Did I do anything wrong here? Driving

[Azzywhatty]

I drove home from rural Northumberland today. On a single track road my sat nav fell out of its holder onto the passenger side floor. There was a lorry behind me. I continued along the single track road until it widened into two lanes, then indicated left, slowed down and stopped so I could pick it back up.

The lorry behind me beeped as I stopped. Did I do anything wrong here? I indicated and slowed and waited until the road went back to two lanes and it was safe to stop. I can’t work out why he was beeping.

There was no other traffic in either direction.

YANBU - you did nothing wrong
YABU - you did something wrong (what and why??)

Just saw this.

You should have had your hazards on. I’d not have stopped there with a lorry behind me, especially as you say the lorry was going fast.

@Boskit Doesn't rule 240 apply to motorways?

The lorry beeped because you created a hazard for them to avoid.

That the hazard from your perspective wasn't likely to cause an issue isn't relevant, the lorry driver obviously didn't agree hence the beep.

This is a very common problem for HGV drivers, there is barely any real awareness of how tricky they are to stop, or how poor visibility is.

@Azzywhatty
I live rurally and know the type of roads you mean. I also looked at your photos.

Sorry, but what you did was unexpected and unusual - and probably why the lorry driver beeped. People don’t generally pull over on those sorts of roads, especially if there is traffic (a lorry!) behind them. Most people would wait until they’d reached a gateway or passing place to pull over safely. If unavoidable, in the case of an emergency, which I don’t think this was btw, hazards should be used at the very least.

I don’t know why you’re comparing it to a residential road type situation, it’s completely different.

You confused matters @Azzywhatty by saying you stopped on a two lane road but also saying you didn't block a lane. If you stopped on a regular, rural, two lane road (B road, for example), then chances are yes, you blocked the lane.

If any overtaking vehicle had to cross a white line (or go onto the "wrong" side of the road) to get past you, you were obstructing the lane.

That said, it is not illegal to pull over at the side of the road (unless it's a clearway, which it obviously isn't) and, given how you've described the road, and per your Streetview image (straight with clear lines of sight) it would seem that you didn't do anything wrong (unless you started to slow down before putting your indicator on, because people do that to me all the time and it is fricking annoying when you're behind them!).

This is only referring to MOTORWAYS!!!
🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

Jesus wept

Please, before anyone else posts, can you look at the OP's photo? There are so many people posting hostile and belittling comments who have not grasped the situation. Pulling over on a road like this is within the bounds of the highway code, so long as the OP signalled and braked slowly. There were no road markings to prevent parking or to prevent the lorry overtaking, no obstructions on the other side and it was a long straight stretch where the lorry could see any incoming traffic. Of course it's not ideal to leave a car parked up there for any length of time and I would have put two wheels on the grass verge. However , it's not unreasonable to stop. I live in an area with many roads like this and it's not unusual for cars to be parked at the side, particularly next to isolated cottages without drives that are on a straight stretch (where else are the visitors going to park?)

Good grief talk about pearl clutching! Who would have been involved in this ‘nearly’ accident?? There was nobody else on the road 🙈 as OP clearly stated.

People are acting like she slammed her brakes on at 100mph on a busy motorway 😂

This thread shows why arseholes sound their horn when I have pulled in somewhere without breaking any laws or codes or driving advice to let my elderly mum out who can't walk very far. Some people actually think you can't stop anywhere other than a parking space or your drive and get aerated over a momentary pause in their journey.

What you did was both dangerous and illegal. Despite people explaining it to you every which way, you're refusing to acknowledge that. You shouldn't be driving because you're clearly not safe to be on the roads.

I misunderstood from ops first post sorry, when she said two lanes I thought they had meant a dual carriageway (being from around those parts myself there are roads that do that, and we get so many accidents around here too). My comment was applicable to dual carriageway but can see they have since clarified the type of road with pictures

OP, I think you're getting a really hard time here. I live in rural Yorkshire and drive on country lanes like you described every day. It's really common here for someone to indicate and pull over like you did - most often just because they realise they're holding up the car behind, so they pull over to let them overtake easier. It's seen as a nice, considerate thing to do and certainly no one thinks it's wrong as long as they do it where there's good visibility, like you did. I realise you weren't pulling over for this reason, but it is essentially the same thing. It's often the only way to pull over for miles around.

OP It’s possible the lorry behind you was a bit too close or possibly going too fast (stopping distance is obviously a lot further for large vehicles) so maybe he/she had a fright because they weren’t expecting you to stop where you did? It’s always best to pull over where you’re not going to alter the course of another vehicle (especially a heavy one!). Technically what you did was legal as you indicated and stopped where vehicles could pass, but in practice this kind of thing is best avoided unless you’ve broken down.

Maybe he was saying thank you or acknowledging you for pulling over? What sort of beep was it? A quick toot toot? Or a long blast?

Sometimes things happen which are unexpected and unusual on roads, it doesn't mean you have to beep your horn when it does, but you should have good hazard perception and not be driving too close to the vehicle in front so you can always stop in time.

Particularly when they, quite reasonably, start indicating to pull over.

Yes, stopping on the carriageway of a motorway would be questionable.

About as much as I do parking outside my house
Is tour house outside a 60 mile per hour narrow road where no other cars park?

Yes, quite 👏

Yep, it’s the difference between what you’re legally allowed to do and what you’re safe to do.

I’d not put my trust in a big hulking lorry.

Ever since a lorry swerved into my lane on the motorway without indicating, I’ve given them a wide berth and distance.

P.s. use your hazards, not left blinker when you’re pulled up.

What you did was both dangerous and illegal. Despite people explaining it to you every which way, you're refusing to acknowledge that. You shouldn't be driving because you're clearly not safe to be on the roads.

You are wrong I’m afraid. As long as vehicles behind can overtake safely it’s perfectly legal (if ill-advised due to the amount of clueless drivers now on the road).

I think when you say 2 lanes people are imagining a big fast road with two lanes in each direction. I think two lanes normally is used to mean 2 lanes in each direction.

Did the lorry have to go onto the lane for coming traffic? That might not have seemed necessary to him or on the other hand.maybe he was just acknowledging you. Either way it's done, no one died so you just move on

I mean what was she supposed to do if she ran out of petrol or some other technical issue with the car? Of course she can stop as long as she can indicate properly and safely, which she did. The only thing is I would have turned on my hazards. The lorry driver was a d*.
If it's was a motorway I would agree it would have been dangerous and is not allowed but it wasn't.

Yep, OP should have said ‘I pulled up on a grass verge on a country road’, not ‘along the single track road until it widened into two lanes and then stopped’. It makes it sound like she stopped ON the road, not a verge.

With a lorry too close and too fast behind me, I wouldn't be stopping! OP, even if you were legal you put yourself in danger