Higher-speed roads

Turning right using a central reservation gap

A central reservation gap isn't one crossing, it's two - each carriageway is a separate decision, and the reservation itself only works if your car actually fits inside it.

Advanced Step-by-step lesson Common mistakes

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

Practical test

Why it matters

This checks planning and judgement across two separate traffic streams, where getting either half wrong leaves you exposed.

What to look out for

Check the reservation's size first

Before committing, judge whether the space is long enough to hold your whole car - if it isn't, treat the crossing as one continuous manoeuvre across both carriageways instead.

Two carriageways, two decisions

Look at the first carriageway as one gap decision. Pause, then treat the second carriageway as a fresh one before you finish the turn.

Key steps

1 Check mirrors, signal, and begin slowing in good time before you turn into the central reservation.
2 Turn smoothly and position the car correctly within the reservation space, ready to pause there if needed.
3 Stop and reassess the second carriageway as a completely new decision, separate from the first one you just crossed.
4 Once you join the new carriageway, move into the left lane and build speed smoothly with the traffic already there.

Common mistakes

Treating both carriageways as one gap

Judge each stream of traffic separately, and be ready to pause in the reservation if that's the safer option.

Stopping where the car doesn't fit

Only use the reservation space if your whole car can wait there without any part sitting in a live lane.

Example scenarios

Illustrative, AI-generated examples - not real photographs.

Stopped across the junction instead of sitting clear within the reservation — blocking the lane that carries traffic straight through and out, not just following traffic behind. That's potentially dangerous — a serious fault, and a test fail.

Positioned on the wrong side of the central reservation gap, in the wrong lane — putting the car in the path of oncoming traffic rather than clear of it. A serious fault in itself, whether or not another vehicle is there to meet it.

Highway Code

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

Rule 173

On dual carriageways, check whether the central reservation is deep enough to protect your vehicle's full length. If not, treat the crossing as one manoeuvre across both carriageways.

Read Rule 173 on GOV.UK

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