Who has priority on a mountain road?
Who has priority on a mountain road?
"I read your article of 7 March 2016 on the internet about a problem with priority on the road. I'd like to ask you a question that's been bothering me: I frequently drive along a narrow mountain road where it's rare for two vehicles to pass each other and there are no priority signs. However, some drivers are not very courteous and force their way through. Is it the vehicle coming down or the one going up that has the right of way?
S., Saint-Cergue
Road users are constantly confronted with the rules of priority, the correct application of which is essential to avoid accidents. One of the basic principles of the legislation is that drivers must give way to oncoming traffic if there is an obstacle on half the carriageway that makes it difficult to cross.
On mountain roads, however, it is often the case that - even when there are no obstacles on the carriageway - it is impossible for two vehicles to pass each other. Article 45 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) states that on mountain roads and roads with steep gradients, if it proves difficult to pass, the vehicle coming down must stop first and reverse, unless the other vehicle is near a place to avoid. This rule, which in principle gives priority to the vehicle travelling uphill, makes it possible to avoid starting off on a gradient, much to the delight of some drivers!
Note, however, that this rule changes when the vehicles are of different categories: even when disembarking, road trains have priority over other vehicles, heavy motor vehicles have priority over light motor vehicles and coaches have priority over lorries. In other words, according to at. 9 of the Ordinance on Road Traffic Regulations (ORR), the order in which vehicles of different categories pass each other when it is impossible for them to do so is regulated as follows: road trains, coaches, lorries and, lastly, light motor vehicles.
Finally, it is also useful to know that when it is difficult to cross or overtake on mountain postal roads, you must follow the instructions and signals given by the drivers of public vehicles in line-haul traffic (art. 38 OCR).
