When turning left in this situation

Explanation

You pass through the junction first.

At this point your road reaches a T-junction; opposite are railings and a building, and the road continues only left and right. No priority sign and no light is visible in the picture, so it is a junction of equal-status roads. Your left indicator is on, and the blue lorry is approaching the junction from the left-hand branch with its left indicator also on.

At a junction of equal-status roads the only criterion is this: give priority to the vehicle coming from your right. Your right is empty and the lorry is on your left, so you have precedence. From the lorry's point of view too, you are on its right and it is obliged to wait. In addition, the lorry is itself turning left, and a left turn cuts across others' paths in any case.

The common trap has two parts. First the mistaken idea that "whenever I turn left I must give way to everyone"; that rule concerns the oncoming vehicle, not a vehicle coming from the left-hand branch. Second, the lorry's dimensions frighten the mind, but weight and size have no effect on priority. Even so, before turning, check that the lorry driver really has slowed down; a legal right does not replace eye contact.

• The lorry is large and the mind assumes it has precedence; but the lorry is on your left, and at a junction of equal-status roads priority belongs to the right, so it must give way to you.

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