Section 5.4 - Overtaking

Section 5.4 - Overtaking

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Section 5 - Good driving practice

Print this page Section 5.4 - Overtaking

Section 5.4 - Overtaking

Only overtake if it is safe for you and other traffic. Be particularly careful of features that may hinder your view of the road ahead, such as hills, dips, bends, bridges, roads narrowing or pedestrian crossings. Pay attention to the rules on road signs or markings (continuous, broken, single, double white lines) covered in Section 6.

How to overtake safely

Make sure the road ahead is clear so you have enough distance to allow you to overtake and get back to your own side of the road without forcing any other road user to move to avoid you.
Never directly follow another overtaking vehicle.
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.
When you are well past, check the mirror, signal and gradually move in again making sure not to cut across the vehicle you have passed.
Take extra care when overtaking a vehicle displaying a 'LONG VEHICLE' sign. This means that the vehicle is at least 13 metres long and you will need extra road length to pass it and safely return to the left-hand side of the road.
You must not break the speed limit, even when overtaking.

REMEMBERYou must normally overtake on the right. However, you are allowed to overtake on the left in the situations listed below.

You may overtake on the left when:

You want to go straight ahead when the driver in front of you has moved out and signalled that they intend to turn right.
You have signalled that you intend to turn left.
Traffic in both lanes is moving slowly and traffic in the left-hand lane is moving more quickly than the traffic in the right-hand lane.

You must not overtaken when

You are at or near a pelican crossing, zebra crossing or at pedestrian signals.
A traffic sign or road marking prohibits it.
You are approaching a junction.
You are on the approach to a corner, bend, dip in the road, hump-back bridge, brow of a hill or on a narrow road.
You are in the left-hand lane of a dual carriageway or motorway when traffic is moving at normal speed.

What to do when somebody overtakes you

Continue at the same pace.
Keep as near to the left as is safe to do so.
Do not accelerate.
Be alert in case the overtaking vehicle suddenly pulls back in front of you.