In my area, some on the boxes (probably those with cameras), have been repainted. I assume due to successful challenges to FPN's, where the faded lines couldn't be seen in all but perfect conditions.
In an unfamiliar town, the fact that so much information is given via painted tarmac, which is often in poor condition, or has actual cars on it, is the worst thing. Do I need to be in the left lane? Right lane? Middle lane? Who knows. Even if there are arrows on the road, can't see them, or they're worn out. Those first two boxes seemed almost invisible. Great if you know they're there already, not so much if not.
Second example is fine, up until the point where the car's coming towards you turning Right fill you once free space.. Police tried to educated me not to enter the box unless your exit is free. That would be the same Police that use mobile phones and jump Red Lights 😳
After a stressful year of driving lessons while heavily pregnant to having my daughter 11 weeks early your videos helped me to pass my driving test yesterday. Thank you very much x
Thank you for your clear concise information. There's a lot to take in. Often, other TH-camrs add a lot of filler to the information which makes it feel congested in my brain!
I've been driving for around 40 years and always found yellow box junctions slightly confusing, thankyou for this. I will now check out the rest of your vids I could do with a bit refresher course 👍
@@1gerard47 40 years of waiting at the lights to turn right and getting beeped by the car behind for not moving forward into the box? Ignorance is bliss!
I just realized that a motorhome holliday through Brittain might be more difficult of an undertaking than just adjusting to lefthand driving, slow speeds and the imperial system. Never have I ever heard of yellow boxes. Can they be avoided by staying outside of big cities?
@@redblade8160 It's not so much to do with English language in this instance, but rather legal requirement vs recommendation. Some people don't realise that against The Highway Code is not the same as against the law. For example it's common place for people to think that undertaking (overtaking on the nearside) is illegal, it isn't, it's just an advisory warning that if deemed to be unsafe could result in a charge of dangerous driving or similar, but the same goes for any unsafe driving. Motorcycles that filter (lane split) is another one that can get people riled up. On the converse side people that can't merge in turn (zipper merge) and instead block traffic from making full use of the road as it was designed think they're in the right, when clearly they're idiots. Hopefully the majority agree that middle lane hoggers shouldn't be on the roads either.
@@AKAMustang The English language can take on different meanings from everyday "words", especially in the law courts where the judge has his own dictionary for this and legal crooks (along with their solicitors) also use it to get to get away with murder ultimately.
Wow! This is the best explanation of Yellow Box Junctions. I've been driving for years and regularly using box Junctions and yet I still learned something new. Many thanks. Here in Dagenham, so many drivers are too afraid to use the yellow box junctions. They just stay behind!
Such an excellent video, thank you. I am very wary of box junctions ever since I was caught in one a few years ago, despite having been driving for many years. In some parts of London and presumably other towns and cities, I'm convinced that fines are issued more in order to collect revenue than to keep traffic flowing.
@@unconventionalideas5683 Since going to London, I received 7 tickets on my rental car. For going down roads the wrong time, and blocked roads. And various other moving vehicle offenders. Do the have the same racket going on in all of UK.
Passed my test second time over the weekend, even after moving off in 2nd gear which I thought I would’ve failed for🤣. Just want to say if it wasn’t for your videos I still believe I’d be learning now. Best channel to come to for learning to drive is this one 100%
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing! Moving away in second gear is not usually ideal but it's not usually unsafe either so you should be OK.
@@ConquerDriving There are various vehicles that have a crawler first gear that would be unwise to use to move away with. Generally these vehicles are of a more utility type. My old Range Rover Classic with a Toyota diesel conversion was always driven away in second gear as this afforded a smoother start off and a quicker pick-up to the general traffic speed.
@@stacynewcomb7102 You don't have to have recently passed your test to carry on learning, this should happen throughout your driving period. Too many people think they know it all because they have driven for just a few months or years. This is why it would be a good idea to periodically test drivers to ensure they have learned. Its something that happens to various professions to ensure competence and that they are abreast of the latest regulations and practices.
Yes, this pressure from vehicles behind is going too far. Rude yelling, flashing, horning, gestures. This pressure must stop. It's especially learner drivers and new drivers who are treated this way.
Do what I did, fit a rear view Dash Cam. It's really funny watching people realise they are being filmed and then watching them start behaving themselves.
Off topic. Just like to say thank you for the videos it helped me so much. I started my lessons on the 4th March and did a total of 39 hours of lessons, I passed today with 4 faults. Thanks again.
Thanks for this video. Even though I passed my test over 4 years ago, I’m still so confused about these yellow box rules, and I think a lot of other drivers are too 😂
I am very familiar with the box/roundabout at 4:00 and usually wait if the exit is not clear (usually I am coming from the road on the right). 9 times out of 10, the car behind me will actually go around me into the box instead of waiting behind, or, the car to my left (who is supposed to go left round the roundabout) will zip in front of me, or I will get beeped/fist waved etc, including by buses waiting behind who need to go straight but I am blocking their route by sittting tight. It is aptly named St Botolph's Circus and there are a number of clowns who drive round it!
The turning right then exit gets blocked trap is what I wanted to know - glad to know that I didn't really do anything wrong when that happened to me. Thanks
3:24 Waiting inside the box is okay provided the oncoming traffic which is turning left cannot then block your way out of the box if the roads are busy and congested. There's a junction near me like that and I've been caught out once or twice so I now always wait outside the box, much to the annoyance of some drivers behind me. Good video, thanks :) EDIT: I should have watched it all before commenting, you cover what I've said at 5:04. Thanks again.
We get it sometimes where i live when the train crossing goes down and only space for two cars can be used passed the yellow box when waiting at the line. The rest have to wait further back behind the traffic light but you do get pressure bandits who beep you because the traffic light is green even though you can't go anywhere.
So, perhaps not your intended or primary audience here, but I grew up in England & drove for about 2 years before moving to the US. Though I’ve returned many times since 1989 I’ve never driven on the left since 89. I decided to watch a ton of your videos, my wife’s suggestion, to help prepare myself for driving in Ireland, close enough to England. I want to let you know your videos were a huge help; they gave me the knowledge & confidence needed to take on the left side of the road again in a manual transmission, & how to tackle roundabouts! A sincere thanks to you for your help & great quality videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand & practical format.
So glad to have a dash cam. I'd like to see someone explain how a driver can see through buildings if the exit is clear without stopping on any of the cyclist or pedestrian areas. The other common problems problems are if you ease back to leave a space, some one else will fill it. If you pause at a yellow box, you get honked at and abused. Driving is such as pleasure.
I just moved into a coastal town with crazy box junctions, I got hell confused throughout practicing until I decided to check in with your channel (always gold). Massive help as always, I'm having my test in a few days, will update how it goes 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾
I passed my Ps test!! I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for teaching me how to drive Manual! I couldn't understand it from anyone but you explained everything perfectly! The council is forever grateful.
The technique to observe two or three cars ahead of you definitely are useful. It help you judge earlier of many different situations include if you will need to hit the brake soon. Sometimes the vehicle in front of you can be that guy who like to emergency brake at the last moment
Thank you for making such awesome videos. I've watched many ...a lot of them more than once. I had my test a few days ago ...and passed on first attempt with 5 minors. You videos were invaluable to my success. Thank you. 👍🙏
Great video and explanation. From an example in the video it appears that some box junctions are really too large for the situation and can impede traffic, not help it flow. The large roundabout was a good example. It's a pity these things are not reviewed but then road repairs can also be ignored.
I absolutely love this Road User rule explanation Richard, I live in Jamaica🇯🇲 and we drive on the left, same as UK 🇬🇧 of course. I am really optimistic that you will TURN THIS NEW ROAD USER RULE EXPLANATION INTO A NEW SERIES.
Thanks a lot for the video! This helps a lot. In my area Bromley, a lot of cameras have recently been installed watching nearly every yellow box junction. They will record the number plate and automatically send a PCN ticket (£130 fine) to the vehicle’s address registered on DVLA. It’s a huge souce of income for councils as it’s so often I see people stopping on yellow box and sometimes this is unavoidable…
Excellent videos as always.my local test centre examiners use a one way street as a trap/trick for learners. My instructor told he has met so many learners failing in the same street where i failed.
I got fined because the back of my tires were slightly over the yellow box. I could not argue as I read the highway code but it was not completely my fault because the car in front stopped with a massive difference from the car in front. Some drivers do this to catch people out. The other issue is when two lanes converge into one and the drivers in the left lane keep you from going forward and effectively push in front of you. The yellow boxes can be a massive pain in the arse but yes they have a purpose but you need to be very careful because it is the most effective way for the council to make money and cameras in junctions are very common Very helpful for all of us.
Glad you covered the 'trap' scenario of the exit road becoming blocked whilst waiting mate ... never seen that covered in any other videos, but had always wondered what the score would be in such circumstances. A grey area it seems.
An offence is only committed if you enter the box without your exit being clear. Therefore if your exit is blocked after you enter the box, no offence is committed.
This why I always try to leave as much space as possible if I've just passed a yellow box but the traffic ain't flowing.... Fortunately I've never been caught in this trap in my 10+ yrs of driving mostly in London
Just wanted to say I passed my driving test today with only 1 minor! So proud of myself. I don’t think I would of been as confident if I hadn’t of watched nearly all your videos. You good sir were a godsend!
There's a huge one on the south circular crossing dual lanes in both directions with a large central reservation. It was heavy traffic and I waited for a space at the end of the traffic on the other side. When my exit became clear I moved into the box junction and when I was halfway across, another driver exited a parking space without indicating their intentions, using my exit space & leaving me blocking the junction, then the lights changed and half of London was beeping at me like it was my fault. I did everything correctly as is the highway code. The problem is, anpr can send an automatic ticket for blocking the junction because the exit was not clear... which it was when I entered.
Hello mate, just wanted to thank you for your videos. I managed to pass my test on Thursday, your videos are/were a godsend. Thank you for making these and covering the range of topics/subjects you do. I'm still watching your every upload despite my pass, and I'm sure I will continue to do so.
Clear video well explained. There is a bit of an odd thing at 4.43, the roundabout has a yellow box and then as you cross it then next section is marked "keep clear". That just seems to be very confusing and I am not sure why they are not marked up the same. More than once I have had cars cut across lanes while I am crossing the box to take the gap I had in my lane and making me stop in the yellow box. Nothing came of it but I would say that I did ensure my exit was clear so did comply with the rule.
Keep clear is the same as a yellow box. The difference with the yellow box is it's more enforceable and soon more councils will be able to fine people for waiting in them.
As a cyclist, I'm very grateful when cars leave the cycle area free. On a windy day it is easy to wobble as you take off. I've had cars angle themselves so close to me while waiting at a box jungle, when they want to turn left that I can't risk going straight ahead until they have gone.
My husband was fined for stopping on a yellow box in London, whilst driving my car (so the summons came first to me) and with me shouting at him not to enter it. He is very wary of them now, and for Christmas that year I gave him an up-to-date copy of the Highway Code: he’s still speaking to me!!
@0:30, Makes sense, but there's a junction near me which doesn't have a traffic light on the far side. If you're turning right, you can drive to the middle of the junction and wait for oncoming traffic, but once you're in the junction there's no way to see if you still have the green light. Yes, you can wait for oncoming traffic to stop when the light changes, but by the time you're sure it's safe to go the cross-traffic has started to move. Even as someone with 30 years experience, that one makes me nervous. I assume it's some sort of cost-cutting measure.
Yellow box and other junction-blocking rule-breaking seem as common in urban areas as speeding is on our roads. Useful video. particularly the option to wait if turning right. The second or two gained by yellow-box waiting isn't worth risking the appeal process though, but I'll remember your tip next time I visit a town or city.
You are so clever, driving for 45 years I'm so glad I watched this ,never ever knew what that box was for,I thought sometimes the fairy played chess in the middle of the night when it was quiet, where is your seat belt?
I love seeing footage of level crossings where idiots queue in the box. You'd think that if the box wasn't enough to indicate being there was a dumb idea, at least the train tracks crossing the road would be a sufficient indication. But no, the barriers go down and they're trapped on the crossing with a train barrelling down on them in _sheer shock_ at how this could've ever happened.
I had an impatient driving instructor toot me from behind for not crossing green lights when the exit was NOT clear and traffic NOT moving. How dumb is that. Also got tooted for not not entering a yellow box at a busy level crossing in stoppy traffic, again impatience as in both cases the delay was only a few seconds. I was not aware of the yellow box trap - when your exit gets taken from elsewhere - and how to deal it. Thank you for that. The thing that scares me most is sudden fog on motorways - you just have to hope a low speed limit is already signalled before you reach it.
This so nearly caught me out on my test. I was doing my test in a completely new area far away from where I live due to the high volume of tests being booked, about halfway through my test I approached a box junction at a really busy crossroad and I literally had no idea if I was allowed to wait in it or not as there was a big queue but the light was green. My instincts told me for some reason that I shouldn’t wait in it and luckily they were correct but it was literally 50/50
@@nct948 Yes.. I think local councils use them for income generation. They put them in junctions where drivers can get stuck for reasons beyond their control, and install a permanent camera.
@@Amphy002 I agree with you. It happened to me at a junction in London where the box was so long that you had to take your chances and follow the traffic. I got caught as the traffic stopped when I was 3/4 through. The second time I went through this crossing and found myself in the same situation, I opted to turn into the street on the left so avoiding the hefty fine!, Very nasty of councils.
We don't have many of these in the US, at least not around here and they're usually painted some other color. Most of the ones that I've seen are next to firestations to ensure that the trucks can get out if there's the need to when traffic is blocked due to a red light.
Worst thing about these boxes are when there's more than one lane going in one direction, you see that your lane is clear so you move forward cautiously, then somebody from the other lane drives into the space you were going to, leaving you stuck in the box.
Happened to me once at a notorious box junction in Hammersmith. I wasn't sent a FPN, so assume someone monitoring the system understood the situation. Now I use a dashcam and backup footage on large backup drives, just in case.
That is not an offence. I appealed this successfully. Traffic Regulations and General Directions 2016 s11(1) says it is an offence to cause your vehicle to enter a box junction so it has to stop in the box junction by the presence of stationary traffic. If the moment your wheels cross the boundary of the box your exit is clear but someone cuts in front of you then you have not “caused your vehicle to enter the box… so it has to stop”.
Good video. I recently got stuck in a box junction. it was a dual lane road and I was in the right-hand lane, the car in front of me had cleared the junction so I started to enter it only to have a car from the left hand side change lanes and block me leaving me in the box junction with nowhere to go.
Happened to me once at a notorious box junction in Hammersmith. I wasn't sent a FPN, so assume someone monitoring the system understood the situation. Now I use a dashcam and backup footage on large backup drives, just in case.
2:37 surely leaving the cycle area clear is a “should” (as per the pedestrian area), rather than a *”MUST”?* (Provided you cross it while the traffic lights are green, r178: “…and should avoid blocking the way or encroaching on the marked area at other times, e.g. if the junction ahead is blocked.”)
Far too many do not have a clue about box junctions and junctions in general. How often do you see someone stopped beyond the stop line but not in the actual junction/roundabout itself, the thing is they do not know that in that scenario when the traffic clears they can continue without waiting for the light to change to green because they are already passed the stop line. The TV advert for box junctions used to say " box junctions make us all do what the good drivers have been doing for years"
We have those yellow box things too (usually on rail crossings). I still see people stopping on them / across the tracks in congested traffic. One day I saw it and the boom gates for the train came down. Thankfully the person right across the tracks managed to get away but only just. One thing I have seen a few times is motorists who stop just past the box (even though there is nothing ahead of them) to get you stuck on the rail crossing. The same thing happens on right turns across traffic. Some game player will make a right then jam on the brakes as soon as they've cleared the intersection leaving you in the middle with a car bearing down towards you. Neither work on me as I've seen both happen numerous times so I just wait back there until the rail / side road is clear (even if being honked at).
On that note, I find it a tiny bit strange how not all level crossings here have the yellow box junctions. Some that do is only an inconvenience to trains (as they’re checked to be clear before a train passes over them), whereas some which don’t are a genuine danger to stop in (as they aren’t checked to be clear). Not that most people would be able to know the difference, but then you shouldn’t be stopping on train tracks anyway…
Something to add here is to treat the box junction the same way as parking on a yellow line. It’s not always about you blocking a junction that drivers are unaware off. Even if your rear tyre is a few inches over the line and the junction is devoid of any traffic in any direction you will still get a fine through the post for effectively parking on a yellow line.
Awesome! I would like German traffic lending some of the signage of yours. It makes such a more refined impression in comparison to the very ambiguous German markings. No such additional info. Just “you should know where you shouldn’t be”.
@@ConquerDriving I've never been there, but I've heard Stuttgart is quite a dense city. I can barely imagine going "on the wrong side" in a foreign city :0
Problem with the yellow box on the bridge is: If you are a total stranger to the area, you can't see how far the box extends. At the time of the video there were no vehicles in front. But suppose there had been. A stranger will not be able to see (or know) whether there are one, two or even three car lengths clear, because of the hump of the bridge. Seems to be a cleverly designed box and, when local authorities take over enforcement (as they already do in London) the local authority can look forward to a nice little earner.
Quite a comprehensive video thanks. I would like to add something though. You point out that a vehicle may enter and wait in the yellow box, provided the exit is clear and the only obstruction to turning right is oncoming traffic. However, many drivers take this to mean they can enter and stop in the box if the car in front is turning right and that car's only obstruction is oncoming traffic, hence forming a queue inside the box. The second car is then prevented from proceeding not by oncoming traffic, but by the car in front. Only one vehicle is permitted to stop and wait inside the box if turning right all other right turning vehicles should wait as you described, outside the box, not obstructing crossings or cycle boxes. Maybe worth mentioning if you cover yellow box junctions again.
As many cars that can fit in the box can wait in the box if they're blocked by oncoming cars, even if a car is going straight and is waiting behind a car that is blocked by oncoming traffic. As long as their exit road after the junction is clear.
@@ConquerDriving I'll bow to your more up-to-date expertise, but when I worked in a Police traffic unit, box junctions were treated as I described ( 30+ years ago!)
That first one is a ghost of its former self! I am old enough to remember when they first appeared on the roads (must have been around 1970 I think) - I wasn't a driver at the time because too young, but many drivers were initially confused by them!
I've never quite understood why there are no high level signs depicting the area covered by the yellow box. I recently drove through Nottingham and they had these brightly coloured painted wooden signs at low level, going on about it being illegal to stop in the yellow box. I get to the box itself and well, you could just about make parts of it out. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. More paint on the road would have worked wonders. Actually, given the lack of paint, I seriously doubt if the box was actually enforceable.
Poor marking is one of my pet peeves, especially when they’re so faded it’s hard to tell whether they’ve been removed or not. Add to that not actually removing old paint markings, and inconsistent bus lane signage (thanks TFL and London boroughs, lovely work there!)
cool to learn about other countries laws i live in the US and i've never seen these yellow boxes before it would make it a hell of a lot easier if we had these at intersections
Thanks, this is a very useful video! Would you consider doing a video about dash cams, pros and cons of having one, and your personal advice on whether it's a good idea to have one?
As you said, the rule is that you must not ENTER the yellow box unless the exit is clear. When turning right, if one has stopped in the box when the exit is clear and then the exit ceases to be clear, there is no offence. In the event that a fine is issued, it should be sufficient to say (in court if necessary), that the exit was clear when one entered. Since the burden of proof lies on the prosecution, absent other evidence that exit was not clear when one entered, that should be the end of it.
@@ConquerDriving 5:03 The last car that turned left, when can see a driver waiting in the yellow box junction to turn right, and can also see there is room for just one car on the exit road for both drivers, should technically be the one to be fined as they break rule 144 "You MUST NOT ... drive without reasonable consideration for other road users." Anyway I am guessing I won't enter box to turn right if in doubt, like in Australia, especially after the test when I don't need to demonstrate I know it is legal to enter the trap
Correct me if I am wrong. If when entering the box, you have no clear view of where the box ends, is it not impossible to obey the law? I believe that you can overturn a prosecution if you can not see clearly where the box finishes. I do believe that the rule is sometimes manipulated to prove an offence when no offence has been committed. I once entered a quite lengthy box junction because my exit was clear. While continuing through the junction a bus which had been at a bus stop on my left exited the bus stop and prevented me from clearing the previously vacant box. What are your thoughts?
This is further proof as to why it is a box trap. Not a lot you can do about it. The real problem is that we accept some impossible rules because there are usually more important things we need to concentrate on in our lives.
In Australia we don’t bother with box junctions. You are NOT allowed to queue across ANY junction at all. Don’t enter ANY junction unless you can clear it at the other end. Just open your eyes and look ahead.
just watched this vlog and thought I reconized the roads! Ithought you were going around and up North hill in Colchester and then along st Botolphs and police station. I did not see "colchester" in bottom left corner...lol I grew up in Walton!
Very clear explanation! What is the minimum speed you can travel in a box junction? If you get "trapped", can you inch forward veerrrry slowly to avoid a fine since technically you're not fully stopped?
It's to do with blocking the junction when other cars can go. So moving slowly won't help unless you still have a green light and are trying to avoid the technicality of stopping on a yellow box as apposed to its intended purpose of allowing traffic with a clear path to continue.
When I’m driving to work on the morning shift I leave the house at around 8:15am to start work at 9am, I usually only takes me around 5-10 minutes to get to work (in free flowing traffic) but I give myself more time because sometimes the traffic is super duper busy and quite often when you’re turning right at the library quite often the lane gets blocked but I never get caught out because at all junctions, even if there is no yellow box junction painted on the road, I imagine that there is a yellow box junction painted on the road at all junctions.
I was watching from Canada and was thinking: "this video seems strangely relevant" (even though I have never seen a yellow box junction). Then he drops that line.
5:06 Hi, if i want to turn right and see from the signal that the road I will turn into when I turn right is already packed such that if I go to take the right (no oncoming traffic) part of my car will be in the yellow box, should I still take the turn or wait?
@ConquerDriving 3:34 I took a mock test. Imagine I’m the green car, having already entered the box. Apparently I would have failed because I went through on a red light, even though I obviously can’t stay in the middle of the box because I would be blocking the oncoming vehicles go the right
The trap point you make at 5:00 is interesting. My better half got PCN for a similar scenario, travelling straight ahead however. However we appealed, which finally went to tribunal, where the appeal was upheld. Whilst highway code 174 says you must not enter the YBJ unless your exit is clear, the underlying legislation on which it is based on is far more specific on what needs to have occurred in order for there to be an offence. If you stop in a YBJ, AND if at the point of entry there were no stationary vehicles preventing your exit, an offence has not been committed. In order for there to be an offence, stationary vehicles blocking your exit must have been present at the point entry was made. It's easy to get caught out when you are forced to stop even though traffic had been flowing. Whilst we should all exercise care in trying to avoid grid lock scenarios, the law rightly recognises that there are circumstances where the trap is unavoidable and would therefore be unfair to penalise drivers. Councils know that drivers are unlikely to go through such lengths of checking legislation if they point to the Highway Code and simply issue fines. J, and reject appeals. Just remember, as great a guide the Highway Code is, and should be followed, it is not the law and cannot solely be relied upon for the issue of PCN.
Hi Richard, I have a question. Like you pointed out, many of such junctions are poorly designed and maintained. One issue I have encountered is when I am turning right, the exit is clear and I turned right on a green, but by the time I made the turn, pedestrian crossing has changed to green for pedestrians (the one on the right of your diagram). Technically I have cleared the green light, but obviously pedestrians always have priority , not least when it’s green man for them. But after I stopped I’m in limbo as 1) it’s a yellow box 2) in many cases I cannot see a light for cars due to they were aimed for cars at the stop line (or it’s just not installed there to avoid confusions). What should I do?
Thank you. You can tell who has priority by the give way lines. If there are no lines then use the signs and if there are no signs or road markings then the branch road should give way to the major road. If it's a cross roads without signs or markings then no one has priority.
Good advice, but like most people you didn't mention the original reason for box junctions. Which is to make it obvious to strangers to that area of a town or city that these junctions are where motorists block the most by accident or by design in that town or city. So armed with this knowledge you should rarely get caught out as you now understand the true concept.
Thank you. For the lights you just need to switch them on when no one is in front of you and off when you see someone or are following someone. Avoid using them in street areas particularly where there are plenty of houses.
Greetings kind sir. Here in the Netherlands we don't have this system, but something comparable in a large white cross (but never on a junction, usually on an exit at a busy road). You passed one in front of a firefighter station. Here in frog country, as soon as an ambulance, firefighter or police vehicle uses it's siren+lights together, you just need to F off immediately to anywhere. Park on the pavement if you have to, drive through red stopping lights to clear it's path, etc. Is this not the same in england ?
In England you have to follow all the normal rules when a blue light vehicle needs to get passed. You have to stop at red lights and you're not allowed on the pavement.
The best yellow box trap I ever encountered was actually several such junctions only one car-length apart. Under normal conditions, maybe they would have worked fine. The only trouble was that I was towing a trailer at the time.
Hi Richard, you seem to be missing the last condition of Rule 174: "At signalled roundabouts you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping." So, the clause about weighting to turn right if oncoming traffic is obstructing your exit is not relevant, in my understanding, if the junction is signaled?
1:03 we have a yellow box here its quite dirty i don't thing "quite dirty" is the correct term. "quite hazardous" is a better term. the yellow box junction in front of a fire station is for safety. If an emergency vehicle wants to exit the fire station, it can do it quickly and with ease, possibly saving lives. Ambiguity of that yellow box junction can cause potential irritation at best and at worst, a life lost in a situation where every second counts
Most of the yellow boxes where I live are nothing more than faded fragments of yellow paint. The condition of paint work on British roads is dire.
I agree!
It really bugs me, because, most errors at unfamiliar roundabouts CAN be mitigated, through the use of correct road markings.
@@alexdev5809 Exactly. I feel sorry for learner drivers today.
It's unfair to drivers when the paint is in such poor condition. Could this be used as mitigation if you receive a fine.
In my area, some on the boxes (probably those with cameras), have been repainted. I assume due to successful challenges to FPN's, where the faded lines couldn't be seen in all but perfect conditions.
A perfect explanation of how the rules work, and a perfect practical demonstration of how yellow boxes can be poorly implemented and maintained.
In an unfamiliar town, the fact that so much information is given via painted tarmac, which is often in poor condition, or has actual cars on it, is the worst thing. Do I need to be in the left lane? Right lane? Middle lane? Who knows. Even if there are arrows on the road, can't see them, or they're worn out. Those first two boxes seemed almost invisible. Great if you know they're there already, not so much if not.
Second example is fine, up until the point where the car's coming towards you turning Right fill you once free space..
Police tried to educated me not to enter the box unless your exit is free. That would be the same Police that use mobile phones and jump Red Lights 😳
"you can get fined even though you were following the rules" is the most british thing I've heard this week.
After a stressful year of driving lessons while heavily pregnant to having my daughter 11 weeks early your videos helped me to pass my driving test yesterday. Thank you very much x
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing and your baby.
Test, I meant passing your test 😂
@@ConquerDriving lol i got the gist. But thank you. Your videos were very helpful x
Congratulations on Passing your Test and with the Birth of your Little One !👍🚗🍼
Now you can gently forget what you were taught and join the rest of the wacky racers!
Thank you for your clear concise information. There's a lot to take in. Often, other TH-camrs add a lot of filler to the information which makes it feel congested in my brain!
I've been driving for around 40 years and always found yellow box junctions slightly confusing, thankyou for this. I will now check out the rest of your vids I could do with a bit refresher course 👍
Are you serious?
@@1gerard47 40 years of waiting at the lights to turn right and getting beeped by the car behind for not moving forward into the box? Ignorance is bliss!
I just realized that a motorhome holliday through Brittain might be more difficult of an undertaking than just adjusting to lefthand driving, slow speeds and the imperial system. Never have I ever heard of yellow boxes. Can they be avoided by staying outside of big cities?
Very nice to see the mention of "must" vs "should" rules.
Mustang.
Just another stupid way with the English language to add confusion in order to put you in a catch 22 position...
@@redblade8160 It's not so much to do with English language in this instance, but rather legal requirement vs recommendation. Some people don't realise that against The Highway Code is not the same as against the law. For example it's common place for people to think that undertaking (overtaking on the nearside) is illegal, it isn't, it's just an advisory warning that if deemed to be unsafe could result in a charge of dangerous driving or similar, but the same goes for any unsafe driving. Motorcycles that filter (lane split) is another one that can get people riled up.
On the converse side people that can't merge in turn (zipper merge) and instead block traffic from making full use of the road as it was designed think they're in the right, when clearly they're idiots. Hopefully the majority agree that middle lane hoggers shouldn't be on the roads either.
@@AKAMustang
The English language can take on different meanings from everyday "words", especially in the law courts where the judge has his own dictionary for this and legal crooks (along with their solicitors) also use it to get to get away with murder ultimately.
Wow! This is the best explanation of Yellow Box Junctions. I've been driving for years and regularly using box Junctions and yet I still learned something new. Many thanks.
Here in Dagenham, so many drivers are too afraid to use the yellow box junctions. They just stay behind!
Such an excellent video, thank you. I am very wary of box junctions ever since I was caught in one a few years ago, despite having been driving for many years. In some parts of London and presumably other towns and cities, I'm convinced that fines are issued more in order to collect revenue than to keep traffic flowing.
I do disagree with the fines as stopping in a box junction isn't always avoidable.
Does the cop admit this when they pull you over.
Totally agree, these boxes are typically called "moneybox junctions" nowadays.
@@reverendbluejeans1748 It’s often not a cop, but a computerized camera. It doesn’t know the difference.
@@unconventionalideas5683 Since going to London, I received 7 tickets on my rental car. For going down roads the wrong time, and blocked roads. And various other moving vehicle offenders. Do the have the same racket going on in all of UK.
Thanks for sharing! As a Colcestrian, myself, I can appreciate where you're coming from!
Passed first time today with 5 minors. Your videos were so useful when I was prepping for my test. Thanks!
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Hi Joshua, congratulations for passing. Please could you kindly confirm what videos you watched in particular to help you pass?
I still watch these videos even though I have a licence, and I encourage others too as well. I still pick up tips from you!
Same
Passed my test second time over the weekend, even after moving off in 2nd gear which I thought I would’ve failed for🤣. Just want to say if it wasn’t for your videos I still believe I’d be learning now. Best channel to come to for learning to drive is this one 100%
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing! Moving away in second gear is not usually ideal but it's not usually unsafe either so you should be OK.
@@ConquerDriving There are various vehicles that have a crawler first gear that would be unwise to use to move away with. Generally these vehicles are of a more utility type. My old Range Rover Classic with a Toyota diesel conversion was always driven away in second gear as this afforded a smoother start off and a quicker pick-up to the general traffic speed.
If you have recently passsed your test " You are still learning" !! trust me.
@@stacynewcomb7102 definitely, just taking it one step at a time building up my confidence driving by myself
@@stacynewcomb7102 You don't have to have recently passed your test to carry on learning, this should happen throughout your driving period. Too many people think they know it all because they have driven for just a few months or years. This is why it would be a good idea to periodically test drivers to ensure they have learned. Its something that happens to various professions to ensure competence and that they are abreast of the latest regulations and practices.
Just passed my test first time with 0 minors, watched these vids religiously thankyou so much!!
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Yes, this pressure from vehicles behind is going too far. Rude yelling, flashing, horning, gestures. This pressure must stop. It's especially learner drivers and new drivers who are treated this way.
Do what I did, fit a rear view Dash Cam. It's really funny watching people realise they are being filmed and then watching them start behaving themselves.
@@everestyeti that's exactly what I will do. Thanks for the tip
It's just another reflection of society today.
Gotta just learn to ignore it. I myself have trouble with that as I often flip a bird toward the rear windshield and one should not do that.
@@Rig0r_M0rtis Yes better to try to be calm and just focus on your own driving
Off topic.
Just like to say thank you for the videos it helped me so much. I started my lessons on the 4th March and did a total of 39 hours of lessons, I passed today with 4 faults. Thanks again.
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Thanks for this video. Even though I passed my test over 4 years ago, I’m still so confused about these yellow box rules, and I think a lot of other drivers are too 😂
Redo your test.
@@1gerard47 No.
Just revise the Highway Code again or Google it, as things are often updated.
@@1gerard47 using that logic pretty much every driver in the UK has to redo their test
@@user-pd9xj1bt4eit is definitely advisable when ignorant people like them are driving
As an american who has no intention of visiting the UK any time soon, I can say this video was very informative. 👍
I am very familiar with the box/roundabout at 4:00 and usually wait if the exit is not clear (usually I am coming from the road on the right). 9 times out of 10, the car behind me will actually go around me into the box instead of waiting behind, or, the car to my left (who is supposed to go left round the roundabout) will zip in front of me, or I will get beeped/fist waved etc, including by buses waiting behind who need to go straight but I am blocking their route by sittting tight. It is aptly named St Botolph's Circus and there are a number of clowns who drive round it!
😂
The turning right then exit gets blocked trap is what I wanted to know - glad to know that I didn't really do anything wrong when that happened to me. Thanks
Thanks for all your videos! Just passed this morning first time round with 0 minor faults, your videos have really helped me improve as a driver!
What an achievement, congratulations on passing!
And was there any major faults ?🤣
@@1gerard47 No mate😂
Just passed my driving test this morning with 5 minors. Your channel is invaluable. Thank you so much for your help.
3:24 Waiting inside the box is okay provided the oncoming traffic which is turning left cannot then block your way out of the box if the roads are busy and congested. There's a junction near me like that and I've been caught out once or twice so I now always wait outside the box, much to the annoyance of some drivers behind me. Good video, thanks :) EDIT: I should have watched it all before commenting, you cover what I've said at 5:04. Thanks again.
Continued learning in any field is important. I didn't know about turning right where there is a yellow grid box.
We get it sometimes where i live when the train crossing goes down and only space for two cars can be used passed the yellow box when waiting at the line. The rest have to wait further back behind the traffic light but you do get pressure bandits who beep you because the traffic light is green even though you can't go anywhere.
Pressure bandits. That's a good description.
@@ConquerDriving A little heavy towards the average horn tapper compared to an actual wreckless impatient driver but yea 😅
So, perhaps not your intended or primary audience here, but I grew up in England & drove for about 2 years before moving to the US. Though I’ve returned many times since 1989 I’ve never driven on the left since 89. I decided to watch a ton of your videos, my wife’s suggestion, to help prepare myself for driving in Ireland, close enough to England. I want to let you know your videos were a huge help; they gave me the knowledge & confidence needed to take on the left side of the road again in a manual transmission, & how to tackle roundabouts! A sincere thanks to you for your help & great quality videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand & practical format.
That's really great to hear, thank you.
So glad to have a dash cam. I'd like to see someone explain how a driver can see through buildings if the exit is clear without stopping on any of the cyclist or pedestrian areas. The other common problems problems are if you ease back to leave a space, some one else will fill it. If you pause at a yellow box, you get honked at and abused. Driving is such as pleasure.
I understand. It can be frustrating. Driving is a pleasure in the right place, commuting in a city with too many cars not so much.
I just moved into a coastal town with crazy box junctions, I got hell confused throughout practicing until I decided to check in with your channel (always gold). Massive help as always, I'm having my test in a few days, will update how it goes 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾
I passed my Ps test!! I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for teaching me how to drive Manual! I couldn't understand it from anyone but you explained everything perfectly! The council is forever grateful.
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
@@ConquerDriving You're saving lives out here man, truly. Thank you for everything you do, ill stay watching from Sydney Australia
The technique to observe two or three cars ahead of you definitely are useful. It help you judge earlier of many different situations include if you will need to hit the brake soon. Sometimes the vehicle in front of you can be that guy who like to emergency brake at the last moment
Thank you for making such awesome videos. I've watched many ...a lot of them more than once. I had my test a few days ago ...and passed on first attempt with 5 minors. You videos were invaluable to my success. Thank you. 👍🙏
That's really great to hear, thank you and congratulations on passing!
Great video and explanation. From an example in the video it appears that some box junctions are really too large for the situation and can impede traffic, not help it flow. The large roundabout was a good example. It's a pity these things are not reviewed but then road repairs can also be ignored.
I absolutely love this Road User rule explanation Richard, I live in Jamaica🇯🇲 and we drive on the left, same as UK 🇬🇧 of course. I am really optimistic that you will TURN THIS NEW ROAD USER RULE EXPLANATION INTO A NEW SERIES.
I'm happy to hear you liked it, thank you.
Update: I passed my test yesterday with 5 minors. Your videos helped a lot. 🙏
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Thanks a lot for the video! This helps a lot. In my area Bromley, a lot of cameras have recently been installed watching nearly every yellow box junction. They will record the number plate and automatically send a PCN ticket (£130 fine) to the vehicle’s address registered on DVLA. It’s a huge souce of income for councils as it’s so often I see people stopping on yellow box and sometimes this is unavoidable…
They are doing this everywhere not just in your area.
Some people call it day light robbery. I disagree with yellow box cameras.
Excellent videos as always.my local test centre examiners use a one way street as a trap/trick for learners. My instructor told he has met so many learners failing in the same street where i failed.
That's a shame, I would hope an examiner is understanding of the exit becoming blocked after you wait in the middle.
Thanks bro for ur concise presentation! Love from Uganda 🇺🇬 east Africa
I got fined because the back of my tires were slightly over the yellow box. I could not argue as I read the highway code but it was not completely my fault because the car in front stopped with a massive difference from the car in front. Some drivers do this to catch people out. The other issue is when two lanes converge into one and the drivers in the left lane keep you from going forward and effectively push in front of you. The yellow boxes can be a massive pain in the arse but yes they have a purpose but you need to be very careful because it is the most effective way for the council to make money and cameras in junctions are very common
Very helpful for all of us.
I agree with the Yellow Box but as there are situations that force you to block it there should not be fines.
Glad you covered the 'trap' scenario of the exit road becoming blocked whilst waiting mate ... never seen that covered in any other videos, but had always wondered what the score would be in such circumstances. A grey area it seems.
It's a problem with no solution, you could be fined even though you have done nothing wrong. That's why I call it a trap.
An offence is only committed if you enter the box without your exit being clear. Therefore if your exit is blocked after you enter the box, no offence is committed.
This why I always try to leave as much space as possible if I've just passed a yellow box but the traffic ain't flowing.... Fortunately I've never been caught in this trap in my 10+ yrs of driving mostly in London
Just wanted to say I passed my driving test today with only 1 minor!
So proud of myself.
I don’t think I would of been as confident if I hadn’t of watched nearly all your videos.
You good sir were a godsend!
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Thanks for clearing any grey areas up , even at this point it's now Yellow not grey . Thank you . 😊
There's a huge one on the south circular crossing dual lanes in both directions with a large central reservation. It was heavy traffic and I waited for a space at the end of the traffic on the other side. When my exit became clear I moved into the box junction and when I was halfway across, another driver exited a parking space without indicating their intentions, using my exit space & leaving me blocking the junction, then the lights changed and half of London was beeping at me like it was my fault. I did everything correctly as is the highway code. The problem is, anpr can send an automatic ticket for blocking the junction because the exit was not clear... which it was when I entered.
This is why I disagree with the fines.
Hello mate, just wanted to thank you for your videos. I managed to pass my test on Thursday, your videos are/were a godsend. Thank you for making these and covering the range of topics/subjects you do. I'm still watching your every upload despite my pass, and I'm sure I will continue to do so.
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Not when your driving, and always wear your seat belt there's lots of just past there licensees on the road 🤣 sees, get the pun?
Clear video well explained.
There is a bit of an odd thing at 4.43, the roundabout has a yellow box and then as you cross it then next section is marked "keep clear". That just seems to be very confusing and I am not sure why they are not marked up the same.
More than once I have had cars cut across lanes while I am crossing the box to take the gap I had in my lane and making me stop in the yellow box. Nothing came of it but I would say that I did ensure my exit was clear so did comply with the rule.
Keep clear is the same as a yellow box. The difference with the yellow box is it's more enforceable and soon more councils will be able to fine people for waiting in them.
As a cyclist, I'm very grateful when cars leave the cycle area free. On a windy day it is easy to wobble as you take off. I've had cars angle themselves so close to me while waiting at a box jungle, when they want to turn left that I can't risk going straight ahead until they have gone.
My instructor helped me with this one and this helps even more I never knew what they were
My husband was fined for stopping on a yellow box in London, whilst driving my car (so the summons came first to me) and with me shouting at him not to enter it. He is very wary of them now, and for Christmas that year I gave him an up-to-date copy of the Highway Code: he’s still speaking to me!!
😂 Good Christmas present.
@0:30, Makes sense, but there's a junction near me which doesn't have a traffic light on the far side. If you're turning right, you can drive to the middle of the junction and wait for oncoming traffic, but once you're in the junction there's no way to see if you still have the green light. Yes, you can wait for oncoming traffic to stop when the light changes, but by the time you're sure it's safe to go the cross-traffic has started to move. Even as someone with 30 years experience, that one makes me nervous. I assume it's some sort of cost-cutting measure.
Yellow box and other junction-blocking rule-breaking seem as common in urban areas as speeding is on our roads. Useful video. particularly the option to wait if turning right. The second or two gained by yellow-box waiting isn't worth risking the appeal process though, but I'll remember your tip next time I visit a town or city.
You are so clever, driving for 45 years I'm so glad I watched this ,never ever knew what that box was for,I thought sometimes the fairy played chess in the middle of the night when it was quiet, where is your seat belt?
😂 Chess 😂 I wear my seat belt when driving and take it off when parked to reduce noise on the microphone from friction.
Thought this was pretty straight forward, but recently I’ve noticed loads of people stopping in them, the reason I watched this.
I love seeing footage of level crossings where idiots queue in the box. You'd think that if the box wasn't enough to indicate being there was a dumb idea, at least the train tracks crossing the road would be a sufficient indication. But no, the barriers go down and they're trapped on the crossing with a train barrelling down on them in _sheer shock_ at how this could've ever happened.
That's where you're wrong, those boxes are for VIPs to park while they wait to get hit.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade They're for VIPs because its the best place to wait for the events following to unfold.
I had an impatient driving instructor toot me from behind for not crossing green lights when the exit was NOT clear and traffic NOT moving. How dumb is that. Also got tooted for not not entering a yellow box at a busy level crossing in stoppy traffic, again impatience as in both cases the delay was only a few seconds.
I was not aware of the yellow box trap - when your exit gets taken from elsewhere - and how to deal it. Thank you for that.
The thing that scares me most is sudden fog on motorways - you just have to hope a low speed limit is already signalled before you reach it.
If it's foggy I advise driving slowly regardless of the limit. As you mention, fog can be patchy and visibility can suddenly reduce.
Literally just had this situation in a lesson - I have an excellent instructor and now just reminding myself haha
This so nearly caught me out on my test. I was doing my test in a completely new area far away from where I live due to the high volume of tests being booked, about halfway through my test I approached a box junction at a really busy crossroad and I literally had no idea if I was allowed to wait in it or not as there was a big queue but the light was green. My instincts told me for some reason that I shouldn’t wait in it and luckily they were correct but it was literally 50/50
I always find these box junctions problematic even after 40 years driving!
I'm glad you made the right choice on your test.
@@nct948 haven’t come across another one since passing luckily
@@nct948 Yes.. I think local councils use them for income generation. They put them in junctions where drivers can get stuck for reasons beyond their control, and install a permanent camera.
@@Amphy002 I agree with you. It happened to me at a junction in London where the box was so long that you had to take your chances and follow the traffic. I got caught as the traffic stopped when I was 3/4 through. The second time I went through this crossing and found myself in the same situation, I opted to turn into the street on the left so avoiding the hefty fine!, Very nasty of councils.
We don't have many of these in the US, at least not around here and they're usually painted some other color. Most of the ones that I've seen are next to firestations to ensure that the trucks can get out if there's the need to when traffic is blocked due to a red light.
Worst thing about these boxes are when there's more than one lane going in one direction, you see that your lane is clear so you move forward cautiously, then somebody from the other lane drives into the space you were going to, leaving you stuck in the box.
That can happen too. Not your fault though.
Happened to me once at a notorious box junction in Hammersmith. I wasn't sent a FPN, so assume someone monitoring the system understood the situation. Now I use a dashcam and backup footage on large backup drives, just in case.
That is not an offence. I appealed this successfully. Traffic Regulations and General Directions 2016 s11(1) says it is an offence to cause your vehicle to enter a box junction so it has to stop in the box junction by the presence of stationary traffic. If the moment your wheels cross the boundary of the box your exit is clear but someone cuts in front of you then you have not “caused your vehicle to enter the box… so it has to stop”.
Good video. I recently got stuck in a box junction. it was a dual lane road and I was in the right-hand lane, the car in front of me had cleared the junction so I started to enter it only to have a car from the left hand side change lanes and block me leaving me in the box junction with nowhere to go.
That does happen sometimes.
Then you committed no offence, as your exit was clear at the time you entered the box.
Happened to me once at a notorious box junction in Hammersmith. I wasn't sent a FPN, so assume someone monitoring the system understood the situation. Now I use a dashcam and backup footage on large backup drives, just in case.
@@konradc12 Think that it might be a good idea for me to get a dashcam
Great advice, very helpful on those tricky yellow boxes 📦 👍
Straight to the point - that is why I enjoy watching your videos!! Thank you so much ❤
2:37 surely leaving the cycle area clear is a “should” (as per the pedestrian area), rather than a *”MUST”?* (Provided you cross it while the traffic lights are green, r178: “…and should avoid blocking the way or encroaching on the marked area at other times, e.g. if the junction ahead is blocked.”)
To be honest I don't agree with advanced stop lines. But it's the law and I have to teach it and follow it.
Thanking you for thinking outside the box. We all love on a yellow lemon tree
Far too many do not have a clue about box junctions and junctions in general. How often do you see someone stopped beyond the stop line but not in the actual junction/roundabout itself, the thing is they do not know that in that scenario when the traffic clears they can continue without waiting for the light to change to green because they are already passed the stop line. The TV advert for box junctions used to say " box junctions make us all do what the good drivers have been doing for years"
Occurs so often in Dagenham, almost at every green light where so many drivers just stay behind the box junction.
We have those yellow box things too (usually on rail crossings). I still see people stopping on them / across the tracks in congested traffic. One day I saw it and the boom gates for the train came down. Thankfully the person right across the tracks managed to get away but only just.
One thing I have seen a few times is motorists who stop just past the box (even though there is nothing ahead of them) to get you stuck on the rail crossing. The same thing happens on right turns across traffic. Some game player will make a right then jam on the brakes as soon as they've cleared the intersection leaving you in the middle with a car bearing down towards you. Neither work on me as I've seen both happen numerous times so I just wait back there until the rail / side road is clear (even if being honked at).
On that note, I find it a tiny bit strange how not all level crossings here have the yellow box junctions. Some that do is only an inconvenience to trains (as they’re checked to be clear before a train passes over them), whereas some which don’t are a genuine danger to stop in (as they aren’t checked to be clear). Not that most people would be able to know the difference, but then you shouldn’t be stopping on train tracks anyway…
Something to add here is to treat the box junction the same way as parking on a yellow line. It’s not always about you blocking a junction that drivers are unaware off. Even if your rear tyre is a few inches over the line and the junction is devoid of any traffic in any direction you will still get a fine through the post for effectively parking on a yellow line.
Awesome! I would like German traffic lending some of the signage of yours. It makes such a more refined impression in comparison to the very ambiguous German markings. No such additional info. Just “you should know where you shouldn’t be”.
I did find it challenging driving in Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago.
@@ConquerDriving I've never been there, but I've heard Stuttgart is quite a dense city. I can barely imagine going "on the wrong side" in a foreign city :0
Problem with the yellow box on the bridge is: If you are a total stranger to the area, you can't see how far the box extends. At the time of the video there were no vehicles in front. But suppose there had been. A stranger will not be able to see (or know) whether there are one, two or even three car lengths clear, because of the hump of the bridge. Seems to be a cleverly designed box and, when local authorities take over enforcement (as they already do in London) the local authority can look forward to a nice little earner.
You are allowed to do as you please in a yellow box if you drive a German car, the German car rule supersedes the highway code.
Quite a comprehensive video thanks. I would like to add something though. You point out that a vehicle may enter and wait in the yellow box, provided the exit is clear and the only obstruction to turning right is oncoming traffic. However, many drivers take this to mean they can enter and stop in the box if the car in front is turning right and that car's only obstruction is oncoming traffic, hence forming a queue inside the box. The second car is then prevented from proceeding not by oncoming traffic, but by the car in front. Only one vehicle is permitted to stop and wait inside the box if turning right all other right turning vehicles should wait as you described, outside the box, not obstructing crossings or cycle boxes. Maybe worth mentioning if you cover yellow box junctions again.
As many cars that can fit in the box can wait in the box if they're blocked by oncoming cars, even if a car is going straight and is waiting behind a car that is blocked by oncoming traffic. As long as their exit road after the junction is clear.
@@ConquerDriving I'll bow to your more up-to-date expertise, but when I worked in a Police traffic unit, box junctions were treated as I described ( 30+ years ago!)
That first one is a ghost of its former self! I am old enough to remember when they first appeared on the roads (must have been around 1970 I think) - I wasn't a driver at the time because too young, but many drivers were initially confused by them!
I've never quite understood why there are no high level signs depicting the area covered by the yellow box. I recently drove through Nottingham and they had these brightly coloured painted wooden signs at low level, going on about it being illegal to stop in the yellow box. I get to the box itself and well, you could just about make parts of it out. Talk about putting the cart before the horse. More paint on the road would have worked wonders. Actually, given the lack of paint, I seriously doubt if the box was actually enforceable.
Poor marking is one of my pet peeves, especially when they’re so faded it’s hard to tell whether they’ve been removed or not. Add to that not actually removing old paint markings, and inconsistent bus lane signage (thanks TFL and London boroughs, lovely work there!)
Very clear explanation! Thank you very much ! Particularly like the animation of moving cars ! So easy to understand 👍🏻👍🏻
cool to learn about other countries laws i live in the US and i've never seen these yellow boxes before it would make it a hell of a lot easier if we had these at intersections
I'll be coming back to Colchester in a few weeks. I recognise the roads in the centre.
Thanks, this is a very useful video! Would you consider doing a video about dash cams, pros and cons of having one, and your personal advice on whether it's a good idea to have one?
Thank you, I may do in the future. It's not something I have but something I think is a good idea.
I just enjoyed watching the driving around Colchester where I was from.... what happened to Molly Malones on St Botolphs - its closed down!
It closed down a long time ago. I did a gig there in my band days. 2003 I think.
@@ConquerDriving I'd left in 96, but it was a local for me living the other side of the station.
As you said, the rule is that you must not ENTER the yellow box unless the exit is clear. When turning right, if one has stopped in the box when the exit is clear and then the exit ceases to be clear, there is no offence. In the event that a fine is issued, it should be sufficient to say (in court if necessary), that the exit was clear when one entered. Since the burden of proof lies on the prosecution, absent other evidence that exit was not clear when one entered, that should be the end of it.
I would hope so too. A lot of hassle though for a car journey. You shouldn't have to defend yourself to the council when you have done nothing wrong.
@@ConquerDriving 5:03 The last car that turned left, when can see a driver waiting in the yellow box junction to turn right, and can also see there is room for just one car on the exit road for both drivers, should technically be the one to be fined as they break rule 144 "You MUST NOT ... drive without reasonable consideration for other road users." Anyway I am guessing I won't enter box to turn right if in doubt, like in Australia, especially after the test when I don't need to demonstrate I know it is legal to enter the trap
Correct me if I am wrong. If when entering the box, you have no clear view of where the box ends, is it not impossible to obey the law? I believe that you can overturn a prosecution if you can not see clearly where the box finishes. I do believe that the rule is sometimes manipulated to prove an offence when no offence has been committed. I once entered a quite lengthy box junction because my exit was clear. While continuing through the junction a bus which had been at a bus stop on my left exited the bus stop and prevented me from clearing the previously vacant box. What are your thoughts?
This is further proof as to why it is a box trap. Not a lot you can do about it. The real problem is that we accept some impossible rules because there are usually more important things we need to concentrate on in our lives.
If your exit was clear at the time you entered the box, you committed no offence.
Love your videos !! Very clear and concise...your my online driving instructor
In Australia we don’t bother with box junctions. You are NOT allowed to queue across ANY junction at all. Don’t enter ANY junction unless you can clear it at the other end. Just open your eyes and look ahead.
just watched this vlog and thought I reconized the roads! Ithought you were going around and up North hill in Colchester and then along st Botolphs and police station. I did not see "colchester" in bottom left corner...lol I grew up in Walton!
Not far, a friend of mine used to live in Walton. He now lives in New York state.
Driving a 16.5 mt artic, yellow boxes are a nightmare. Many a time I have had my exit space taken up by cars pulling in from side roads
I can imagine some are next to impossible in a lorry.
Very clear explanation! What is the minimum speed you can travel in a box junction? If you get "trapped", can you inch forward veerrrry slowly to avoid a fine since technically you're not fully stopped?
It's to do with blocking the junction when other cars can go. So moving slowly won't help unless you still have a green light and are trying to avoid the technicality of stopping on a yellow box as apposed to its intended purpose of allowing traffic with a clear path to continue.
But I'm not a legal expert so if you're moving slowly I suppose you're not "stopped".. But that's not the point.
Reminding the OAP/large pickup builder/delivery/Audi/BMW drivers of this would be cool.
Do the same yellow box rules apply for “Keep Clear” markings?
Very informative video, especially the part about ignoring the drivers behind you.
Keep clear is less strict but you should treat it the same.
When I’m driving to work on the morning shift I leave the house at around 8:15am to start work at 9am, I usually only takes me around 5-10 minutes to get to work (in free flowing traffic) but I give myself more time because sometimes the traffic is super duper busy and quite often when you’re turning right at the library quite often the lane gets blocked but I never get caught out because at all junctions, even if there is no yellow box junction painted on the road, I imagine that there is a yellow box junction painted on the road at all junctions.
"Every junction is a box junction" - I wish more people followed this. Often I feel like the only one.
I was watching from Canada and was thinking: "this video seems strangely relevant" (even though I have never seen a yellow box junction).
Then he drops that line.
5:06 Hi, if i want to turn right and see from the signal that the road I will turn into when I turn right is already packed such that if I go to take the right (no oncoming traffic) part of my car will be in the yellow box, should I still take the turn or wait?
A similiar case as was shown with turning left at 2:03, but instead of left, it was turning right
@ConquerDriving 3:34 I took a mock test. Imagine I’m the green car, having already entered the box. Apparently I would have failed because I went through on a red light, even though I obviously can’t stay in the middle of the box because I would be blocking the oncoming vehicles go the right
The lights apply to cars before the stop line.
@@ConquerDriving thank you for your help! just gone and passed my test this afternoon
Beautifully detailed as ever, many thanks.
The trap point you make at 5:00 is interesting. My better half got PCN for a similar scenario, travelling straight ahead however. However we appealed, which finally went to tribunal, where the appeal was upheld. Whilst highway code 174 says you must not enter the YBJ unless your exit is clear, the underlying legislation on which it is based on is far more specific on what needs to have occurred in order for there to be an offence. If you stop in a YBJ, AND if at the point of entry there were no stationary vehicles preventing your exit, an offence has not been committed. In order for there to be an offence, stationary vehicles blocking your exit must have been present at the point entry was made. It's easy to get caught out when you are forced to stop even though traffic had been flowing. Whilst we should all exercise care in trying to avoid grid lock scenarios, the law rightly recognises that there are circumstances where the trap is unavoidable and would therefore be unfair to penalise drivers. Councils know that drivers are unlikely to go through such lengths of checking legislation if they point to the Highway Code and simply issue fines. J, and reject appeals. Just remember, as great a guide the Highway Code is, and should be followed, it is not the law and cannot solely be relied upon for the issue of PCN.
Hi Richard, I have a question. Like you pointed out, many of such junctions are poorly designed and maintained. One issue I have encountered is when I am turning right, the exit is clear and I turned right on a green, but by the time I made the turn, pedestrian crossing has changed to green for pedestrians (the one on the right of your diagram). Technically I have cleared the green light, but obviously pedestrians always have priority , not least when it’s green man for them. But after I stopped I’m in limbo as 1) it’s a yellow box 2) in many cases I cannot see a light for cars due to they were aimed for cars at the stop line (or it’s just not installed there to avoid confusions). What should I do?
Best explanation ever👍🏻
Who has a priority on a junction? Please can you make a video? Your channel is really helpful 👍
Thank you. You can tell who has priority by the give way lines. If there are no lines then use the signs and if there are no signs or road markings then the branch road should give way to the major road. If it's a cross roads without signs or markings then no one has priority.
@@ConquerDriving Amazing, thank you very much
Good advice, but like most people you didn't mention the original reason for box junctions. Which is to make it obvious to strangers to that area of a town or city that these junctions are where motorists block the most by accident or by design in that town or city. So armed with this knowledge you should rarely get caught out as you now understand the true concept.
I think box junctions are good. However, I don't think people should be fined for blocking them.
Thank you for your videos. Could you also show us how to use beam lights in the country lane?
Thank you. For the lights you just need to switch them on when no one is in front of you and off when you see someone or are following someone. Avoid using them in street areas particularly where there are plenty of houses.
Greetings kind sir. Here in the Netherlands we don't have this system, but something comparable in a large white cross (but never on a junction, usually on an exit at a busy road).
You passed one in front of a firefighter station.
Here in frog country, as soon as an ambulance, firefighter or police vehicle uses it's siren+lights together, you just need to F off immediately to anywhere.
Park on the pavement if you have to, drive through red stopping lights to clear it's path, etc. Is this not the same in england ?
In England you have to follow all the normal rules when a blue light vehicle needs to get passed. You have to stop at red lights and you're not allowed on the pavement.
The best yellow box trap I ever encountered was actually several such junctions only one car-length apart. Under normal conditions, maybe they would have worked fine. The only trouble was that I was towing a trailer at the time.
Hi Richard, you seem to be missing the last condition of Rule 174: "At signalled roundabouts you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping." So, the clause about weighting to turn right if oncoming traffic is obstructing your exit is not relevant, in my understanding, if the junction is signaled?
1:03 we have a yellow box here its quite dirty
i don't thing "quite dirty" is the correct term. "quite hazardous" is a better term. the yellow box junction in front of a fire station is for safety. If an emergency vehicle wants to exit the fire station, it can do it quickly and with ease, possibly saving lives. Ambiguity of that yellow box junction can cause potential irritation at best and at worst, a life lost in a situation where every second counts