Road positioning

Giving way where neither side has priority

A narrow bridge like this doesn't come with a sign to settle who goes first - there's no obstruction on one side to hand you priority, so the decision is read from the road and the other driver, not a rule.

Core skill Step-by-step lesson Common mistakes

This video has no narration. Follow the written steps below.

Practical test

Why it matters

Examiners are watching whether you spot this kind of hazard early and adjust your speed for it, and whether you make a sensible, unhurried decision about going through - not whether you can quote a rule for who has priority, since none assigns it here.

What to look out for

No sign decides this one

Unlike a parked car narrowing one side, a bridge like this narrows the road for both directions equally - so there's no Highway Code rule that hands either driver priority. It's read from the road, not a sign.

Committed beats first

The driver who's already on the crossing effectively has priority, whichever direction they came from - not whoever technically reached the approach first.

Key steps

1 Recognise the hazard early: a bridge or narrow point where the road itself - not a parked car or an obstruction - is what forces single-file traffic, so there's no side that automatically has priority.
2 Slow down in good time, the same way you would for any bend or dip that hides what's coming - a hump-back bridge hides the other side just as much as a blind bend does.
3 Look for an oncoming vehicle already committed to the crossing - if someone's already on the bridge or clearly closer to it, hold back and let them through rather than both of you arriving at once.
4 If you reach the narrow point with the way ahead clear, go through positively at a controlled speed - hesitating in the middle of a blind crossing is worse than committing once you've checked it's clear.
5 Keep your position steady through the crossing and don't speed up again until you're fully back on the normal width of road.

Common mistakes

Assuming priority because you got there first

There's no rule granting priority on an unsigned narrow bridge - arriving first isn't the same as being safely committed. Check the other side is actually clear before you commit.

Meeting another vehicle already on the bridge

If you only spot the oncoming car once you're both close to the narrowest point, back off early rather than racing to get through first - reversing back off a bridge is far harder than waiting before it.

Speeding up as soon as you're through

Stay controlled until you're fully back on the normal width of road, not just past the narrowest point.

Example scenarios

Illustrative, AI-generated examples - not real photographs.

This car was forced to stop and wait for oncoming traffic, but is sitting too close to the passage instead of creating space by stopping further back - the oncoming traffic has to hold tight to its own edge to get past.

Waiting traffic pulled in tight to the left well before the bridge, clear of the narrow point entirely - that leaves the full width of the crossing free for the oncoming bus without either side needing to hold a tight line.

Highway Code

This lesson is a revision aid, not a replacement for The Highway Code.

Rule 154

Take extra care on country roads and reduce your speed at approaches to bends, which can be sharper than they appear, and at junctions and turnings, which may be partially hidden.

Read Rule 154 on GOV.UK

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