CONFUSING SIGNALS

By Arnold Butler
When a person takes their driving test, they must do everything according to the Highway Code, and sometimes this can be very confusing for them. Let me give a couple of examples…
At a pedestrian crossing the test candidate stops and beckons a pedestrian across. It’s very polite but wrong. This could be a dangerous signal, the pedestrian could step out to cross assuming the candidate is meaning it is safe to cross, not realising there are vehicles coming from the opposite direction.
Here is the confusion; the test candidate is waiting at a junction and another driver beckons them to go, what do they do? Of course they would have been instructed by their instructor on subsequent lessons to confirm it is safe and then move out cautiously, but because they take a little longer confirming this, the other driver decides they are not going and proceeds to move off just as the test candidate decides too. A dilemma has now developed, both drivers stop and no one knows who is going and who is waiting. I wish there was more politeness on the roads, but sometimes it does not work.
The second example is – what does the flashing of headlamps mean? 1) The other driver is letting you go; (2) There is a speed trap; (3) Your lights are on; (4) A warning of your presence? I am sure the majority of drivers mean any of the aforementioned but not number (4) which happens to be the correct one. Once again you can see this is leading the same way as the first example.
There are many more Highway Code rules that are misinterpreted. A final one is, what do two continuous white lines mean along the centre of the road? Answer, in next issue. Please bear in mind some of these articles are taken from observations seen on the road and are not pointed at any individual. They are regarded as helpful tips supplied by Arnold Butler, your local Driving Instructor, telephone him on 0115 921 7579.