Chapter 2 of 10
City streets pack lanes, junctions, roundabouts, parked cars and pedestrians into a small space, so most of the work is choosing the right position early and seeing trouble in time. This chapter covers lane choice, one-way streets, roundabouts, how your eyes scan the road, changing lanes, overtaking limits, children and other vulnerable pedestrians, stopping and parking, and U-turns.
Chapter 2 · 11 sections
Section 1 of 11
Pick your lane early, then stay in it. Last-second lane changes are what cause collisions.
Source: Handbook §2.1.1, p. 36
Rule
Positioning correctly means thinking far enough ahead that you never have to change lanes at the last second.
The handbook calls keeping to your lane at all times the one sure way to avoid a collision. Follow the lane’s course as it is marked on the road, even when a straighter, simpler path looks more suitable to you.
Source: Handbook §2.1.1, p. 36
Illustrated
Whatever you plan to do at the junction, choose your lane in plenty of time and avoid unnecessary lane changes by thinking ahead. The lane arrows painted on the road help you choose the correct lane.
Source: Handbook §2.1.1, p. 36
Section 2 of 11
On a one-way street everyone travels in the same direction, which changes where you position for a left turn.
Source: Handbook §2.1.2, p. 37
Definition
One-way traffic means you can drive in one direction only.
The street is marked with the One-way traffic sign at the beginning of the block, and the sign applies until the next junction. To stop traffic entering in the wrong direction, a No Entry sign is posted at an appropriate point.
Source: Handbook §2.1.2, p. 37
Rule
To turn left from a one-way street, keep as far to the left as possible. The handbook’s picture shows the car moving over to the left-hand side of the one-way street before it turns.
Source: Handbook §2.1.2, p. 37
Section 3 of 11
Vehicles already on the roundabout have priority. Choose your lane early and signal right to leave.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
Illustrated
All approaching vehicles must give way to those already on the roundabout. That priority is what greatly reduces the risk of a collision and makes junctions in light-traffic areas easier to enter.
The Give Way sign and the Roundabout sign together signal your obligation to give way. In the picture, car A waits for car B.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
Rule
A roundabout is essentially no different from an ordinary crossroads, with one or more lanes encircling a central island. Think well ahead so that you do not have to stop or hesitate about where to turn off.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
Rule
Always signal your intention to leave the roundabout by flashing your right-hand indicator.
The handbook tells you to maintain the same lane before, during and when exiting the roundabout. It also says that you may have to change lanes as you exit, and that it is then especially important to watch for vehicles coming up from the right.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
Rule
When you approach a junction, maintain the same lane before and after crossing it. This is the same lane discipline the handbook asks for at a roundabout.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
Section 4 of 11
Only a tiny part of what you see is sharp. Safe drivers keep their eyes moving and use both fields of vision.
Source: Handbook §2.2, pp. 39–40
Definition
The central visual field is the tiny area in which the image is actually in focus. It corresponds to the one spot on the retina where objects are seen sharply. Of everything we see, only 2 percent is in full focus.
Because everything else is blurred, it is essential to keep shifting your gaze so that you scan every part of the road ahead.
Source: Handbook §2.2.1, p. 39
Definition
Everything outside the central field is your peripheral vision, and it is more or less out of focus. Even with perfect eyesight, its sharpness is less than 0.1 on the acuity scale.
The two fields complement each other: peripheral vision lets you discover things, and central vision, where objects are in focus, lets you recognise them.
Source: Handbook §2.2.1, p. 39
Note
Scanning technique is how and when you read and interpret the road as you drive. It is crucial for spotting the conditions that could end in an accident, and tests show it develops as a driver gains experience.
Source: Handbook §2.2.1, p. 39
Important
Sharp vision and an unobstructed view are fundamental to correct decisions in complicated traffic. Your eyes provide 90% of all the information you need to manage your car in traffic, so any visual defect is likely to affect your driving.
Driving in the dark is especially hard on the eyes. Some drivers become short-sighted at night and may need corrective lenses. Others lose sharpness because their eyes become less sensitive to contrast, which is the ability to tell shades of grey apart.
Source: Handbook §2.2.2, p. 40
Section 5 of 11
Pile-ups in queues come from driving too fast or too close. Looking further up the road prevents them.
Source: Handbook §2.3.1, p. 41
Rule
In a queue, traffic jam or other congestion, collisions and pile-ups often happen simply because the vehicles involved were driving too fast, or were too close to brake in time.
Look well ahead and keep track of the vehicles further up the road. Their stop lights warn you when it is time to slow down, so it is easier to pick a suitable speed and you have more chance to react if you must stop in a hurry.
Source: Handbook §2.3.1, p. 41
Section 6 of 11
Change lanes only when it is safe and hinders nobody, never across a prohibitory line, and know when passing on the right is allowed.
Source: Handbook §2.3, pp. 41–42
Rule
You may change lanes only if you can do so safely and without causing any unnecessary hindrance to other road users.
Changing lanes constantly and without good reason is dangerous, and more so on fast roads. Speeding and failing to warn other drivers before a lane change cause many accidents. Frequent overtaking on both the right and the left confuses the traffic flow and is described as doubly dangerous.
Source: Handbook §2.3.2, p. 41
Rule
If you see that another road user wishes to enter your lane, make it easier for them by adjusting your speed appropriately. The easiest way is to leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle ahead.
Source: Handbook §2.3.2, p. 41
Important
A prohibitory line separating two lanes means that changing lanes is forbidden.
These lines are commonly found at junctions and on stretches of road where local conditions make lane changing unsuitable. If you need another lane, think ahead and move over well before the prohibitory line begins.
Source: Handbook §2.3.2, pp. 41–42
Rule
In some cases you may pass another vehicle on the right without feeling that you are passing on the wrong side. The handbook lists these situations.
Source: Handbook §2.3.3, pp. 41–42
Steps
Plan ahead and choose your route wisely, so that each lane change is one you actually need. Then work through these steps.
Source: Handbook §2.3.3, p. 42
Note
The signs mounted above the lanes correspond to the lanes marked on the carriageway. Lane indication signs make it easier to select the correct lane in time.
Source: Handbook §2.3.3, p. 42
Section 7 of 11
Inside the city, overtaking is prohibited at junctions and wherever you cannot see the road, with one exception.
Source: Handbook §2.4.1, p. 43
Rule
The handbook names two kinds of place where you must not overtake.
Source: Handbook §2.4.1, p. 43
Rule
You may overtake if the vehicle ahead has clearly shown, both by a visual signal and by its position on the road, that it is about to turn left, and you overtake it on the right side.
Source: Handbook §2.4.1, p. 43
Section 8 of 11
Some pedestrians cannot protect themselves in traffic. The driver is the one expected to foresee the danger.
Source: Handbook §2.4, pp. 43–44
Rule
Disabilities may be visible, signalled or invisible. People with invisible disabilities are harder to recognise, so drivers often fail to show them the consideration they are due.
If you see someone you know or suspect to be challenged in any way, slow down in plenty of time and be prepared to give way.
Source: Handbook §2.4.2, p. 43
Important
Treat every child near the road as a living warning sign. The responsibility for making sure there is no accident is yours, because you are the one with the experience and the ability to foresee danger.
Children playing in or near the road may not be thinking about traffic at all. Watch out for the ball, then watch out for the child.
Source: Handbook §2.4.3, p. 44
Note
The handbook lists six things to remember about how children behave.
Source: Handbook §2.4.3, p. 44
Note
School crossing patrols help school children cross busy, crowded streets on the way to and from school. A patrol also alerts drivers that there are children on the road.
Source: Handbook §2.4.3, p. 44
Section 9 of 11
Warn the drivers behind before you stop, know when stopping becomes waiting or parking, and secure the car when you leave it.
Source: Handbook §2.5, pp. 45–46
Important
Many accidents happen because a vehicle stops abruptly without warning and the vehicle behind runs into it. Worse still is cutting sharply across another vehicle. Never cut across other vehicles suddenly, whether to turn or to pick up a passenger.
Besides giving the correct signal, it is advisable to press gently on the brake pedal several times. This alerts the drivers behind and gives them time to react.
Source: Handbook §2.5.1, p. 45
Rule
You may not stop or park in a way that creates a danger or obstructs traffic unnecessarily. As a general rule, stop or park on the right-hand side of the road. Stopping or parking on the pavement is strictly prohibited.
A halted vehicle can block other drivers’ view and force traffic towards or across the centre line. The more view it blocks, the greater the danger, particularly where traffic is fast.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 45
Important
Watch out for cars parked by the side of the road. If someone is inside, a door on the carriageway side could suddenly open just as you are passing.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 45
Definition
The three words describe three different states.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46
Steps
Three things to remember every time you leave the car.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46
Rule
On a slope, set the front wheels and the gear so that the car cannot roll away if the parking brake fails.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46
Section 10 of 11
Some places forbid even a brief stop; more forbid parking. Signs add further restrictions.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, pp. 46–47
Rule
You may not stop or wait in these places. Naturally, you may not park there either.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46
Rule
Check against current rulesThe handbook also prohibits stopping and waiting within 15 meters of a junction or crossing, or of a pedestrian crossing.
This distance is a legal figure from the October 2018 handbook and may have changed since. Check the current rule with your instructor.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46Legal distance as printed in the 2018 handbook; not checked against current law.
Check against current rules. This point could not be fully verified or may have changed since the 2018 handbook.
Rule
In addition to every place where stopping is prohibited, you may not park in these places.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 47
Rule
Signs can prohibit stopping or parking in places the general rules would otherwise allow.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 47
Section 11 of 11
U-turns are made from the left lane, giving way to all oncoming traffic. Any mishap is your responsibility.
Source: Handbook §2.5.3, p. 47
Rule
Some junctions have provision for U-turns. Position the vehicle in the left lane and make the U-turn at the junction, remembering to give way to all oncoming traffic.
At junctions with traffic lights where U-turns are allowed, oncoming traffic will normally have a red light. Designated U-turn sites work in the same way. Even there, you still have to give way to all oncoming traffic.
Source: Handbook §2.5.3, p. 47
Rule
Making a U-turn is only permitted from the left lane, and only if you can turn safely and without causing unnecessary hindrance to other road users.
Where traffic is heavy and fast, change direction at one of the designated U-turn sites, or keep going to a more suitable place further down the road.
Source: Handbook §2.5.4, p. 47
Rule
If you find you are travelling in the wrong direction and have to turn around, do it at a place where other road users can see you clearly. The responsibility for any mishap will be entirely yours.
If you have to reverse, always reverse into the minor road, and watch out for children as you do.
Source: Handbook §2.5.4, p. 47
Chapter 2 recap
: If a straighter line through the junction is simpler, it is fine to take it.
: The handbook says the one sure way to avoid a collision is to keep to your lane and follow its course as marked, even when a straighter, simpler path looks more suitable.
Source: Handbook §2.1.1, p. 36
: Whoever reaches the roundabout first goes first.
: All approaching vehicles must give way to those already on the roundabout. The Give Way and Roundabout signs together signal that obligation.
Source: Handbook §2.1.3, p. 38
: With perfect eyesight I see the whole road sharply.
: Only about 2 percent of what you see is in full focus. Even with perfect eyesight, peripheral vision is blurred, which is why you must keep shifting your gaze.
Source: Handbook §2.2.1, p. 39
: Passing another vehicle on the right is always wrong.
: It is permissible in certain situations, for example in congested traffic where the right lane is open, or when the vehicle ahead has clearly indicated it is about to turn left.
Source: Handbook §2.3.3, p. 42
: I have only parked once I switch the engine off.
: The engine does not decide it. While you remain behind the wheel you are waiting, engine running or not. The moment you get out of the car you have parked.
Source: Handbook §2.5.2, p. 46
: At a signalled U-turn the oncoming traffic has a red light, so I do not need to give way.
: Oncoming traffic will normally have a red light, but the handbook still requires you to give way to all oncoming traffic when making a U-turn.
Source: Handbook §2.5.3, p. 47
Chapter 2 · practice
6 quick questions on this chapter, with an explanation after each answer. Or practise all 28 questions written for it.
