Right of way

Maisy

Failed the test this morning by way of grade 3 on the following: car parked on my side, with traffic passing on the other so I pulled up to let traffic on the right pass - but was told by tester later that there was plenty of room to proceed and I had held up traffic behine - so there is a difference between oncoming traffic as opposed to traffic passing at the same time as you ??? - a little confused....would appreciate if anyone could clarify !

seamus

Maisy wrote: »

Failed the test this morning by way of grade 3 on the following: car parked on my side, with traffic passing on the other so I pulled up to let traffic on the right pass - but was told by tester later that there was plenty of room to proceed and I had held up traffic behine - so there is a difference between oncoming traffic as opposed to traffic passing at the same time as you ??? - a little confused....would appreciate if anyone could clarify !

I'm not sure what you mean by "traffic passing at the same time as you". "Oncoming traffic" is basically any traffic not travelling in the same direction as you.

Maisy

sorry - what I meant was traffic on the other side was proceeding past the obstruction as I approached it,

Alanstrainor

It's very hard for us to judge the actual situation from what you've said. But if the road was wide, with sufficient room for you to pass the parked cars on your left, you should have proceeded. However i would not expect a grade 3 for this, lack of progress, unless you were there for a very prolonged length of time.

Maisy

Thanks - the road was indeed wide enough to overtake the parked car whilst letting oncoming traffic pass - but no, wasn't there for too long - ah well, onwards and upwards and apply again

Alanstrainor

Are you sure this was the reason for the grade three fault? And forgot to mention, Hard Luck on the test:(, Just apply again and go for it. Best of luck with your driving!

Maisy

Tester explained the reason when we got back and that was it - loadsaroom says he - and myself sitting in front of him like a goldfish, mouth opening and closing - wasn't going to argue - I'll probably get the same guy again knowing my luck.... ouch !!

Alanstrainor

Did you get the marking sheet? Did it have a specific heading where you picked up the grade 3?

Maisy

its down under "react to hazards" , which it seems I didn't do very well ... sniffle..... acually, to be honest I thought I had handled it very well, if I'd known it was a grade 3, I would have said ah here, may was well head back now, no point in prolonging the agony !

Alanstrainor

It sounds to me like the grade 3 was picked up for something else, i could be wrong now, but i would have put that situation down to lack of progress. A reaction to hazards fault is usually not reacting to pedestrians opening a car door on your side of the road, people stepping off the path etc etc. There are loads of different situations reaction to hazards would cover, they're just a brief example.

Posy

Yeah, a Grade 3 is for a potentially dangerous fault (running a stop sign for example) and I wouldn't have thought 'lack of progress' would be dangerous. My instructor is always giving out that I miss opportunities to pull out onto a road etc but it's better than being reckless I'd have thought.
At least you stopped to survey the situation- better to hold up traffic behind than be careless with your driving. Unfortunately not the way the examiner saw it though. Bad luck. Was it your first test if you don't mind me asking?

Easy Rider

Grade 3 for that would be very harsh.....however saying that, I think you should be able to judge the distance between you and other cars, areas you can get through and others you can't...

It can lead to dangerous driving by others due to frustration.....the amount of times you see people with a metre either side of them and waiting for a car to give them more room is amazing, it holds up traffic and frustrates....I had someone in front of me do it twice on the same road, the traffic lights change very quickly and it was so frustrating.....

Alanstrainor

A grade 3 would be anything considered Dangerous, Potentially Dangerous or a total disregard of traffic controls. Under the "progress" section of the marking sheet, there is only one place where you can pick up a grade 3 mark, which is under the heading "At traffic lights". OP, unless you got 4 or more faults for the same aspect, or got 6 grade 2 faults under the same heading ie "progress" etc, i can't see how that one misjudgement on your part got a grade 3.

Posy

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Under the "progress" section of the marking sheet, there is only one place where you can pick up a grade 3 mark, which is under the heading "At traffic lights".

Stupid question; but would that grade 3 be for going through a red light, yeah?

Alanstrainor

Yes, and driving through an amber light when there was sufficient time to stop etc.

Maisy

Thanks for the input folks - it was indeed my first test - he told me back at the centre that it was because I had held up traffic behind me, little harsh maybe but putting it behind me now ! I'll certainly aim to barge ahead the next time !

Wishbone Ash

Maisy - a very important part of being a competent driver is 'reading' the road ahead and making other drivers aware of your presence. In my experience, very few driver are able to do this.

If you see a car parked ahead in the distance don't drive right up behind it and then decide what you are going to do. Move out in good time and take up a position near the centre of the road. This makes the other drivers aware of your vehicle and your intention to pass the parked vehicle. They may then move nearer to their nearside and make it easier for you to pass the obstruction.

This is particularly useful if you are on a bus route and a bus is stopped picking up/setting down. So many drivers go right up behind the bus and then crane their necks in an attempt to see past it instead of moving out well back and judging the situation from there.

In saying all that, a Grade 3 seems harsh from what you have told us.