I wouldn't reverse

[whyyyyyisitmonddayy]

driving home from work about midnight. meet another car on a country lane I know really well. Woman I meet has her brights on and will not turn them off, despite me flashing her (?). She's coming uphill towards me, meaning it's so bright that my eyes are watering and I can't make out the verges clearly or even my bonnet. I've never experienced this before so I'm a bit discombobulated.

I know that if she reverses a few feet she can go into the passing place and let me go. My nearest passing point is very far back and I can't reverse safely as I've been really badly dazzled. I stop 5m or so in front of her, turn off my lights entirely hoping that it will remind her to switch her brights off, and wait. she does not and starts revving her fucking car!!!!

She's not got her window down and is having a right proper go just shouting at me to drive and waving. just reply that I'm dazzled really badly and can't safely proceed unless she switches off her lights temporarily so I can see into my rear view and past her car (to see if I can squeeze past or reverse back). I also tell her that there's a passing place just to her left, could she go into it please? I just keep asking her to please lower the lights / turn them off so I can get my bearings! but she wouldn't. she's swearing at me at this point despite my calm tone. she screams "move" at me, so I just say "no". at this point I'm seeing splotches and can't see my gear shift anyway, and If I could see around me, I would happily reverse five miles back if only it meant to get away from her.

She eventually turns off her brights, slams on her accelerator, clipping me with her wing mirror, coming very close to hitting me properly, and possibly damaging her car against the verge. she's slamming on the horn and still raving. she's driving a nice car so no clue why the fuck she did that?

She's a twat and she drove very dangerously, I hope you have a dash cam? I wouldn't move my car either if I couldn't bloody see!

Well done!! I hope she has a nice few scrapes down the passenger side of her car from the hedge - serve her right!
You did the absolute right thing @whyyyyyisitmonddayy 👍

Brights = full beams in Britain

It was midnight in the lanes and you turned all your lights off? You are very lucky no one came from behind and hit you because they couldn't see you

And you were talking this much from within your own cars? If you weren't shouting I'm surprised if she heard a word.

According to the highway code, uphill has right of way, so you were in the wrong.

From what I've heard, there seems to be more of this on country roads lately. Is it younger drivers maybe?

Really odd behaviour as gossip also seems to be a thing in rural areas.

4I'm wondering if the woman was drunk.

It also says that you should only manoeuvre when it’s safe to do so

And if you can’t see because some twat won’t turn their full beam off then it’s not safe

You were in the wrong and unreasonably obstinate. Rule 155 of the highway code includes “Give way to road users coming uphill whenever you can. If necessary, reverse until you reach a passing place to let the other vehicle pass.”

Some people are extraordinarily twattish. Me and DP turned into a narrow country lane and met some twat in a massive car coming the other way. He drove up fast and stopped close and his stubborn aggressive face said that he fully expected us to get out of his way. We tried to indicate to him that there were no passing spaces behind us, instead there was a queue of about 5 cars behind us and only one of him. He twattish expression said it all. I kid you not all 5 cars spent about 15 minutes reversing back down this lane and BACK ONTO THE MAIN ROAD in order to let the twat through. When we came back up there was a huge passing place just behind where we had initially met him. We could not believe our eyes!! Absolute cunt.

😂😅

I think you need to read the OP again.

How am I wrong?

You were not in the wrong . You should not manoevre a vehicle if it is unsafe for you to do so.
This trumps the give way to the vehicle coming uphill rule.
She needed to reverse into the passing place and he behavior was road rage.

You were dead right.
Same thing happened to me, i was 3/4 down a narrow street and a guy in a tank turned on to the road, could clearly see me and kept coming towards me.

He started waving at me to back up.
I turned off the car and locked my doors, tapped my watch making it clear I had nowhere to be.

He was going mad.
I let him go rant and gesticulate, and then pointed to my dash capturing it all.
He calmed down and backed up.
I took my sweet time to drive up and smiled as I passed.
Arsehole.

Some people can't reverse properly, which makes them a nightmare on narrow lanes.

Even if I'm going uphill, if I'm close to a passing space I'll reverse back to it. It's common courtesy and can make it faster for me than waiting for someone to reverse 50 or 100 yards downhill.

Sorry that happened to you, OP.

Edited for typo.

I think you embarrassed her, OP. She can't reverse and you found her out.

I had that twice yesterday. The first, at a wee single-track bridge where in had priority: the person on the other side was incredulous I carried on and didn’t wait. The other was more problematic for me as I was going downhill so knew they had priority but saw they had a passing place right behind them whereas my nearest was a way behind around a bend. Turns out where they stopped was at the
end of the passing place, and if they’d stopped when they saw me they would have been IN the huge passing place. Stopped worrying about priorities then.

How would someone coming up behind conceivably miss OP's car given that it must have been bathed in the bright light from the car in front?

So there was room for 2 cars after all? Sounds like you were both being dramatic.

I do, but reg can’t be seen because of her bloody lights! I’m still quite upset this morning. Dreading driving home from work tonight.

id also just worked a 12 hour shift and I commute an hour each way so I was absolutely exhausted.

Probably even more likely because they'd be dazzled too! Turning your lights off in the lanes at night is dumb and dangerous to other road users.

No, there wasn’t room, which is why she had to drive into the hedge and clipped me with her wing mirror. I also couldn’t see if there was enough room on my side as I was dazzled.

I had hazards on, and running lights both front and back of my car. And I’d only switched them off for a few seconds to try to signal that she needed to alter her beams (after already flashing her).

well she replied to what was saying so she must of heard me.

running lights were left on, and hazards, so I wasn’t invisible for the few seconds I turned my lights off to try to demonstrate that I was asking her to lower her beams.

“wherever you can”. I couldn’t see due to be dazzled, and told her I’d give way if she’d lower her beams so I can see where I was going….

I’m 22 and I’ve only been driving a year, she was easily mid 40s. Perhaps she was drunk? No clue

your fine, did nothing wrong