Giving Way to Oncoming Traffic

You’re driving down a narrow road and you notice another vehicle coming towards you. Due to parked cars either side the road isn’t wide enough for both cars to pass each other at the same time. So what do you do now? Do you try to give way or will you expect the oncoming vehicle to give way to you?

Its usually best practice to try and give way yourself if you can rather than expecting the other vehicle to give way to you.

Look for spaces on the left where you can pull in to and if you find one, tuck into the space leaving only the front of your car looking out. This helps others identify that you are currently giving way and that you are not parked up. Also this will help you have a better view of the oncoming traffic and of the road ahead rather than if the nose of your vehicle was tucked in you’ll barely see anything.

If you don’t have a space on your side of the road where you can pull in to try finding a space on the right where you can stop beside to allow the oncoming vehicle to move in to. Whenever you do this if you can move more forward so that the oncoming vehicles do not have to stop when they tuck in this will help the traffic flow better without bringing things to a standstill.

If the oncoming vehicle has given way to you first and it’s safe to go then you might as well take it. There is no point giving way to an oncoming vehicle that has given way to you as you could be there all day deciding on who’s going to go first.

When you do give way and move off again it’s vital to check your mirrors. So if you’re going to pull up on the left to give way then check the left door mirror first to make sure it’s clear of cyclists. After when all the traffic that you have given way to has passed then check the right door mirror to make sure no one is overtaking you. It is vital you do this as some vehicles behind you may have thought that you were parked up and so may assume priority and this could lead to a very severe crash if you move off when someone behind you is trying to overtake you.