The Unofficial Highway Code

Before passing your driving test you must study the official highway code in order to pass the theory test. This means that by the time you are able to take to the road of your own accord, your knowledge of UK roads the rules and restrictions is up to scratch.

Whilst this is obviously very important, here at Cox Motor Parts, one of the UK’s leading dealers of Honda Parts, we can’t help but think that the powers that be have missed a trick. Once you pass your test it becomes very clear that there are a whole bunch of unofficial rules that we must abide by which are often earned only through experience. As such, we have put together the ‘Unofficial Highway Code’ to ensure you don’t make any highway faux pas in the future:

The ‘Thank You’ Wave

This is the bug bare of any experienced city driver. Imagine you are in a long queue of traffic, for as far as the eye can see there is a sea of red brake lights and every driver is becoming increasingly impatient, sat bumper to bumper with the rest. To your left stands a T junction and a driver who looks to have been trying to edge their way into the queue for at least a week.

As a good driver you put your yourself second and allow the car to pull out into the queue in front of you. At this point the other driver should ALWAYS provide you with some sort of ‘thank you’ wave for your selfless act, failure to do so is almost unforgivable.

Acknowledging Mistakes

In many ways the reverse of the ‘thank you’ wave. There are few things more frustrating than someone pulling out of a junction late in front of you causing you to slow down. Equally frustrating incidents include someone stealing your car park bay or reversing out of one and blocking your progress.

Whether it resulted in an accident or not, most of us are aware we have made this mistake, and therefore should offer some sort of ‘i’m sorry’ signal to the other driver, this again can be presented in the form of a wave.

Offer Your Parking Ticket

While this doesn’t apply universally to all car parks (due to new fancy pay systems) it is still relevant. If you are leaving a car park and realise that you still have one or two hours left on your ticket, make the good gesture of offering it up to someone who has just arrived.

Crucially this isn’t always welcomed, so be careful what you offer up. If there is less than an hour left on your ticket, the chances are that isn’t much good to anyone, so don’t waste peoples time assuming they are parking for 21 minutes only.

Don’t Hog The Middle Lane

Probably the cardinal sin of motor way driving, middle lane hogging is now deemed an offence by law. The reason it is in our unofficial highway code however is down to the fact that the amount of offenders compared to those who could be prosecuted are massively outbalanced.

The three lanes of a motor way exist to keep a continual flow of traffic on our roads, so sitting in any lane (but especially the middle) can cause unwanted congestion. Simply, keep left when available.

Get Up To Speed

Not dissimilar to hogging lanes, drivers not getting up to speed is infinitely frustrating to the majority of driving. Having someone driving a car powering along at 54mph in the left hand lane causes unwarranted congestion, with lorries having to move out into the middle lane, forcing the rest of the traffic into a bottleneck into the righthand lane.

Not only does it cause congestion, but it increases risk of crashes with car drivers having to dramatically alter their speed to cope with the unwelcome lorry overtaking. It is also confusing to witness because surely if the driver just did the 70mph speed limit, they would get to their destination much faster.

Park Using Only ONE Bay

Parking in multi-story car parks can be tricky at the best of times, with us having to contend with concrete pillars and sometimes uncomfortably small spaces. So the last thing you need is a lazy driver who parks their three door hatchback across two spaces, leaving you to lap around a few more times in the search of parking salvation.

Stop Messing Around At The Pump

No one enjoys filling up their car with forecourts everlasting petrol stench infiltrating our nostrils and the lingering threat of a fire hazard, so we all like to get the job done as quick as possible. Therefore it is mind boggling to be waiting in a queue behind someone who takes forever and a day to fill up their car.

There are those who go a step further occasionally heading into the petrol station not to just pay, but to do what appears to be their weekly big shop.

Make Drop Offs Swift

We have all had to drop off a friend or family member in a difficult place before, such as outside a train station or just before a set of lights. Though it’s not ideal, sometimes it’s our only option so you will find as long as you are swift in your action, other drivers will have some level of understanding.

It is important however not to abuse this understanding, make it a swift “goodbye” and get out of there before the horns begin to sound.

Please Indicate

Seemingly the calling card for any lazy driver, not indicating is another point we could not leave alone. Indicating gives other drivers some ‘indication’ that you are about to attempt a manoeuvre, therefore understand why you might be slowing down. If you don’t it can confuse other drivers or could even heighten the risk of a crash.

Turn Off Your Full Beam

The only night time driving specific point to make this list is for those drivers for whatever reason refuse to tun off their full beam when they see an oncoming driver. This can put both yourself and the other driver at risk because their vision is severely impaired.

Hopefully if you have read this and noticed any rule you might have broken in the past, you will now be able to change your ways and become a much better member of the automotive community.