Passing stationary traffic on the nearside?

[Cie]

I travel from Swindon to Gloucester every now and then, along the A419 north west into the A417 through the notorious choke point as the 417 comes down into a single carriageway.

The last time, traffic was thick and static, with no room to filter on the offside due to solid white lines. However, on the nearside, there is again, solid white line, which marks the edge of the carriageway, but with a good two to three feet of tarmac on the other side as you can possibly see here.

I can't think of any obvious reason why I can't pass on the nearside.

In anticipation ....

[ROG]

It may not be unsafe but it is illegal to cross a solid white line except in an emergency or to pass an obstruction - waiting vehicles are not an obstruction.

[martine]

Interesting question - I've often wondered of the legal significance of nearside white lines. I'm not sure ROG's reply is as straightforward as it sounds. No offence meant ROG but I await other's comments.

PS. I assume your description is 'upwards' on the google page.

[Cie]

Yes Martin, ROG has missed the point, this is the edge of carriageway line I'm talking about, not the centre line.

P114 of the Highway Code shows, Along the carriageway - Edge line. I'm talking about riding to the left of that line, as in this case it's marking the left edge of the carriageway.

Also, sorry to be pedantic ROG but your statement is incorrect. Rule 129 states "..You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10mph (16km/h) or less."

[ROG]

ROG has missed the point, this is the edge of carriageway line I'm talking about, not the centre line.

Not missed the point - I was referring to the area on left of the solid white line.

You may cross the line if necessary

how do you figure that it is NECESSARY ?

[Cie]

ROG, rule 129 applies to double white lines, but you seem to believe this applies to the edge of carriageway line.

Do you have an on-line reference that suggests the edge of carriageway line can't be crossed? There's certainly nothing in the Highway Code.

[ROG]

ROG, rule 129 applies to double white lines, but you seem to believe this applies to the edge of carriageway line.

Do you have an on-line reference that suggests the edge of carriageway line can't be crossed? There's certainly nothing in the Highway Code.

I reckon there has to be a legal reference somewhere in regard to these solid white egde lines but I am not good at researching law

I bet one of the trafpol guys on here knows where to find the law on them

[Gareth]

I'm convinced Cie is correct - that the single continuous white down the edge of the carriageway is nothing more than an aid in poor visibility conditions to help the road user know where the edge of the road surface is located.

It doesn't help that some local authorities have the line painted a good way from the actual edge of the road surface; I suspect it is a misguided attempt on their part to convince motorists that the road is narrower than it actually is, with the hope that they'll feel more uncomfortable and slow down a bit.

[waremark]

I seem to remember from an earlier forum discussion that the not crossing rules only relate to a solid line to the right of your lane. We were quoted convincing legal references. That particular discussion was about the lines dividing lanes in tunnels such as the Dartford tunnel, which I believe did not have legal force although they are universally treated as banning lane changes.

However, HWC tells us that you MUST not cross a solid white line seperating a cycle lane from the carriageway (para 140). It would certainly need an expert to tell us whether these lines might be caught by the same prohibition.

[ExadiNigel]

Interestingly the highway code refers to different rules for each of the lines except the edge line where is simply describes it as a line denoting teh edge of the carriageway with no rule applying to it. On the A419/A417 the line is an edge of carriageway as opposed to cycle lane (cycled on there once, never again! - scared the hell otof me)

A comment I will make though, the image I have of where the A417 (travelling Swindon to Gloucester) changes back to single carriageway is a dual carriageway all the way up to the roundabout. There is a left turn and a 'road ahead' which continues up past Birdlip. I'm not sure that I would want to create a third lane by traveling up the inside incase someone turns left at the roundabout.

I'm presuming you are taking the 2nd exit if travelling to Gloucester? So why would you wish to create a 3rd lane to the left of traffic that may take the 1st exit? Or do I have the wrong image in mind?

Nigel

[Cie]

Nigel,

In this case I'm not talking about near the roundabouts, just the open road. My personal opinion on doing funky at roundabouts is that it'll eventually end in tears, so I don't.

[redrobo]

What do you hope to gain by overtaking traffic to the nearside.
There is no offence of crossing the line BTW.
I have done it when traffic is held up and unlikely to move, I wouldn't consider it if the traffic is moving even very slowly. I have used the space between a line and a central crash barrier on Duals when traffic is stopped.

[markymark]

I too have made this journey while traffic is backed up the hill approaching the Air Baloon. And have had similar thoughts to Cie.

I use 3 questions to asses actions that are not specifically covered by advice and guidance:-

Is it safe?
Well - in my judgement - no more or less safe than most filtering while traffic is virtually stationary.
The traffic on the oposite two lane carriageway is doing 60mph - and filtering on the off side means you are potentially much more vulnerable.
The carriageway is bordered by grass with no kerb. This means the width between the edge and the white line varies and can be crumbley so one needs to be vigilant. However the lack of a kerb and the fact that the tarmac merges into grass does provide an ecellent escape route.

Is it legal?
Majority of comment on earlier posts seems to be that it is not illegal - however this is not certain. Presumably the line is there to provide visibility in the absence of a kerb rather than to prevent traffic comming into conflict with other road users/cyclists/pedestrians.

Is it necessary?
Again - as necessary as any filtering where a motorcycle can make progress where wider vehicles cannot.

So on balance I think I would do it. That said - I consider an appropriate speed to be a crawl and would often revert to the off side where traffic is positioned to the left of the avaiable space.

[Cie]

Hi Mark,

Yep, they're the typical questions to be asked. In another thread here it was concluded that it's not illegal to cross the edge of carriageway marker, so like you, I'll be doing it again; ahh they joys of two wheels