Is it allowed to go backwards?

Explanation

No — this is a stop area and reversing is prohibited.

Two markers settle it: the blue sign with the bus symbol by the pavement, and the zigzag marking on the asphalt that designates the stopping place for public transport. That means you are inside a stop area. Within a stop area U-turns are prohibited, and by rule reversing is prohibited anywhere a U-turn is prohibited — and at intersections too.

The safety reason: a stop is the busiest point of contact between pedestrians and vehicles on the street. Passengers step off the kerb into the carriageway, sometimes emerging from behind a stopped bus, and they do not expect a car coming towards them against the flow. And while reversing, precisely the area where a child or passenger stands is hidden in the blind spot behind the car. Combine the two and you get the chance of running over a pedestrian you never saw.

Exam trap: the apparently empty street, and the passenger waving to you, create no permission at all; the prohibition attaches to the stop area. The right thing to do is to drive on and stop at the first permitted point outside the stop area, letting the passenger walk a few steps forward.

• "Yes" leans on the street being empty and the passenger signalling; but neither creates permission, and the stop area is one of the places where reversing is banned.

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