What's the Law on Chevrons?

[Berlin]

On my local a road there are two types of chevrons. Solid edges and dotted edged along about a 5 mile stretch of road.

The Solid edged ones lead on from double white lines, where the white lines diverge around the chevrons. I presume you are not allowed to enter these and treat them as double white lines.

The others diverge from a single (long bar) dotted line around the chevrons but the aren't Solid on either side. They are the same lines as the single dotted line.

Is it OK to overtake on the latter ones? Why is there a difference?

Cheers,
Carl

[Lozzo]

You can enter the dotted edged ones only when safe to do so. Solid lines should be treated as brick walls

[Dangerous Dave]

Don't cross a solid white line unless it is unavoidable.

[Mr Speirs]

You may enter the dotted line around the Chevrons only in an emergency if I remember correctly.
Im sure a bobby will be along to clear things up.

I believe even if you do overtake in these zones it is frowned upon but not an endorsable offence (seem to remember something like that on Police Camera Action) but may be completely wrong and ready to be proven so.

[timwilky]

Don't cross a solid white line unless it is unavoidable.

don't cross and complain about a ticket.

T'is the solid white boundary, never cross a solid white line (whilst there is a policemen about). unless overtaking road maintenances( 10mph rings a bell for those), stationary vehicles and some thing else. cyclists/horses I think

[Lozzo]

I treat double white lines as discretionary for motorcyclists. They are there to stop feckwitted car drivers killing themselves, but us bikers have more road sense than the average car driver and can judge things better, we also have a better view of the road ahead from our higher riding postion and ability to move in and out of gaps easier.

I know it's illegal and I don't condone anyone else doing it, before anyone starts with the safety-nazi crap

[New Leaf]

yeppers the solid edged ones u can only enter to pass a road maintenance vehicle - ie those with a big white arrow on a blue circle on the back of them.

chevrons bordered by a dotted line are just there to seperate lanes of traffic. u can enter these areas at will - i like to think of them as motorbike over taking lanes. ;-)

[Berlin]

Marvelous! Thanks for the clarification.

So that means that on 90% of the road it is actually legal to overtake.

Cheers,
Carl

[injury_ian]

Aye, If safe to do so.... If you have an accident, it wasn't safe to do so!

Also, you will get a lot of punctures.

[Ed]

Aye, If safe to do so.... If you have an accident, it wasn't safe to do so!

Also, you will get a lot of punctures.

+1:( to the punctures

[ukgooner]

My friend has just had a 60/40 decision after an accident in the summer, he was filtering down the A13 in the non-solid cheveroned area, some tool in a car decided he needed to pull out of the queue of traffic and get across to the junction a couple of hundred yards down the road as the opposite lane was empty, except my friend was beside him as he pulled out and ended up with a 4K claim on his blade, so be careful using them, especially at silly speeds!

[Dangerous Dave]

My friend has just had a 60/40 decision after an accident in the summer, he was filtering down the A13 in the non-solid cheveroned area, some tool in a car decided he needed to pull out of the queue of traffic and get across to the junction a couple of hundred yards down the road as the opposite lane was empty, except my friend was beside him as he pulled out and ended up with a 4K claim on his blade, so be careful using them, especially at silly speeds!
He did well, considering he was in a chevron area and creating a second lane of traffic.

[Sid Squid]

Sensible things.
+1.

I always wonder about double white lines, by which I mean if I need someone to tell me that this isn't a safe spot to overtake/cross the centre line I shouldn't be driving.

[Ceri JC]

I treat double white lines as discretionary for motorcyclists. They are there to stop feckwitted car drivers killing themselves, but us bikers have more road sense than the average car driver and can judge things better, we also have a better view of the road ahead from our higher riding postion and ability to move in and out of gaps easier.

I know it's illegal and I don't condone anyone else doing it, before anyone starts with the safety-nazi crap

+1

As to the law, I believe solid white lines around chevrons are only to be crossed to avoid an accident*, or if instructed to do so by a policeman. The striped ones are only to be crossed if "necessary".

We had all sorts of debates in my IAM group as to what constituted "necessary" in the eyes of a policeman and eventually spoke to a couple of traffic cops about it. Surprisingly, overtakes will be accepted as "necessary" by most coppers if the speed of the vehicle you are overtaking is low enough and you've been stuck behind it for some time. Coming straight up on something doing 55 in a 60 and overtaking it on chevrons is a bit of a no-no, whereas if you're on some windy road for 5 miles trying to get past a bus doing 30 in a 60 and suddenly a safe overtake (albeit over chevrons) presents itself that'll be allowed. Of course, in between these extremes, there's a big gulf of grey area.

*Another grey area, how close to a crash do you have to be for it to be considered avoiding an accident? I regularly cross solid white lines to join a motorway early coming of a slip road when it's safe to do so rather than get snarled up with the cabbages 6"s off each others bumpers, trying to join at 30mph 100 yards down the road, particularly if there's some ***k in a german car hanging off my back wheel. It's definately reducing the potential for an accident (statistically, over hundreds of motorway joins) and safer than not doing it, but it's also a bit of a push to say in any given incident an accident was in any way likely if I'd not done it: The tailgating car probably would have slowed and not had me off, with a bike's acceleration I probably would have joined safely from 30mph if I had joined the line of cars crawling onto the motorway.

[injury_ian]

As above, you can use them at your own risk, if you have an accident its your fault as you should only use them if safe and necessary, which it obviously wasn't.

[vardypeeps]

I would say the same. So long as the line is broken that follows the edges of the chevys your fine.

[fizzwheel]

I treat double white lines as discretionary for motorcyclists. They are there to stop feckwitted car drivers killing themselves, but us bikers have more road sense than the average car driver and can judge things better, we also have a better view of the road ahead from our higher riding postion and ability to move in and out of gaps easier.

I do to, I've noticed the last couple of years double whites appearing in places where they previously were not.

I tend to give ones that have been re-painted or added recently where I've never seen an accident in my entire life a bit less repsect and I'm more happy to cross them as IMHO they've been put there for no good reason.

If I get knicked for doing so, then I'm happy to take it on the chin.

[Ch00]

+1

I regularly cross solid white lines to join a motorway early coming of a slip road

Dont get normal roads and motorways confused. There is no offence of crossing the soild lines on a motorway. The offence is driving on a verge. which in basic terms is anything other than the 3 main lanes and the hard shoulder.

Ch00

[Ceri JC]

Dont get normal roads and motorways confused. There is no offence of crossing the soild lines on a motorway. The offence is driving on a verge. which in basic terms is anything other than the 3 main lanes and the hard shoulder.

Ch00

Excellent news! :)
Incidentally, does this mean that it's (technically) legal to cut from the motorway onto the exit sliproad across the solid chevroned area if you leave it too late to move across for your exit? Not that this is something I do (or even would do, even if it were legal), just want to see if the people who are doing it are in the wrong.

[Ch00]

No in short!

I found the wording now

"verge" means any part of the motorway which is not a carriageway, a hard shoulder, an emergency layby or a central reservation


Vehicles not to use the central reservation or verge
9. No vehicle shall be driven or moved or stopped or remain at rest on a central reservation or verge.
It is still an offence but the offence is not crossing the soild line its going though the chevroned area.

Ch00

[gettin2dizzy]

The chevrons on the motorway to judge distance have laws too. You *have* to treat these as a slalom course :thumbsup:

[-Ralph-]

You can also cross a solid white line if you are forced to do so to overtake traffic travelling at less than 10mph.