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??)

Of course I know for sure. If I’m going down a single track lane at 20mph, no one is overtaking me, are they? They can’t be going faster than my speed.

I wasn’t on a dual carriageway!

I think some of you need to calm down.

On the contrary I am now finding the thread really funny. But I think some people should read things more carefully.

Because in a lay by you’re safe from moving traffic behind you.

You have the space, safety and time to move off again safely.

Indicating left and then pulling over on to a verge with a lorry you say was moving too fast too close to you is less safe.

Sorry, the post I was replying to initially was.

Lorries take time to pick up speed, you should not be causing them to have to overtake, on to the wrong side of the road, when they are not at speed.

Driving in a built up area, with houses etc you expect parked traffic and accommodate. Driving the road you describe, I would not be expecting someone to be parked at the roadside nor a lorry overtaking.

It's common sense.

Well I just think you’re a really bad driver, OP. Driving at 120mph down a motorway and coming to a screeching halt in the fast lane with 5 juggernauts behind you. Someone needs a refresher course! 🤔

Lorries overtake on country roads all of the time for tractors, horses etc.

Tractors and horses, yes. Parked cars, not so much.

Mother of god! The only thing you did wrong was post on here op.

Tractors and horses aren't stopped and are more expected than a stationary random car.

The car was stationary for about ten seconds. What difference is there between that and a tractor moving to one side to allow a lorry past?

🤣🤣🤣

Nope. Pulling over is or can be just pulling to the side of the road. And of course you can block a lane. Just as long as you aren’t blocking the entire carriageway. Honestly.

Mate. Don’t give it another thought. The so called professional lorry drivers along the A69 (same area as OP mentioned , for non-locals) are by and large a disgrace. I had one blast his horn and tailgate me when I was clearly indicating that I was turning right. The left lane was empty but he chose not to pass. I specifically indicated good and early because I knew what he was going to do before he even did it. Particularly true of seemingly every driver working for a certain quarrying firm round Hexham. It won’t have been you. It will have been him. Wave a metaphorical two fingers at the memory of him and let it go!

Ahhh ok, I did wonder what I'd put for a moment 🤣

The lorry driver would have expected the tractor to be going slowly, or pull over. He would be expecting a car moving from a single track road to a 2 way road to be accelerating.

You clearly haven't done much rural driving, tractors very rarely pull over to let a lorry past given both are very wide vehicles.

In fact, I have never had a tractor pull over to let me past or anyone else and I drove rural alot.

If tractors didn’t pull to one side to allow traffic past rural England would be jam packed solidly.

It’s not about a lorry having to overtake you really though is it? … it’s about you stopping dangerously and stupidly on a road which was inappropriate for you to do so. On this particular time, a lorry had to go past you .. what if there were cars approaching that you didn’t/couldn’t see? And while you were bent down rescuing your emergency sat nav, they approached, didn’t see your car, didn’t expect a car to be pulled over on that road .. then crashed into you? It’s all about you doing a dangerous manoeuvre on an unsuitable road. You should have carried on until there was an actual place to stop, then sort out your sat nav safely. Simple.

You cannot stop in the road and expect people to use the other side designated for oncoming traffic!

It does not matter that nothing was coming in that direction. You need to wait for a safe place to stop OFF of the road.

Firstly stopping in the road is unexpected and he could have driven into you. Secondly if another car turns up and crashes into the lorry head on the lorry driver is at fault.

Yes of course it was the lorry drivers fault for the OP stopping dangerously in a road 🤨🙄

Lorry drivers need notice and space to manoeuvre their vehicle - perhaps he felt you weren’t giving him enough. Or, he might just have had a bad day.

@Azzywhatty OP, give up. The ones that disagree (rather aggressively) aren’t going to listen to those of us who know the roads, know how deep the verges are, know how many passing places there are (none!) and how often traffic passes you in the wilds of Northumberland. You are never going to win!

Northumberland has an average population density of 64 people per 1 square km. That includes the bigger towns. The area about which we are talking about has fewer than 26. There is only one district in the whole of the country that has a pop density lower than this. Lorries are used to driving like this - doubt it was an Artic, they are prohibited from most roads there anyway. He didn’t need to stop. He would have pulled out and easily passed.

Wow. I didn’t stop dangerously. I indicated, slowed, and pulled over.

Have you ever been on a Roman road? They are very straight and this one was very flat. There was nothing coming as far as the eye could see.

I wasn’t ’bent down’. I picked it up with my hand. If a driver can drive on a flat, straight road and not see my car then they shouldn’t be behind the wheel.