To refuse to reverse?

[ManyShapesOfPasta]

Out earlier, on a street with parked cars, I was waiting for traffic in the opposite direction when the driver flashed his lights, at which point I proceeded, and then, so did he.
Of course there's then nowhere for either of us to go so he motioned at me to reverse.
Was I wrong to refuse?

Le Campervan 🇫🇷

Lol.

Really? Why bother? Just ram it into reverse and get the whole thing over in 5 seconds. I don't understand what you thought you had to gain. What's the point?

I'm just trying to work out how he was able to go on the pavement to get past if you were the one with right of way. Surely he would have had parked cars to his left if he was the one that pulled out round them? It's usually the one with right of way who has the pavement option when reversing isn't available because of following cars.

Actually these people who do flash to say thanks particularly piss me off. Honestly, a simple raise of the hand is fine, I don't really need my retinas fried by your LED searchlights, ta.

Ffs people like you make the world a worse place one idiotic decision at a time.

I wondered this too. It makes no sense.

If I get someone aggressively insisting I reverse, I do so but very very very slowly.

On my way home today, a car in front was waiting to turn right. An oncoming car stopped and flashed his lights. In that situation @godmum56 do you honestly just sit there and do nothing? Or has that never happened to you?

I guess the car might flash again. The cars behind me would be thinking 'go on then...he's letting you turn right'. Then at some point, flasher would give up, carry on and you'd still be holding all the traffic up waiting for a break.

I know it's not in the Highway Code, but it's not illegal. In very slow moving traffic it's very normal to leave gaps to allow cars to turn on or off a road and to let the waiting cars know it's an intentional gap not just a lapse in concentration it's common to flash your lights.

I flash so that they see me raise my hand. Otherwise they may not be looking and I don't want to keep checking that they're looking.

I don't really care if that's not correct.

I once found myself driving through a single vehicle tunnel, about 100m long, traffic coming the other way has priority but they can't see through the tunnel until they turn into it, I could see all the way through before entering it. As I was about 20m from the end a car appeared and indicated for me to reverse to give him his right of way. He found out just how badly and slowly I can reverse when I choose to, I was all over the road and he was clearly furious. Don't think blowing him a kiss helped his mood either.

I'm sure you must stall a couple of times too!

I'm honestly suddenly understanding why so many struggle with the lanes in Cornwall, reading this, and why driving gets so bloody dangerous during the holidays.

You flash to let the other person know you're staying where you are (in the wider point) or will reverse back to the passing point - so the other car knows they are the one to continue forward.

A 'thank you' flash is only as you pass the waiting car.

A warning flash (walkers, horses, sheep, cows, cyclists ahead of you) is whilst you're moving along the road to literally warn the drivers about to come up on it.

On narrow lanes there HAS to be a system, I couldn't give a shit what the highway code says lol, it would be impossible to travel around our rural roads without them.

No telling what was going on in the OPs situation given the confusion in the comments, but I would have done as you did, OP. Someone flashing me is giving me permission to continue & they'll wait. That's it, no ambiguity.

Flashing your lights means nothing in terms of the highway code, it's a simple courtesy that drivers extend to one another.

I don't believe anyone would truly not assume that if another driver flashed them under these circumstances, that they weren't indicating for you to go.

And yes, flashing also means thanks - when you're already proceeding through the space! Not when you're stationary.

He was an idiot, but I probably would have reversed because I am trying to reduce my stress while driving, and just assuming the other person is an idiot who can't drive helps . Sometimes I'll give them a thumbs down as they pass lol

@ManyShapesOfPasta why are you sure that you had right of way? Based on what you've written, it's not clear why you think that - if his side of the street was clear of cars so that he was able to mount the footpath to pass by you then it seems like he had right of way?

Regardless of who had right of way, I think you were unreasonable not to reverse since he had a camper van. In situations like this safety trumps who is right, it's much safer for a car driver to reverse. Drivers of larger vehicles may not have the same ability to spot hazards behind them.

I feel you!
My old yard used to be uphill and on a single track road that some people used as a rat run. My dh was driving our lorry downhill and one lady wouldn't reverse downhill so we had to reverse our lorry uphill and around a corner. She attempted it once, got close to the hedge and decided to then drive towards us. Like you said, it gives no room to get the right angles. With a trailer though, that was really unfair of her! I hope it didn't knock your confidence though and you're still out and about with your horses 🥰

Some people eh?

EVERYONE thinks they are a good driver and have a great sense of humour 😂😂

Yes! There's a research study in which 93% of drivers rated themselves as better than average 😂

Why did you stop @ManyShapesOfPasta if you had the right of way?

Because they flashed? A flash isn't exactly a clear conversation! People flash to say thanks, to let them know there is something wrong with their car (lights out, boot open, something on roof ...).

The driver is probably off ranting to someone about some idiot that stopped for them despite having right of way, they went to move, then you changed your mind and were a stubborn PITA about it. You probably confused the fuck out of them.

To be fair in that case, on a single track the vehicle going uphill has right of way (rule 155). Although it does seem she was being super unreasonable in that case.

Yeah, reversing a trailer miles down a singletrack is not fun, especially when you've only just passed your test a couple months before - and of course back then there was no separate trailer test, you were just expected to get on with it. Reversing a trailer down a narrow road is a lot harder than in a field which is all I had done before!

How are we rating ‘better than average’

It's always boggled me why you have to reverse uphill. Cornwall was one place that I really got use of that rule 🤣

We were in a 7.5t and she had just gone past a passing place, her back wheels were probably 50cm past it... nevermind, we roll 😆

Hats off to you though. I get confused as anything with a trailer on the back (hence why dh drives anything other than the cars now) 😜

I think the 'reverse uphill' rule comes from a safety point of view - a driver reversing down a steep hill is more likely to lose control, with more severe consequences, than one reversing up it.

You haven’t given much information, but I think I absolutely would have interpreted his flashing as letting you out. What else could it have meant? However, no matter what twatty reason he had for flashing, the situation was what it was and whoever could reverse more easily should have done so. If that was you, then yabu (but he also was for flashing!)