Some places are off-limits for stopping no matter what, because stopping there puts other people in danger. Knowing them keeps you legal and, more importantly, keeps a crossing child or an emergency vehicle safe.
The big ones: the zigzag lines either side of a pedestrian crossing, anywhere near a junction, on the brow of a hill or a bend, in front of a dropped kerb, and on clearways or bus stops. Each is a spot where a parked car hides someone or blocks the way.
The zigzags matter most. The white zigzag lines by a crossing mean no stopping and no overtaking — they exist so drivers and pedestrians can see each other clearly. Hazard lights don't make any of these okay; they just mean a stopped car flashing in a dangerous place.
The bits that matter
- Never stop on the zigzag lines by a crossing — no stopping, no overtaking.
- Keep clear of junctions, bends, brows of hills, dropped kerbs and bus stops.
- Hazard lights don't make illegal or dangerous stopping okay.
Memory anchor
Zigzags mean zero stopping
The white zigzags by a crossing are the road shouting "keep this clear". Zigzags = zero: zero stopping, zero parking, zero overtaking. They're there so a child stepping out and a driver coming along can always see each other.
Out on the road
The school crossing at home time
It would be so easy to pull onto the zigzags for two minutes to collect someone. But a car parked there hides the very child crossing from the driver coming the other way. That's the whole reason the lines exist — and why "just two minutes" is never worth it there.
The mistake everyone makes
Trusting hazard lights to make it okay
Switching on hazard lights doesn't grant permission to stop somewhere dangerous — on zigzags, at a junction, on a clearway. All it does is mark where you shouldn't be. If you can't stop legally and safely, you keep going until you can.