Give way to oncoming trafficUnited Kingdom
Traffic rules
United Kingdom
20. Give way to oncoming traffic
Give way to oncoming traffic means that drivers must allow vehicles approaching from the opposite direction to pass first through a narrow section of road. The rule is normally indicated by a sign facing the direction that must yield and a corresponding priority sign facing oncoming traffic.
Drivers must reduce speed and stop when necessary before entering the narrow passage. They may continue only when they can do so safely and without obstructing oncoming traffic that has priority.
Wikimedia.org • Geof Sheppard • CC BY-SA
When must I give way to oncoming traffic in United Kingdom?
Where the UK Give way to oncoming vehicles sign controls a narrow section, drivers facing it must let opposing traffic pass first. The sign giving priority to your own direction is different.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rule 163; Rule 109 and narrow-road controls
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: regulatory signs (Great Britain)
Road narrowing, give way to oncoming drivers.
English • GB diagram 615 • Give way to oncoming vehicles. You must give priority to vehicles approaching from the opposite direction at the narrow section.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Legislation.gov.uk • Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions • Great Britain
🔗 Gov.uk • Department for Transport • Know your traffic signs
SVG source: UK Government • Public domain • Original revision 2011-01-20. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Does a road-narrows warning automatically give oncoming traffic priority in United Kingdom?
Not necessarily. A warning of a narrow carriageway is not itself the same as an instruction to give way. Check whether there is a separate priority sign, signal or temporary traffic control, and take account of any rules for an obstruction on your side.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rule 163; Rule 109 and narrow-road controls
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: regulatory signs (Great Britain)
What if an oncoming vehicle is already entering a narrow passage in United Kingdom?
Reduce speed and wait where you can do so safely rather than forcing two vehicles into insufficient space. Even if a sign gives your approach priority, that does not justify a collision or endangering another road user.
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code: Rule 163; Rule 109 and narrow-road controls
🔗 gov.uk • DfT Know Your Traffic Signs: regulatory signs (Great Britain)
