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One of the skills of an advanced driver is the ability to overtake other vehicles, when the opportunity arises, safely and efficiently. With the increasing use of road restrictions in the form of white paint and speed limits, it is becoming more difficult to find a real opportunity for a good overtake. When you do get one, however, it can be very satisfying.
The chapter in Roadcraft that deals with overtaking is Chapter 9, which is quite long and very comprehensive. It first deals with ‘overtaking’ stationary vehicles, which is not really overtaking at all, then goes on to describe methods of overtaking moving vehicles, first in the absence of other road hazards and then when other road hazards are present. The principles are also illustrated in practice in the Roadcraft video.
The Highway Code (Rule 138) reminds you to make sure, before you attempt an overtake, that:
It also lists situations in which you MUST NOT or SHOULD NOT overtake. See if you can list them from memory (there are 16 in all) before looking at the lists in Rules 141, 142 and 143.
Roadcraft advocates using The System of Car Control – Information, Position, Speed, Gear and Acceleration – to make the overtaking manoeuvre safely. That should not be surprising, because The System should underpin any manoeuvre that you make on the road. When the only hazard present is the target vehicle (ie, the one you are about to overtake), you can make what Roadcraft calls an immediate overtake, passing the target vehicle in one smooth manoeuvre.
When other hazards are present, such as obscured views and/or approaching vehicles, you will have to follow the vehicle(s) ahead before you can overtake safely. That requires a three-stage approach, illustrated on page 129 of Roadcraft and described below.
Stage 1 – The following position
Use the System of Car Control to reduce speed to that of the vehicle in front and follow at a safe distance. Your main task in the following position is to observe and assess the road and traffic conditions for an opportunity to overtake safely.
Observe what is happening in the far distance, the middle distance, the immediate foreground and behind; do this repeatedly and look in the mirrors frequently.
Your safety depends on your making the correct interpretation of what you see – it is not enough just to see it.
Stage 2 – The overtaking position
The overtaking position is closer than the following position and minimises the distance you have to travel to overtake. It can also indicate to the driver in front that you wish to overtake. Adopt this position so that you are ready to overtake when a safe opportunity arises.
Because it is closer than the following position you have less time to react to the actions of the vehicle in front, so you must be sure that there are no hazards ahead that might cause it to brake suddenly. You can know this only if you have been able to fully observe the road ahead.
Stage 3 – Overtaking
From the overtaking position continue observing until you identify an opportunity to overtake, then re-run the System of Car Control again to guide you while overtaking.
Having made a thorough information check and decided it is safe to go, recheck your mirrors, make any necessary signal, and move out to an offside position, without accelerating. From this new position make another thorough check of the road ahead and behind for any unidentified hazards. Decide whether to continue overtaking.
If it is not safe to go, you can drop back to your own side of the road into the gap you have just left, without changing speed. If you judge that it is safe, accelerate to complete the overtaking safely, and to enter the gap you have already identified ahead of the target vehicle.
Practising overtaking
All observers should encourage their associates to practise overtaking during observed drives. You can often discover particular roads that provide overtaking opportunities. If there are no natural ones, you can use a dual carriageway to overtake, simulating the positions you would use on a single-carriageway road. You can even ask a colleague to become the target vehicle, driving at a modest speed, whilst you practise overtaking for real using the principles that Roadcraft describes.