end, fully clear of the junction on the other side. However if the traffic was so heavy in front that you were not able to even get clear of and across the pedestrian crossing section without blocking or partially blocking the pedsestrians at the junction, then maybe you should not have pulled forward, even though the lights were green, until your exit from the junction was fully clear, always assuming the lights were still green. Hopefully any camera evidence taken at the junction by static cameras will show that you were not initially crossing on a red light and so you may be ok. :-). This type of thing happens every minute of the day at busy junctions and so the authorities cannot possibly prosecute every single driver for such seemingly minor driving imperfections. In future I would be inclined not to worry about the pedestrians but also try not to pull forward at all, even though the lights are on green, until your exit is clear enough for you to cross over fully, and then only do so if the lights are still green. It is probably better to stay put and not block the actual road junction, even if the pedestrians are partially blocked since they can always walk round the tail of your car and then you will not risk ending up only completeing your crossing fully after the lights have turned red. Sorry - let's hope no action is taken.

Edited by Firmbutfair on 29/01/2020 at 15:39

Bear in mind that it was yourself that asked the question - and if you get answers that don't come across as approving it's only because you asked the querstion and invited replies.

Yes, of course your driving wasn't good. You showed a lack of foresight, anticipation and consideration .. especially in saying ... There were lots of people wanting to cross but i felt i had the right of way to go.

Whether you should be worried or not rather depends on what you're worried about. If you're worried about the disapproving comments of the pedestrians, who's path you apparently blocked, then that's for you to decide, but it's hardly the crime of the century, so let that pass. If you're worried that a camera might have seen your poor driving and might send you a ticket in the post - well that depends if there was one on that site .... was there? only you know that. If it was a yellow cross hatched box junction then it's possible - if you crossed a light on red, then it's also possible - but you said the light was green, so let that pass.

So, overall I suppose the answer is that don't have a great deal to keep you awake at night. And we all make mistakes.

There were lots of people wanting to cross but i felt i had the right of way to go.

A green light doesn't mean go, it means proceed if the way is clear, unless something's changed since I started driving.