Priority to the Right

Good life saving info Phil, Thanks.

Timely for a lot of Tossers :thumby:
 
Thanks for that. Just emailed it to my mate who is in Plymouth waiting to board this afternoon sailing to Santander. He is bringing my new to me 1200 GSA. Told him to go and play with it in the Pyrenees for a few days. :thumb2
 
About time Brussels made them get rid of these mad and dangerous rules!
What rule would you replace it with?

In fact, priorite a droite is becoming more common as a traffic calming measure. Usually the new ones in towns are associated with a 30 kph limit and a raised section of road.

However, out in the sticks there is usually no warning of any kind, just an assumption that any junction without paint on the road and a give way or stop sign is a priorite a droite. Don't rely on signs to identify them.

If you ride with French bikers, you'll see them slow right down at virtually every junction that might be a priorite a droite.
 
In Germany, in the back roads around towns, they too have "prioritee a droite" (not sure what the Germans actually call it):
Most junctions are painted with a series of small triangles that look like a sort of stop line across each leg of the junction. They signify that the vehicle coming from your right has priority. In the countryside, many junctions are no so painted. However, if there are no clear priority/give way signs, again you assume the vehicles on the left have priority.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that in Germany pedestrians and cyclists are deemed to have absolute priority. In particular, it is worth noting that if you are turning left or right at a set of traffic lights (as opposed to going straight on) the pedestrians wanting to cross the road you are joining will have priority over you. So you will often get the situation where, even though you have a green traffic signal, you have to immediately stop as a pedestrian is crossing.

And pedestrians and cyclists take this priority with a vengeance: they really will just walk out in front of you without looking as the onus is on YOU to stop. I must say though that when I am walking or cycling, I find it hard/unnerving having that much faith in a car stopping. But they do, and look at you as some sort of idiot for not just walking out and assuming that they would cede you the priority
 
France is not littered with 'Priority to the right' junctions. Similarly, it is a very pale shadow of the law as it used to exist, so no need for Bruxelles to become involved, despite the protestations of people in Bracknell, Berks.

Don't ride about as if every Pascal or Amie are out to sideswipe you or (more accurately) you them. If the junction looks odd, just as it does in the third picture of the blog, then proceed carefully.... Just as you should do for any potential road hazard, particularly those that just don't feel or look right. There is enough road signage in the picture to show that it's a road junction of some kind, so you probably should be on alert, irrespective. Not least as it's no great benefit being both droite AND dead.

Do the locals know that they are there? Yes, of course they do, just as I know that there is a mini-roundabout with an altered priority in Bethnal Green, put in to slow traffic down. Will they steam in? Probably yes; they do in east London, they will in St Perdue sur Lost, too.

Stolzy's advice is probably best:

... just an assumption that any junction without paint on the road and a give way or stop sign is a priorite a droite. Don't rely on signs to identify them.
.

In short: If it looks odd, it probably is odd. If it turns out that it was normal after all, it matters not.

Marry that in to the increasing (though by no means uniform) use of 30 kph (roughly 18 mph) limits in some villages, chicanes and speed bumps that are now appearing, should send you a signal that it's probably best to WATCH OUT for a bit.
 
About time Brussels made them get rid of these mad and dangerous rules!

I expect you also include driving on the Droite in "these mad and dangerous rules" that johnny foreigner dreams up just to get at us british .. . :D
 
Mainland Europe is becoming much too dangerous for Adventure motorcyclists and other Btitish vehicle drivers.

The Karakoram Highway is the only safe place left. No silly, mad and dangerous rules there.
 


Back
Top Bottom