Wrong side of the road

A tragic accident, a bereaved family, and a questionable case of diplomatic immunity.

How many of us have, at least once, moved out from a minor road on to another at 90°, traffic free, only to realise chillingly that we are driving in the wrong lane, facing on-coming traffic and a possible head-on collision?

There have been (mercifully very few) times, on unfamiliar rural roads, that I have made this potentially fatal error, broken out in a cold sweat, and hastily changed lanes.

I conjecture that this may have been the case in the recent incident. I imagine the American driver is in a state of nervous shock herself and horrified at what she did.

Should she be made to return to UK to face the judicial music, and the public outcry? I have serious doubts about it, at least in the near future. Maybe ‘in good time’, and privately?

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Bring Her Back is the Trump clarion call :wink:

I think I hear the clarion Trump call echoing back from the distant hills “Lock Her Up! Lock Her Up!”

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I’ve not turned out from a minor, to major road and found myself on the wrong side.

But I did once pull over to park on the left of a fairly major road to nip into a boulangerie and completely forgot to pull back to the right hand lane when I set off again - took a good 200 yards to realise my mistake.

Fortunately no collisions :slight_smile:

Unfortunately “bring him back” is not an option for the young lad’s family.
She needs to “answer” for what she has done. :woman_judge:t3:

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It may have been a lapse of forethought when pulling out onto uk road from American airbase but if that was the case so be it, if it caused an accident and in this case a tragic one then she should not be allowed to run home to Uncle Sam and hide.
A old friend of mine a few years back k fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a fatal accident for which he received 4 years Imprisonment. If this lady is guilty she should face her crime but if innocent all will be well but, why has she fled the country?

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This made me think. The few times it has happened to me have, I think, involved moving out of a petrol-station forecourt or a carpark, or a single track road, not a two-lane highway. It certainly rings a bell, anyway.

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IIRC American Airbases are “little America” territory. They drive on the right, most crossroads are governed by “yield” markings across all 4 exits (as opposed to a “traffic circle”) and you can turn right at a red traffic light if there is no traffic against which to “yield” from the left.

How crazy is that! An accident waiting to happen and tragically for the young man and his family, it has.

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It’s actually American territory - blame Churchill if anyone :grin:

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Why? a problem with her insurance? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
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oh yes!

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It will be very damaging for the Americans if there is no very clear and commanding signage at the exit from the Base along the lines of "WARNING! DANGER OF DEATH! :skull_and_crossbones: Drive on the LEFT! THIS IS NOT THE USÀ!!"

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AFAIR @Peter_Goble there are such warnings similar to those for Brits arriving at EU ports…

I think Peter’s post is overly generous to the diplomat’s wife.

Like him, and others above, I too have suddenly found myself on the wrong side of the road; invariably this has been when joining a main road from a junction and there haven’t been any other vehicles in view. Nevertheless, I disagree with Peter’s post for the following reasons-

A person has been killed and this woman’s driving was possibly the cause or a contributory factor. She gave her word to the police that she intended to remain in the UK, but fled the following day together with her husband, a ‘diplomat’ (military attaché?). Even if she was in a state of shock and panic, we should expect greater professionalism from her spouse, a diplomat from ‘our closest ally’? !

The UK justice system, whatever its shortcomings, isn’t that of a third world country and so, should there be sufficient evidence for a prosecution, it’s reasonable to assume that she would receive a fair trial.

I’ll be very surprised if the US allows her to be extradited; there’s already a massive imbalance in their favour in the UK/US extradition treaty.

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Agreed, just before leaving American soil (in this case an American Airbase), this sign, or something similar… should be the first thing a driver sees.
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That’s fair comment and the circumstances surrounding her flight from the scene, after giving assurances not to, are murky.

I may be wrong, but I rather think that the decision may have been made for her by the men in her life, and her husband’s, on the basis that she might incriminate herself or, worse, commit some other major diplomatic or secret-service blunder in her shocked state.

Say, for example, she said that she was upset, her husband and her had had a disagreement, and she drove off to cool down. Not an entirely improbable scenario! And the sort of thing that could easily emerge in a police interview under caution, but not politically correct! :thinking::zipper_mouth_face:

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Me too, have exited petrol stations, car parks only to find I am driving on the wrong side of the road, this has also happened in the UK after spending a prolonged period in France. I can understand how it so easily happened for the American woman. Being ex services I can’t remember whether the American bases in the UK drive on the left or right within the confines of the base, I would hope it is on the left.

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It seems we’re both living a charmed life, Stephen…:scream::skull_and_crossbones::hugs:

It seems there is now some question about the validity of the diplomatic status of lady in question.