Turning Right In Open Speed Limits

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31004, 9 March 1966, Page 12

Turning Right In Open Speed Limits

It was illegal for a vehicle to pass another on the left on any road governed by a 55 m.p.h. speed limit unless the road was laned, said the district officer of the Transport Department (Mr D. L. Hogan) yesterday. A correspondent, “Over 70," referred to a court case re-

ported in "The Press” last Saturday, and asked for an ; explanation of the position. In the court case a man was fined £lO on a charge of careless driving at the intersection of Springs road and Ellesmere Junction road—a 55 m.p.h. area—on December 12. It was alleged the defendant had overtaken on the left when he should not have done so, and at excessive speed. A woman driver had stopped in the centre of Springs road, with her indicator signalling her intention to make a righthand turn. Another woman earning in the opposite direction had also signalled a right turn. As the second woman started her turn, defendant’s car passed the first woman on the left and struck the turning vehicle. The Magistrate (Mr E. A. Lee, S.M.) said he was prepared to accept that the defendant had done something which was common practice, but was unlawful. Mr Hogan said that when turning right in a 55 m.p.h. area drivers could turn from their normal driving position on the road providing they would not interfere in any way with other traffic. If, however, there was other traffic about, the driver turning right was required to pull to the left of the road and wait until the road was clear. The Automobile Association (Canterbury) had previously conveyed through the motor union its support for a unified rule for turning right, said the general manager of the A.A.C. (Mr E. S. Palliser). Such a unified rule would remove confusion as to the correct position on the road for turning right in limited speed zones, 30 m.p.h. limits, and 55 m.p.h. limits whether laned or otherwise, he said. One of the main reasons for the association’s advocacy of laning Memorial avenue was to remove this doubt, which was evident in the part of the avenue governed by a 55 ; m.p.h. speed limit. As a result ■of the association’s representations, some lanes had been marked out. While the law remained as at present, very clear and uneqivocal road markings were needed on such roads as Memorial avenue, both to remove confusion and to legalise overtaking on the left of right-turning traffic, Mr Palliser said.