DRIVERS who don’t let pedestrians know what they are doing risk nine points, a £2,500 fine and even disqualification.
According to Select Car Leasing, many drivers are confused about whether they’re even supposed to signal for people on foot or not.
James O’Malley, Director of Select Car Leasing, said: “There’s much debate about whether a driver should or shouldn’t indicate so that pedestrians know what they’re doing.
“Let’s set the record straight, as The Highway Code is clear on the matter – if you fail to indicate for a pedestrian, and it ends up with someone being hurt, you can be prosecuted, fined and even have your licence taken off you.
“The Highway Code states that, ‘Signals warn and inform other road users, including pedestrians’. It also says that ‘signalling does not give you priority’.
“If a pedestrian is already half way across the road you’re trying to turn in to, they have priority and you need to wait for them to cross.”
While there’s no specific motoring offence for failing to signal your intentions to a pedestrian, you could be charged with driving without due care and attention.
That’s according to motoring lawyer Emma Patterson, who says that particular charge could land drivers with up to nine points on their licence and even, in extreme circumstances, disqualification.
She said: “Drivers need to signal their intentions to all road users, and that includes pedestrians.
“Failing to do so may mean a motorist falls below the threshold of being a careful, competent driver and they could be hit with a ‘driving without due care and attention’ charge, or in rarer circumstances even ‘dangerous driving’.”
Patterson said that driving without due care and attention charge could also result in a fine of up to £2,500, depending on the nature of the incident.
She also highlighted another common danger – accidents caused through motorists signalling to other road users to proceed.
She adds: “In some ways, an over eagerness to signal can be just as bad as failing to signal.
“You’ll typically get a driver flashing their lights or physically indicating that it’s okay for someone to make their manoeuvre.
“But you might then get a motorcyclist, who’s filtering through traffic, oblivious to the signal and who’s then put in harm’s way. It’s a scenario we deal with regularly.”

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