Interactive tool · October 2026
Meeting oncoming traffic on narrow roads
Parked cars, a narrow road and a car coming the other way: who goes first, where to wait, and how to get through. Six situations, each one a simulator you can play, slow down or step through.
Situation 1
A parked car on your side: give way, then pass
The parked car is on your side, so the way past is on the other side of the road. A car is coming on that side with nothing in its way, so you give way. Choose Stop and wait, or Eco: slow down early and time it so you do not have to stop. After Stop and wait, an orange car shows what happens when you stop too close behind the parked car.
Giving way
Stopping back or stopping close: the steering
This is a teaching diagram. The distances where each step happens are an example, not a rule: with experience the steps get quicker and some of them overlap, but the order stays the same. The road is drawn by us: 7 m wide (3.5 m each way), footpaths 2 m.
Situation 2
The parked car is on their side, but they don’t wait
This time the parked car is on the other driver’s side, so they should wait for you. They pull out round it anyway, into your lane. Your job is to react: stop, or slow down early, and let them finish.
Your reaction
Situation 3
Parked cars on both sides: who goes first?
Cars are parked on both sides, 2 m apart, and there is room for only one moving car at a time. You both slow down and stop about the same distance back. The driver who signals first goes first, but only once they can see the other driver is waiting.
Who signals first
Situation 4
Your lane is clear, but a driver squeezes through
A row of cars is parked on the other side. Your lane is clear and you are closer, so you carry on. Halfway along, an oncoming driver squeezes into the space anyway. Slow down, check the left mirror, move over to give them room and carry on slowly. If you are in any doubt that there is enough space, just stop.
This is a teaching diagram. The distances where each step happens are an example, not a rule: with experience the steps get quicker and some of them overlap, but the order stays the same. The road is drawn by us: 7 m wide (3.5 m each way), footpaths 2 m. If you are in any doubt that there is enough space, just stop.
Situation 5
Several parked cars: stay out, don’t weave
Cars are parked on your side every 20 to 30 m. While nothing is coming the other way, stay out in your position and do not swing back in between each car. Move back in only when you have to: to let a car pass, or once you are past the last one.
Situation 6
A side road between the parked cars: keep looking
Two cars are parked on your side and a side road joins from the right between them. You can stay out in your position, but your right side is over the centre line, where a car turning out of the side road would go. So keep looking into the side road as you come up to it.
The rules
Where this comes from
What the Rules of the Road and the RSA’s marking guidelines for the driving test say, and what is our own teaching.
- RotR p. 44: use your mirrors before signalling, moving off, overtaking, slowing down and stopping.
- RotR p. 53: if you are passing parked vehicles, make sure it is safe to do so; check your mirrors for vehicles coming up on your right, check blind spots when necessary, and give a clear signal in good time.
- RotR p. 55 and p. 111: signalling does not give you the right of way; a signal is an indication of what you intend.
- RotR p. 56: only overtake if you can get back to your own side of the road without forcing any other road user to move to avoid you.
- RotR p. 114: a child running onto the road between parked cars is one of the hazards to expect.
- RotR p. 144: you must not park within 5 m of a road junction, unless parking spaces are clearly marked.
- RotR p. 212 (advice to cyclists): allow extra space when passing parked vehicles, as doors may open suddenly.
- RSA marking guidelines for the driving test: failing to yield right of way to other traffic when overtaking parked vehicles is a Right of Way fault; not slowing or stopping as necessary for an oncoming vehicle that is overtaking is an Anticipation fault; not moving out in good time to pass parked vehicles on the left is a Reaction fault; weaving in and out unnecessarily around intermittently parked vehicles is a Position on the straight fault; and on a narrow road no Clearance fault is recorded if you pass parked vehicles slowly, safely and knowing exactly where they are.
- Our own teaching, not RSA figures: giving way when the parked car is on your side; signalling before you stop, so drivers behind know you are waiting to pass; stopping about two car lengths back, in your normal position, or slowing early so you keep rolling; passing with about a door’s width (about 1 m) to spare where there is room; switching the signal off once you are in position; the left mirror and no left signal before moving back in; letting a driver who forces their way through finish; whoever signals first usually goes first, once they can see the other driver is waiting; moving over and carrying on slowly when someone squeezes through, and stopping if in doubt; looking into a side road several times as you come up to it. The distances, speeds and roads in the simulators are our own drawings and examples.
Questions
Common questions
Who has right of way when a parked car is on my side?
The Rules of the Road do not set out a priority rule for this exact situation. The RSA’s marking guidelines for the driving test do treat failing to yield right of way to other traffic when overtaking parked vehicles as a fault. We teach it simply: if the obstruction is on your side, give way to traffic coming the other way. See situation 1.
What if the other driver comes through anyway?
Let them finish. Slow down or stop and keep your position; do not flash, sound the horn or try to squeeze past. On the driving test, not slowing or stopping as necessary for an oncoming vehicle that is overtaking can be marked as an Anticipation fault. See situation 2 and situation 4.
Should I move back in between parked cars?
Not when nothing is coming. The marking guidelines record a Position on the straight fault for weaving in and out unnecessarily around intermittently parked vehicles. Move back in only when you have to let traffic pass, or once you are past the last car. See situation 5.
Does signalling first give me priority?
No. The Rules of the Road say a signal does not give you the right of way. It tells the other driver what you intend, and when cars are parked on both sides the driver who signals first usually goes first. Go only when you can see the other driver is waiting. See situation 3, and our article on the unwritten rules of the narrow-road squeeze.
How close can I pass a parked car?
Where there is room, we teach about a door’s width, about 1 m, because doors can open suddenly. On a narrow road you may have less: the marking guidelines say no Clearance fault is recorded if you pass slowly, safely and knowing exactly where the vehicles are.
Want to practise narrow roads with an instructor?
We find the narrow streets near you and practise them until reading who goes first, and showing it with your signal, position and speed, comes naturally.
Book a lessonThe distances, speeds and lines of the cars, the roads and the gardens are Smart Driving Academy’s drawings and teaching examples, not RSA figures. Educational tool only. It does not replace the Rules of the Road or qualified instruction.
See also: Who goes first? The unwritten rules of the narrow-road squeeze · MSMPSL at a T-junction · MSMPSL at a roundabout