Box junctions ’10 second’ rule change replace as DfT points response | UK | News | EUROtoday

The Department for Transport (DfT) has delivered an replace on field junction laws, following a petition calling for adjustments to ‘give drivers extra leniency’. Box junctions are criss-cross yellow markings designed to take care of clear intersections, guarantee clean site visitors circulate, and forestall congestion.

Currently, Rule 174 of the Highway Code states that you simply ‘should not enter the field till your exit street or lane is evident’ except you might be turning proper or are solely stopped from doing so by oncoming site visitors or different automobiles turning proper. Yet, a current parliamentary petition claimed that sure bins exceed mandatory dimensions and recommended laws could probably ‘be abused’ to ‘increase income’ by means of penalties.

Consequently, the petition advocated a number of amendments, together with introducing a 10-second ‘grace interval’ earlier than enforcement of penalties and requiring yellow bins to stay ‘no greater than mandatory’. Following assist from over 11,000 signatories, the UK Government has now issued its response.

In a web-based assertion, the Department for Transport stated: “Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to provide appropriate traffic management schemes for their roads, including yellow box markings. They have detailed knowledge of their road junctions and are best placed to model traffic flow improvements for a given box junction design.

“The Department has revealed steering in Chapter 5 of the Traffic Signs Manual on the design, structure and suitability of those markings. While this will help with complying with the necessary necessities, it can’t present a definitive authorized interpretation, nor can it override them. This stays the prerogative of the courts in relation to the looks and use of particular street markings at particular areas.”

In addition, the Government department contended that implementing a ’10-second grace period’ before penalties are handed out represents ‘a long period of time in traffic flow terms’. Officials maintain this would merely ‘delay opposing arm traffic from crossing the junction’ and essentially ‘undermine the purpose of the yellow box marking’.

Tackling another concern outlined in the petition, the department’s response continued: “In relation to an exemption for turning automobiles that aren’t inflicting an obstruction, it could be tough to find out when obstruction was not occurring, given the dynamic nature of site visitors actions and sign phasing at junctions. It is probably going {that a} turning automobile stopped within the field would impede circulate in the identical manner as a automobile making a straight-ahead manoeuvre.

“Every junction is unique and only local authorities can assess how vehicle movements influence blocking back at a particular junction. Only they can determine what size constitutes necessary. It is therefore not possible to legislate for a minimum ‘necessary’ size. Half box markings are used at side road T-junctions which are not normally signalised.

“The request to solely enable them at signalised junctions would stop their use at these areas. This would have a detrimental impact on site visitors delivering or out of the aspect street.”

Right now, yellow box markings are prescribed in The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD), which include the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). The department said it has ‘no plans to change this arrangement’ and reverting this system ‘would place undue burden on local authorities’.

There are also no current plans to amend the wording in the Highway Code. “The Highway Code is meant to supply clear steering to street customers in plain language, whereas TSRGD units out the authorized necessities for site visitors indicators,” the online response added.

“It makes use of exact legalese mandatory for laws and in consequence makes use of totally different terminology to clarify {that a} driver ‘should not trigger a automobile to enter the field junction in order that the automobile has to cease throughout the field junction’. Whereas the Highway Code give steering to realize this by saying ‘don’t enter the field except your exit is evident’.

“Concerning a change to the law to give drivers more leniency; application of the law is a matter for the enforcing authority and any citizen that believes there is a case for lenient application should make their appeal to the authority and ultimately the courts. The Department does not have any involvement in this process.”

The petition entitled ‘Change regulation round field junctions to present drivers extra leniency’ has gathered greater than 11,000 signatures. If it gathers 100,000 signatures, it is going to be thought-about for debate in Parliament.

You can learn the petition and its response in full at Parliament’s web site right here.