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??)

Single track lanes? Lead into dual carriageways?

Why did your sat nav fall off OP? That doesn't sound very safe, and you were really lucky it fell into the passenger footwell rather than your footwell.

The A31 is somewhat a different character of road to most roads through Northumberland

This is a more interesting/ pertinent question

I think the point to realise is that it is a possibility that the lorry driver beeped because he is a grumpy arse, and not because the OP has done anything intrinsically wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. I supposed unless he pops up on this thread we’ll never know.

Indicating left on that type of road indicates you are turning left at the next junction, not deciding to park on a straight road in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. He would have had no idea wtf you were doing.

No it doesn't. On country lanes it is perfectly normal for slower vehicles (such as tractors or people who don't want to drive round blind bends at 60mph) to stop to let others go by.

He did know what I was doing because I was indicating left and slowing down. Indicating left is what you are meant to do when you are pulling over.

Because sometimes stuff falls off. Idiot comment.

@Azzywhatty I'd give up if I were you! Once an idea has taken hold in a Mumsnet thread there is nothing you can do to uproot it. The way you parked looks fine to me.
Maybe the lorry driver was reminding you that he was there in case you suddenly opened a door or something.

I don’t know. It was screwed on and has been for a long time but the twist must have loosened over time.

Assuming most side streets won’t have the national speed limit of 60/70mph and HGVs passing regularly.

I don’t think anyone is going to change your mind on this OP, so this thread is getting a bit pointless now.

You basically parked on a two lane road
No you can’t do this, obviously!
You should find a lay-by or suitable parking space.

Suggest some revision of the Highway Code. You just need the basic section. 🤣🤣🤣

I'd give up if I were you! Once an idea has taken hold in a Mumsnet thread there is nothing you can do to uproot it. The way you parked looks fine to me.

Yep, I agree.

I don’t understand why it was ok to slow down to pull over but not ok to slow down to look for a lay by. In response to your post below:

“Finding a lay-by would still require slowing down, and therefore slowing down the lorry.”

No one was doing 60mph. How many times?

Of course you can do this. Look at any street with houses and no drives. There will be cars parked on the road.

I believe I asked a relevant question. I'm pretty sure that things like sat navs need to be securely fastened, because falling off could cause a serious accident if e.g. it fell into the footwell and rolled under a pedal. Of course sometimes stuff falls off, but I'd argue that stuff like electrical equipment inside a moving vehicle should not be the things that fall off.
I didn't make any disparaging remarks to anyone either.

But was it a 60mph road you were travelling and stopped on?

It would have been fine but there aren’t magical lay-bys every ten yards.

Yes, by virtue of it being a country road. But I was leading off a single track road at around 20mph. It was impossible for anyone to be doing 60mph.

There’s a huge difference.
Surely you know this.
You parked on a two lane road. Neither of those lanes are for parking they are for driving on.

How long have you been driving because I just cant believe you cant spot the difference.

Yabu. You lucky the truck didn't rear end you although he would have been too close in that case. You cant stop in this situation. You find somewhere safe to pull over and stop.

That's not what hazard lights are for! (You're only supposed to use them when stationary.) Signalling left and braking should give the vehicle behind plenty of warning that you intend to stop.

I would have kept driving until I found one.

This has been the most infuriating thread to read. You did nothing wrong OP and I worry about the driving ability of everyone who thinks otherwise.