Filtering near a junction

A friend and I have been debating the legality of filtering on the approach to a junction, as he was recently knocked off by a car when he was doing just that. Following the accident, the police are now prosecuting him rather than the driver who knocked him off! Can you please explain the position?

Morris, by e-mail

Answer

Filtering is perfectly legal; however, filtering past junctions or even open entrances is considered inherently dangerous by the courts. Consequently, when you are approaching any gap in the traffic where a vehicle could pass through, you should stop or slow down to the point that you can confirm that nothing is going to emerge before continuing to filter.

The starting point for a judge when assessing culpability will be whether both parties were entitled to undertake the manoeuvre that they did. If the answer is yes, then did they do everything they reasonably could to reduce the risk to other road users?  If they did not, the judge will consider who was at fault and to what degree? This will determine the degree of contributory negligence or the blame each party should take.

There is a lot of case law on filtering accidents, but each case turns on its own specific facts. It is important to consider sightlines and relative speeds and sometimes we instruct expert forensic collision investigators where there is no CCTV or dashcam footage available.