Where should the driver stop the vehicle if this marking is present?

Explanation

Right before the marking.

The white triangles drawn across the width of the traffic lane in the picture are your stopping boundary: if you need to stop, you must stop before them — not on them and not several metres back.

The reason is the geometry of vision. This marking is drawn at a point that is both outside the path of travel of the crossing road's vehicles and offers the best angle of view onto that road. If you go beyond the line, the front of your car enters others' path and the driver on the priority road is forced to brake or manoeuvre. If you stop much further back, your view of the crossing road is blocked and you are forced to move in two stages; besides, the queue behind you grows needlessly longer.

Another point: "if necessary" means a complete stop is not always obligatory; if the crossing road is empty, reducing speed and carrying on is unobjectionable. But if you do decide to stop, this line is the place to do it.

The exam trap is the figure of 5 metres. That figure comes to mind from other rules, such as stopping restrictions relative to a pedestrian crossing or a junction, and has nothing to do with this marking. Wherever you see a numerical, precise option, make sure that number was really written for this very situation.

• Stopping on the marking itself means the front of the car has entered the conflict area; in that position your own view is restricted and you create an obstruction for the crossing road. • The figure of 5 metres has been transferred to this question from other stopping restrictions; no numerical distance is laid down for this marking, and stopping further back merely blinds your view.

Sources and content coverage · Report a content error