Car vs Bike Warham Road, 6 Nov

Spotted as I was walking home from Crouch End this week.

A car emerging from Allison Road hit a bike travelling south along Wightman. As you might imagine, it was getting quite heated. The biker screeched:

"What were you doing!?"

The driver wisely explained his position loudly:

"What do you mean? It was you, man. The van flashed me to come through. You could see that. You should have stopped. He'd let me though."

The van driver kept his counsel.

Luckily no one was hurt, but what a mess for them both. A great demonstration of  why Highway code Rules 110 and 11 are there.

Rule 110

Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

Rule 111

Never assume that flashing headlights is a signal inviting you to proceed. Use your own judgement and proceed carefully.

The 'wisdom' of the web tells us that an infringement of Rue 110 could result in a £1,000 fine, but on a quick search, I couldn't find any evidence of such fines being levied and no specific penalty is listed. Nonetheless, Newton's Solicitors website has the following:

Although it may seem harmless, flashing your headlights to give way to another vehicle is technically illegal. You should only flash your headlights to warn another vehicle of your presence. According to Rule 110 of The Highway Code ,you must not flash your headlights for any other reason or to intimidate other road users. If an accident were to occur, you could be held liable.