While driving to do our weekly shop on Saturday morning, we got caught in a long queue of traffic, with a slow driver at the front. The slow driver was quite within their rights to do 40mph in a national (the limit is a limit and not a target); what was painful was to see the tail of impatient drivers bunching up behind, all compromising the two-second rule; none of whom appeared to even considered an overtake when the numerous opportunities presented themselves.
It’s a testament to how important this topic is that Roadcraft, The Police Driver’s Handbook, devotes a whole chapter to it.
It is one of the more hazardous manoeuvres we are perform while driving, requiring the most from out observation, anticipation and planning. We must assess the speed differential of our own vehicle, the one we are overtaking, and any oncoming traffic, to assess if we can complete the overtake safely in our own eyes and the eyes of others involved. Our observation of the road context and conditions must also be greater to ensure that it will be legal and also advantageous (i.e. if there’s a limit change to 30mph shortly after we’ve completed the overtake, what was the point?).
As we approach the vehicle we may consider overtaking, if the overtake is not on, we must make sure we hold at a safe distance as usual, this we call the following position. When we feel the overtake may be on, we move to the overtaking position, generally a little closer and positioned to the right for a better view. Our enhanced view will confirm if the overtake is on or not; we must be 100% sure to move to the next phase. If we are not 100%, we can stay in the overtaking position if safe to do so or revert to the following position if we see oncoming traffic, or the reasonable chance of overtaking reducing (e.g. a series of bends, or junctions coming).
Once sure, after mirror checks and indication, the next step is to move further right until we have a clear path visible beyond the vehicle we wish to pass without any additional acceleration. If still safe to do so, we can then accelerate and pass the vehicle, otherwise we drop back into the following position.
While accelerating, we must of course be sure that we do not breach the prevailing speed limit, so we need to consider this differential at the outset, i.e. if the vehicle we may wish to pass is within 5–10mph of the limit, the distance we need to pass them will be considerable.
As advanced drivers, a confident and safe overtake should be something we have in our tool bag. As an Observer, it’s fantastic to see a driver looking to overtake if held up behind a slower driver, even if it turns out not to be possible.
Until next time, stay safe,
David.