Saturday, July 4, 2009

Road Law

By Johann Ken Flanders

Rules of the road are the laws that must be followed at all times by all road users. Although these rules apply to every road user, they more specifically refer to cyclists and vehicle drivers.

These laws govern interactions between vehicles and between vehicles and pedestrians. The very basic rules of the road are laid down by an international agreement under the authority of the UN, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.

Not all countries are bound to these laws and, even in the countries that are, local variations can be found in various places scattered throughout the UN. There is also a set of unspoken rules that are understood by drivers universally.

The most obvious example of these unspoken rules is that drivers are generally expected to avoid crashing into other vehicles and pedestrians, regardless of whether or not the law allows the other vehicle or pedestrian to be where they are.

Traffic signs and lights must be followed at all times, as well as the written and unwritten laws. Direction can also be given by a police officer e.g. instead of traffic lights, a traffic warden can sometimes be seen on a busy crossing, an accident zone or any other disruption.

As is inevitable with any set of laws, these laws get broken. If you should find yourself on the wrong side of any of these laws, whether it was something you would consider a minor offence e.g. travelling just a little over the speed limit. Or if it was accidental, e.g. a collision with another vehicle, the best course of action would be to hire a professional with experience in road traffic laws to defend you.

The right person really will prove to be an invaluable asset to your defence should it be taken as far as the courtrooms.

The candidate best suited to the job will be a road law specialist because they will undoubtedly be far more knowledgeable than someone who tries to span themselves across all areas of the law.

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