Overtaking a Slow Moving Vehicle

MetzgerMeister

Hey all,

This morning on my way to work, I was stuck behind a tractor with 2 other cars in front of me. When the chance arose, I checked my mirrors, indicated and waited 3 seconds before pulling out to make sure the car behind me saw my intention.

Everything was going well until the first car behind the tractor indicated and moved out immediately, nearly pushing me off the road. It was only after a blast of the horn that he realised I was there.

With this idiocy aside, is there a rule of the road that gives the first car behind a slow moving vehicle the right of way to overtake before cars behind him, or is it whoever makes their intentions clear to other road users first?

If he had pushed me off the road and it went to insurance claims, who would be considered to have been in the wrong?

bigSuzi12

einheisserschre wrote: »

Hey all,

This morning on my way to work, I was stuck behind a tractor with 2 other cars in front of me. When the chance arose, I checked my mirrors, indicated and waited 3 seconds before pulling out to make sure the car behind me saw my intention.

Everything was going well until the first car behind the tractor indicated and moved out immediately, nearly pushing me off the road. It was only after a blast of the horn that he realised I was there.

With this idiocy aside, is there a rule of the road that gives the first car behind a slow moving vehicle the right of way to overtake before cars behind him, or is it whoever makes their intentions clear to other road users first?

If he had pushed me off the road and it went to insurance claims, who would be considered to have been in the wrong?

He should have checked his mirror before pulling out. He was in the wrong as you were already engaged in the overtake

Michael 09

I would say that he was at fault, you were legitimately over taking and HE would have hit YOU.

Very poor driving on his behalf. Put it down to a near miss

josey_whale

He was in the wrong!

Atomic Pineapple

Apparently overtaking 3 vechicle's in one go is dangerous overtaking these days according to the gardai.

Someone else on boards reported being stopped by the Gardai for overtaking 2 cars and a tractor perfectly safely.

Ghost Train

http://www.rotr.ie/rules-for-driving/good-driving-practice/overtaking.html

# Give way to faster traffic already overtaking from behind.
# Before overtaking check that the way is clear, check in your mirror and blind spots to ensure another vehicle is not approaching from behind. Give your signal in good time, move out when it is safe to do so, accelerate and overtake with the minimum of delay.

eden_my_ass

He was in the wrong for not checking his mirrors, however in an judgement of blame had there been an accident I imagine it would depend on where and how impact occurred, if it looked like you held your ground and charged on rather than lifted off to avoid collision, you could possibly share some blame. Right and wrong doesn't work that simply when it comes to claim time!

I've been in the same situation though and reacted the same as you, not much else you can do, its a pity theres so many ignorant morons on the road though.

Wossack

draffodx wrote: »

Apparently overtaking 3 vechicle's in one go is dangerous overtaking these days according to the gardai.

Someone else on boards reported being stopped by the Gardai for overtaking 2 cars and a tractor perfectly safely.

According to one Garda

I overtake ~30-40 cars in one maneouver on a regular basis :pac:


motorbike

eden_my_ass

draffodx wrote: »

Apparently overtaking 3 vechicle's in one go is dangerous overtaking these days according to the gardai.

Someone else on boards reported being stopped by the Gardai for overtaking 2 cars and a tractor perfectly safely.

I wonder how it would hold up in court if it got that far, considering the tractor might be doing 20-30 miles an hour at most, and the two cars behind (the "i don't overtake" type) are typically hugging the back of the vehicle in front (a sure sign they're not dropping back slightly to plan a smooth and safe overtake). Any expert would surely equate that as closely equivalent to overtaking one car doing 50 mph in terms of risk....

Mr. Presentable

IMHO you shouldn't be attempting to overtake two cars and a tractor in one run. Notwithstanding that, the other driver should have ensured the way was clear for him to pull out.

Mr.David

I've had the exact same experience and it was inches to spare.

Just goes to show how common it is for people to neglect to check their mirrors when overtaking.....they seem to be totally consumed with whats on front of them and forget about what is behind!

Following my experience, when overtaking multiple vehicles in a go I usually give a short blast of the horn as I pull out to reduce the chance of that happening.

Also illustrates the need to balance overtaking quickly (accelerating hard) and not having too high a speed differential between you and the other cars (so that in this case you are able to brake and avoid collision).

whippet

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

IMHO you shouldn't be attempting to overtake two cars and a tractor in one run. Notwithstanding that, the other driver should have ensured the way was clear for him to pull out.

why?

Every situation is different, you can't make a statement like that.

I have over taken 4 or 5 cars in one go and it wasn't a dangerous move while often I have seen people overtaking a bicycle and it was dangerous !!!

Every move on the road is unique and so is the danger associated with it.

Cionád

Mr.David wrote: »

Just goes to show how common it is for people to neglect to check their mirrors when overtaking.....they seem to be totally consumed with whats on front of them and forget about what is behind!

And often whats infront of them is just a view of the car ahead, and they blindly follow it onto the other side of the road without checking if oncoming traffic is close or not, forcing oncoming traffic to slow down (or stop!). One of the most frustrating things I see regularly on backroads.

eden_my_ass

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

IMHO you shouldn't be attempting to overtake two cars and a tractor in one run. Notwithstanding that, the other driver should have ensured the way was clear for him to pull out.

What if the road is straight for 500 metres with no oncoming traffic, low hedges on either side, no housing or sign of people or animals, the tractor is doing 20 mph, the cars in front are bunched and not even edging out or dropping back to see the road ahead....would you "attempt" it?

Cuddlesworth

Mr.David wrote: »

Just goes to show how common it is for people to neglect to check their mirrors

Fixed that for you.

langdang

Mr.David wrote: »

Just goes to show how common it is for people to neglect to check their mirrors when overtaking.....they seem to be totally consumed with whats on front of them and forget about what is behind!

Following my experience, when overtaking multiple vehicles in a go I usually give a short blast of the horn as I pull out to reduce the chance of that happening.

That's legitimate and a safe way to do things (but will rub some of those spacers the wrong way unfortunately) but I have a confession to make - when doing the same thing at night I just throw on the full beams (OSRAM nightbreakers) as soon as I pull out, and just push on past. It's a bit aggressive but there are too many dopes out there...

kippy

OP - according to the rules of the road the person in front of you was "in the wrong" so to speak, as outlined by other posters.

As an aside, I really really hate overtaking - one of the most dangerous maneouvers you can do when driving, no matter what the situation or circumstance.
I've seen a few very very bad accidents either caused by the person being overtaken or by the guy doing the overtaking - some of which were fatal.

eden_my_ass

langdang wrote: »

That's legitimate and a safe way to do things (but will rub some of those spacers the wrong way unfortunately) but I have a confession to make - when doing the same thing at night I just throw on the full beams (OSRAM nightbreakers) as soon as I pull out, and just push on past. It's a bit aggressive but there are too many dopes out there...

Why would you even admit to doing something so foolish, you're basically blinding each driver ahead through their driver-side mirror...its not at all aggressive, its a whole different level of ignorant driving. Please stop doing it.

Mr. Presentable

whippet wrote: »

why?

Every situation is different, you can't make a statement like that.

I have over taken 4 or 5 cars in one go and it wasn't a dangerous move while often I have seen people overtaking a bicycle and it was dangerous !!!

Every move on the road is unique and so is the danger associated with it.

The problem lies in the fact that there are three other unpredictable drivers to get by, and as seen in the OP, a mistake can be made which is made more dangerous by being midway along a long run on the wrong side of the road.

langdang

eden_my_ass wrote: »

Why would you even admit to doing something so foolish, you're basically blinding each driver ahead through their driver-side mirror...its not at all aggressive, its a whole different level of ignorant driving. Please stop doing it.

It's alright, they're usually pointed at the back wheel (or folded in, or missing) on the cars in question.

eden_my_ass

kippy wrote: »

I've seen a few very very bad accidents either caused by the person being overtaken or by the guy doing the overtaking - some of which were fatal.

Thats mostly down to the poor level of education we have on our roads, not because overtaking is in itself dangerous, it should be no more dangerous than driving on a two lane road. When you have people though who do things like helping out by hitting the brakes when they notice they're about to be overtaken (nothing more frightening than executing a smooth maneuver only to find the car in front is falling back on you waaay too fast as you accelerate and move out past it!)

fionnsda

He might have looked at his mirror when you where at his blind spot!
however he should have been more aware of the situation around him long before his decision to overtake.

Mr. Presentable

eden_my_ass wrote: »

What if the road is straight for 500 metres with no oncoming traffic, low hedges on either side, no housing or sign of people or animals, the tractor is doing 20 mph, the cars in front are bunched and not even edging out or dropping back to see the road ahead....would you "attempt" it?

Huh. The point is somebody did edge out.

eden_my_ass

langdang wrote: »

It's alright, they're usually pointed at the back wheel (or folded in, or missing) on the cars in question.

Aw well, two wrongs do make a right then. Best of luck to you.

eden_my_ass

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

Huh. The point is somebody did edge out.

No, your point was that one shouldn't attempt to pass two cars and a tractor. The OP never mentioned seeing anyone edging out....theres a difference between edging out to see the road ahead and just blindly slapping on the indicator and attempting to pull all the way out.

My point is there are many situations where its safe to do so, as it was in this case. If everyone took your point of view, we'd all be travelling in convoys of cars bunched up behind the slowest thing on the road. Overtaking is not only safe (when done correctly) but also essential to a safer road where cars are well apart from each other. Driver education is the problem, not overtaking.

whippet

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

The problem lies in the fact that there are three other unpredictable drivers to get by, and as seen in the OP, a mistake can be made which is made more dangerous by being midway along a long run on the wrong side of the road.

that is why you have to do it safely.

If you give yourself enough distance between the sides of the cars someone moving out a slight bit shouldn't be a problem and your acceleration and momentum will have you past them before it causes a problem

What makes it dangerous is people who don't really understand what they are doing, driving behind the traffic at 50kph in 5th gear and then move out foot to the floor in fifth and end up driving along side the traffic for an age before managing to get by.

I have plenty of poke in my motor and by dropping down from 6th to 3rd (dsg box) I can be out and infront in plenty of time.

Cookie_Monster

eden_my_ass wrote: »

My point is there are many situations where its safe to do so, as it was in this case. If everyone took your point of view, we'd all be travelling in convoys of cars bunched up behind the slowest thing on the road. Overtaking is not only safe (when done correctly) but also essential to a safer road where cars are well apart from each other. Driver education is the problem, not overtaking.

+1

Overtaking like that is only necessary anyway as people don't keep correct distances between each other. If they did you could overtake those 2 car and tractor in 3 short moves if you felt like it or needed to because of dictating conditions.

langdang

whippet wrote: »

your acceleration and momentum will have you past them before it causes a problem

your acceleration, your momentum and the hardshoulder on the opposite side....:D

MetzgerMeister

eden_my_ass wrote: »

What if the road is straight for 500 metres with no oncoming traffic, low hedges on either side, no housing or sign of people or animals, the tractor is doing 20 mph, the cars in front are bunched and not even edging out or dropping back to see the road ahead....would you "attempt" it?

This is actually the situation I was in. If anyone is familiar with the Thurles/Templemore road, you will know that there's a section of the road, townsland's name is Whitefield. Although there is housing, it's a long, straight stretch and a good opportunity to overtake very safely.

BigEejit

I had to do a good bit of this down in the wilds of Kerry at the start of August. I flash my lights when overtaking a few vehicle at one go ...

Good god the amount of camper vans doing 30mph, with clowns just doodling along behind them with no intention of overtaking, nearly drove me simple

MetzgerMeister

langdang wrote: »

your acceleration, your momentum and the hardshoulder on the opposite side....:D

The hard shoulder on the opposite side would barely fit a bicycle

As mentioned, in my op I left out something. No one edged out to see if the road ahead was clear before I began my overtake. It was due to this that I assumed it was safe for me to do so.

Had there been someone behind me or in front of me who did this, I obviously would have stayed where I was.

langdang

einheisserschre wrote: »

The hard shoulder on the opposite side would barely fit a bicycle

As mentioned, in my op I left out something. No one edged out to see if the road ahead was clear before I began my overtake. It was due to this that I assumed it was safe for me to do so.

Had there been someone behind me or in front of me who did this, I obviously would have stayed where I was.

Ya, it's dangerous when they pull out on ya on a road with no hard shoulder. And as you say, had they been more assertive and taken up a position that signalled they might overtake when the chance arose then you would have given them priority.

The pre-emptive toot of the horn when overtaking seems to be common enough in rural Mediterranean areas (bad roads, lax driving), maybe we should all be at it?

kippy

eden_my_ass wrote: »

Thats mostly down to the poor level of education we have on our roads, not because overtaking is in itself dangerous, it should be no more dangerous than driving on a two lane road. When you have people though who do things like helping out by hitting the brakes when they notice they're about to be overtaken (nothing more frightening than executing a smooth maneuver only to find the car in front is falling back on you waaay too fast as you accelerate and move out past it!)

Overtaking is THE most dangerous manouver you can do on the roads.
Its IS NOT AT ALL no more dangerous than driving on a two lane (I assume you mean dual carriageway/motorway)road. To suggest it is the same is not thinking about the reasons why overtaking is so dangerous.
Driver education and driver awareness are two of the reasons why we have so many issues in this country with road use, that does not make manouvers such as overtaking exceptionally dangerous. So much of what can go wrong is completely outide of your control.

eden_my_ass

kippy wrote: »

So much of what can go wrong is completely outide of your control.

Welcome to driving, where you must learn all you can to be as confident of the control you have over your own situation and to be as aware as possible of the environment you're operating your vehicle in.

Overtaking is not unique in that respect and despite your opinion of it being the most dangerous thing on the road, I can think of plenty of other situations where I've seen and heard of higher rates of near misses and accidents, ever drive on a busy multi-lane roundabout in Ireland lately for instance, I'd happily spend a day overtaking cars rather than a day looping around a roundabout...and I bet I'd have a better chance of getting to the end of the day in one piece overtaking all day!

kippy

eden_my_ass wrote: »

Welcome to driving, where you must learn all you can to be as confident of the control you have over your own situation and to be as aware as possible of the environment you're operating your vehicle in.

Overtaking is not unique in that respect and despite your opinion of it being the most dangerous thing on the road, I can think of plenty of other situations where I've seen and heard of higher rates of near misses and accidents, ever drive on a busy multi-lane roundabout in Ireland lately for instance, I'd happily spend a day overtaking cars rather than a day looping around a roundabout...and I bet I'd have a better chance of getting to the end of the day in one piece overtaking all day!

Not many fatal accidents occur on the roundabout - I would guess a large proportion of fatal accidents occur in overtaking.

I've been driving a good few years (about 200k miles at this stage).
Driving is a dangerous activity, where no matter how "good" or condifent you are or how "aware" of your surroudings you are, it takes very little for you or a passenger to end up in a bodybag through no fault of your own.

BrianD3

eden_my_ass wrote: »

Overtaking is not unique in that respect and despite your opinion of it being the most dangerous thing on the road, I can think of plenty of other situations where I've seen and heard of higher rates of near misses and accidents, ever drive on a busy multi-lane roundabout in Ireland lately for instance, I'd happily spend a day overtaking cars rather than a day looping around a roundabout...and I bet I'd have a better chance of getting to the end of the day in one piece overtaking all day!

How many people die on multi lane roundabouts? How many people die because of bad overtaking maneouvres?

When an overtake goes wrong this is what can happen - surely you can see that this is much more dangerous than most roundabout collisions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWxLaS5Y4s0

Mr. Presentable

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

IMHO you shouldn't be attempting to overtake two cars and a tractor in one run. Notwithstanding that, the other driver should have ensured the way was clear for him to pull out.

Why not, I have often overtaken 10+ car in one run, if you concentrate and be ready for someone to pull out in front its not overly dangerous. If the car in front are not going to make a move I'm not going to sit there like a fool only to miss my chance and get stuck behind a tractor/slow driver for miles and miles more.

Minstrel27

BigEejit wrote: »

Good god the amount of camper vans doing 30mph, with clowns just doodling along behind them with no intention of overtaking, nearly drove me simple

This drives me mad. If a person has no intention of overtaking someone then why drive so close to them. It is this idiocy that will sometimes leads to a person overtaking dangerously on a road.

eden_my_ass

kippy wrote: »

Not many fatal accidents occur on the roundabout - I would guess a large proportion of fatal accidents occur in overtaking.

I've been driving a good few years (about 200k miles at this stage).
Driving is a dangerous activity, where no matter how "good" or condifent you are or how "aware" of your surroudings you are, it takes very little for you or a passenger to end up in a bodybag through no fault of your own.

Um, yes I think we concur that driving is dangerous, that was my point, many aspects of it are dangerous, but "not many" and "would guess" don't exactly prove your point that overtaking is the devil of all road activities...sorry don't buy it yet.

eden_my_ass

BrianD3 wrote: »

How many people die on multi lane roundabouts? How many people die because of bad overtaking maneouvres?

When an overtake goes wrong this is what can happen - surely you can see that this is much more dangerous than most roundabout collisions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWxLaS5Y4s0

I also would like to see the statistics you ask for, however I'm not trying to prove one is the more dangerous, just that there are many dangers out there.

When a roundabout maneuver goes wrong this is what can happen - surely you can see that this is much more dangerous than most overtakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beafgcQOt30

MetzgerMeister

eden_my_ass wrote: »

When a roundabout maneuver goes wrong this is what can happen - surely you can see that this is much more dangerous than most overtakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beafgcQOt30

That's like watching the blair witch project. If I saw waht I was supposed to see, it could be called the car ditch project :pac:

eden_my_ass

einheisserschre wrote: »

That's like watching the blair witch project. If I saw waht I was supposed to see, it could be called the car ditch project!

Pretty poor alright but I just picked the first result I got off youtube, just having a go at people "proving a point" with youtube :P

dr.fuzzenstein

kippy wrote: »

Overtaking is THE most dangerous manouver you can do on the roads.
Its IS NOT AT ALL no more dangerous than driving on a two lane (I assume you mean dual carriageway/motorway)road. To suggest it is the same is not thinking about the reasons why overtaking is so dangerous.
Driver education and driver awareness are two of the reasons why we have so many issues in this country with road use, that does not make manouvers such as overtaking exceptionally dangerous. So much of what can go wrong is completely outide of your control.

That's exactly the kind of thinking that causes problems, how often have I been on perfectly good stretches of road with a slow moving vehicle (60-80 km/h) and the driver behind being to scared/incompetent to overtake.
In most cases the 3rd vehicle will also not overtake, forcing everyone else to overtake 3 vehicles in one go.
My limit is around that mark, I seriously dislike overtaking more than 3 vehicles and will only do so if I've been stuck there for a long time, have seen from previous clear stretches of road that the cars ahead have no intention of ever overtaking and the whole thing moves 60 km/h or slower.
Then I will overtake more than 3 cars.
I have seen cars following trucks at 80 km/h on a motorway because the drivers are SO scared and useless that they won't even overtake on a motorway, they just set off, get stuck behind whatever slow moving vehicle and follow it all the way.
This kind of driving creates a new danger just as bad as the slow moving driver who is creating the holdup in the first place, because finally people will get fed up and start taking risks and the longer the wait, the bigger the risk people will eventually take.
Any counterargument of "well they shouldn't take risks then!" is perfectly logical and exactly what I'd expect to hear in this discussion, but you're failing to take human nature into account.
Since we're not living in a perfect world people will do dumb stuff, so our solution should not revolve around trying to change basic human nature (not gonna happen), but remove the cause for this behavior in the first place.
Dual carriageways and motorways have helped a great deal, but people will always overtake, simple as.

kippy

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

That's exactly the kind of thinking that causes problems, how often have I been on perfectly good stretches of road with a slow moving vehicle (60-80 km/h) and the driver behind being to scared/incompetent to overtake.
In most cases the 3rd vehicle will also not overtake, forcing everyone else to overtake 3 vehicles in one go.
My limit is around that mark, I seriously dislike overtaking more than 3 vehicles and will only do so if I've been stuck there for a long time, have seen from previous clear stretches of road that the cars ahead have no intention of ever overtaking and the whole thing moves 60 km/h or slower.
Then I will overtake more than 3 cars.
I have seen cars following trucks at 80 km/h on a motorway because the drivers are SO scared and useless that they won't even overtake on a motorway, they just set off, get stuck behind whatever slow moving vehicle and follow it all the way.
This kind of driving creates a new danger just as bad as the slow moving driver who is creating the holdup in the first place, because finally people will get fed up and start taking risks and the longer the wait, the bigger the risk people will eventually take.
Any counterargument of "well they shouldn't take risks then!" is perfectly logical and exactly what I'd expect to hear in this discussion, but you're failing to take human nature into account.
Since we're not living in a perfect world people will do dumb stuff, so our solution should not revolve around trying to change basic human nature (not gonna happen), but remove the cause for this behavior in the first place.
Dual carriageways and motorways have helped a great deal, but people will always overtake, simple as.

Are you suggesting I am an incompetent driver?

I made the point that overtaking is the most dangerous manouvre on the roads, in my opinion. I didnt say that I dont overtake.

Just a few articles on overtaking:
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/traffic-transport/wrong-overtaking-main-cause-of-fatalities-on-the-road-1.90270
http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news604/nc611305.html
(I would genuinely like to get some more relevant ones but all I have are anecdotes)

Having driven over 200k miles I have seen numerous near misses from guys (generally) - almost going head on into (innocent) cars coming the opposite direction and indeed a couple of fatal accidents where either the innocent or the overtaker werent so lucky. It genuinely scares me that there are people out there who put my welfare at risk on a daily basis overtaking where it is not safe to do so, no matter what horsepower their engine.

Mint Sauce

As a recently-ish new driver (test passed), over taking is still one of the things i am still wary of. On at least two occassions i have had the car i was passing speed up on me.

Most recent was on a single carriage way, national road, no hard shoulders. Car in front driving well under the limit, 100kph section, never getting over 70-80, contantly braking, dropping to as little as 30. In the end i dropped to 4th, held back and waited for a suitable section to over take. Car behind me seemed to have the same idea as could see them in my mirrors edging over the white line as if they were looking for a gap.

Came across a suitable section, long straight, car infront showing no signs of speeding up, nothing coming towards us, broken white lines, plently of time to pass, indicating, up to 5th, sped up, mirrors, out i pull, as drawing level, said car appeared to speed up as was now matching my speed (near the 100 mark) leaving me almost hanging in the oncoming lane (still clear thankfully). Now thankfully i was able to get past them, and back in the correct lane before a return to solid white lines, and end of long straight.

Question is, if i was no longer able to get past them, due to them speeding up and now reaching or being close to the speed limit, what would have my options been, apart from me having to go over the limit to get past them, i doubt hanging back and pulling back in behind them was an opition as the car behind me had taken my spot behind them, and was probably also likely to have tried to over take as well.

irish-stew

irish-stew wrote: »

what would have my options been, apart from me having to go over the limit to get past them, i doubt hanging back and pulling back in behind them was an opition as the car behind me had taken my spot behind them, and was probably also likely to have tried to over take as well.

I wouldn't even have been looking at my speed tbh, as a general rule overtaking moves should be done as quickly as possible, the less time on the wrong side the better. If that means going over the speed limit so be it.

I dont know what car you are driving but I would very rarely be using 5th gear while overtaking at the speeds you describe., drop to 3rd and into 4th during the move would be my usual way of doing things. Especially when something like what you describe happens and you need to speed up quickly, 5th will not offer you a burst of acceleration (at the speeds you describe).

MetzgerMeister

Elliana Rapid Gent wrote: »

If that means going over the speed limit so be it.

Not trying to have a go or anything but if you need to break the speed limit to overtake, why are you overtaking in the first place?

langdang

Elliana Rapid Gent wrote: »

I wouldn't even have been looking at my speed tbh, as a general rule overtaking moves should be done as quickly as possible, the less time on the wrong side the better. If that means going over the speed limit so be it.

I dont know what car you are driving but I would very rarely be using 5th gear while overtaking at the speeds you describe., drop to 3rd and into 4th during the move would be my usual way of doing things. Especially when something like what you describe happens and you need to speed up quickly, 5th will not offer you a burst of acceleration (at the speeds you describe).

This is the practical common sense answer, but will unfortunately upset the "won't someone think of the children, every time you exceed the limit God kills a kitten" brigade.

Unless you have a very big engine Irish Stew,(not applicable by the sounds of it) you will have eff all power for overtaking with the revs under 3500 RPM (1.4 petrol non turbo etc, ie the typical Irish engine).
Revving a petrol car to 5k or 6k rpm will not make it explode unless you've seriously neglected it and you are very unlucky...

einheisserschre

einheisserschre wrote: »

Not trying to have a go or anything but if you need to break the speed limit to overtake, why are you overtaking in the first place?

If someone is driving within 10 or 15km/h of the speed limit I wont sit behind them and I don't think 10km/h is enough of a speed difference to complete a quick overtake. There are plenty of other reasons for instance: people who speed up to the speed limit on a straight but needlessly drive slowly on other sections of the road, you will need to break the speed limit to get past them on the straight.

Cookie_Monster

irish-stew wrote: »

Came across a suitable section, long straight, car infront showing no signs of speeding up, nothing coming towards us, broken white lines, plently of time to pass, indicating, up to 5th, sped up, mirrors, out i pull, as drawing level, said car appeared to speed up as was now matching my speed (near the 100 mark) leaving me almost hanging in the oncoming lane (still clear thankfully). Now thankfully i was able to get past them, and back in the correct lane before a return to solid white lines, and end of long straight.

why on earth would you change up to 5th before going to overtake, it'll just slow you down?
I always change down to 3rd or even 2nd sometimes to get the power and accel to do it as quick as possible.

Mint Sauce

Elliana Rapid Gent wrote: »

I wouldn't even have been looking at my speed tbh, as a general rule overtaking moves should be done as quickly as possible, the less time on the wrong side the better. If that means going over the speed limit so be it.

I dont know what car you are driving but I would very rarely be using 5th gear while overtaking at the speeds you describe., drop to 3rd and into 4th during the move would be my usual way of doing things. Especially when something like what you describe happens and you need to speed up quickly, 5th will not offer you a burst of acceleration (at the speeds you describe).

whole manover didn't take to long, it was just that bit of 'oh my god' when thet decided to speed up as i was going past them

einheisserschre wrote: »

Not trying to have a go or anything but if you need to break the speed limit to overtake, why are you overtaking in the first place?

in my case the car in front had had no got above 70-80, and only seemed go beyond that when i tried to get past them.