When making a left turn you are required to give way to the tram

Explanation

Yes, you are obliged to give way to the tram.

A tram in equal conditions takes precedence over all non-rail vehicles, regardless of the direction it is going in. In this picture the tram is on your left and the rails are laid down the middle of the carriageway; the blue sign overhead also shows that the left turn is made from the left-hand lane. To perform that turn you must inevitably cross the rails and cut across the tram's path, so you must let the tram go first.

The logic of this precedence is technical, not ceremonial: a tram can neither steer round an obstacle nor stop within a short distance. A mass of several dozen tonnes and steel wheels on steel rails mean its stopping distance is several times a passenger car's. So the law places the burden of decision on the driver who really can stop or change his path.

Worth memorising: the tram's precedence does not depend on its direction of travel; whether it is going your way, or towards you, or turning. The only case in which this precedence is lifted is a tram leaving the depot. In the exam, tram questions usually try to distract you by adding a sign or a marking; first check whether the conditions are equal, then apply the tram rule.

• Because the tram is travelling in your direction and is slower, you are tempted to turn ahead of it; but travelling in the same direction does not destroy the tram's precedence, and by turning left you cross its rails.

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