How to Avoid Obstacles Correctly, Penalty for Incorrect Detour

The movement of the car on the road lane can be impeded by a certain obstacle - a stationary object. Then the rules for avoiding obstacles on the road will be useful to the driver in order to perform this maneuver correctly, without creating emergency situations and without giving a reason for punishment from the road patrol service.

First, you need to understand what is an obstacle and what is not. If there is such an object on the road lane as a broken car, a foreign object, a fence in connection with road works, a fallen tree, a defect in the roadway - this is all an obstacle, since this concept in traffic rules is defined precisely by a stationary object. Objects such as a traffic jam, a bus dropping off passengers, a slight bump or pothole on the road, broken glass, a puddle, and even a person, by definition, are not an obstacle.

What is called a detour and what is overtaking

Many may confuse the concepts of overtaking and detour, in part this is due to the fact that only overtaking is defined in the traffic rules. In this regard, for many, these are identical concepts. In fact, this is not entirely true.

Overtaking is one of the cases when one or more moving vehicles are outstripping. Leaving the oncoming lane is a mandatory attribute of overtaking, as well as returning to the lane in which the driver was previously moving before performing the maneuver.

Important! To properly overtake, the driver must explore the section of the road ahead and be sure that the lane into which he will enter is free, and that it remains so for the entire interval that is required to perform the maneuver. Overtaking can only be carried out if this does not interfere with other road users.

In the traffic rules, the concept of a detour is not deciphered, but in the Code of Administrative Offenses there are points, based on which the following can be considered the definition of a detour: a maneuver that is associated with leaving the lane in which the movement is taking place, if it is impossible to move on in the occupied lane due to the presence of a stationary obstacles. If there is movement, then this maneuver will be regarded as overtaking. Also, you can not go around potholes according to traffic rules, since having made a movement to perform this maneuver there is a risk of catching other road users and creating an accident.

Did you know? For incorrect overtaking, a more severe penalty is imposed than for incorrectly avoiding an obstacle. If a penalty can be imposed for a detour not according to the rules, then a driver's license can be revoked for an incorrect overtaking.

Obstacle avoidance signs and traffic rules

Signs that regulate avoidance of obstacles are classified as prescriptive. This type of signs indicates the mandatory direction in which the driver can move. If you do not follow the prescription of such signs, the traffic police can be punished for this. However, not all obstacles are marked with signs telling you how to take a detour. In this case, the driver must clearly know the traffic rules in order to avoid the obstacle correctly. For an incorrect detour, punishment can be imposed in the form of a fine in the amount of one to five thousand rubles.

There are three prescriptive signs that indicate how to avoid an obstacle on the road.

Sign 4.2.1 prescribes to avoid obstacles on the right. It has a circular shape, the image has a blue background and a white arrow pointing to the lower right corner. Signs of this category can be installed directly on the obstacle itself, on separate posts or guide bollards. You can take a detour from the side indicated by the arrow on the sign.

Sign 4.2.2 prescribes to avoid obstacles on the left. The blue round sign has a white arrow pointing to the lower left corner. Accordingly, the driver understands in which direction the maneuver can be performed to avoid the obstacle.

Sign 4.2.3 prescribes to avoid obstacles to the right or left. The sign shows two arrows pointing one to the lower left corner, the second to the lower right corner. You can go around the object marked with such a sign from both sides.

Is it possible to go around an obstacle with an exit into the oncoming lane

A detour is allowed in the following cases:

no need to enter the oncoming lane;

On a two-lane road, if you need to go to the oncoming lane, on a three-lane road - with an exit to the central lane intended for turning;

For both of the above cases, there must be no level crossing.

It is forbidden to make a detour in such cases:

If the road has four or more lanes for traffic, with an exit into the oncoming lane;

On a road with three lanes, if you have to enter the leftmost lane to maneuver;

If you need to drive into the oncoming lane before crossing the railway.

Important!When driving on a four-lane road, which has 2 lanes for each direction and they are separated by a solid line, a fine will be issued for crossing such a solid line.

If, for example, it is required to detour a stuck bus on a two-lane road in the opposite lane, and the lanes are separated by a dashed line, then such a maneuver is not prohibited by the rules, provided that safety rules are observed. Avoiding an obstacle on such a section of the road does not threaten the driver with anything, since the rules are allowed to cross the broken line to make maneuvers.

Intersection solid

If the only lane in the desired direction is blocked by a fixed obstacle, then such an object must be bypassed on the right. But often this is not possible. If you take a detour crossing a solid line, it will be considered a violation, even if there was no other way out to overcome the obstacle on the road. For this kind of crossing, a solid traffic inspector has the right to fine.

A detour crossing a solid line, even when it divides the passing lanes, is prohibited by traffic rules. The penalty for such an intersection is 500 rubles.

The double solid line is intended to separate traffic lanes in opposite directions. Such markings are applied on roads that have four or more lanes.

According to traffic rules, crossing a double solid line is prohibited. Therefore, even bypassing the accident through a double continuous line is not a legal justification for this maneuver, therefore, such a violation will be punished with a fine.

Did you know? There are interpretations of the law in which they indicate that a detour through a solid line will be considered correct if a detour on the right is impossible. But in fact, the intersection of a solid and a double solid is always regarded as a traffic violation.

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