Is a stop allowed at this location?

Explanation

Prohibited.

The solid yellow line drawn at the edge of the carriageway beside the kerb prohibits stopping along its entire length. In the picture the red car is standing exactly on that yellow line and hard against the kerb, so it is committing an offence.

This marking is drawn where the standing of even one car creates a bottleneck: in front of the entrance to a yard or building, at narrow points, before bends, and where the carriageway is narrow. In this very picture a building opens directly onto the carriageway, and the stopped car both blocks the view of passing drivers and takes away their room to manoeuvre. Unlike a sign, which takes effect only from the point where it is fitted, a yellow marking is valid from wherever it begins to wherever it continues, and the driver must follow its extent on the ground.

The key point, which comes up repeatedly in the exam, is the difference between the two yellow lines beside the kerb: a solid yellow line means stopping prohibited — even for a few seconds to pick up or set down — and a broken yellow line means parking prohibited but a brief stop unobjectionable. If you confuse these two, you will lose half the questions in this section.

• The car is standing neatly beside the kerb, and that tidy appearance is deceptive, but the solid yellow line under its wheels is the very prohibition that renders that appearance irrelevant.

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