Overtaking.

[orys]

As I am now driving sprinters and I do a lot of Scottish runs, I am often in Higlands.

Today I’ve been to Oban, last time I’ve been to Dundee, than via Old Military Road to Elgin and back through Braemar. Simply pleasure.

But now I am on the overtaking subject.

I recon people here cannot overtake at all.

I imagine that you should overtake one by one, starting from the one closest to the lorry/slow vehicle.

But people cannot overtake, so they just drive on it’s bumper. And then you have a long queue of the slow cars which are NOT overtaking the lorry in front.

What drives me mad is that they don’t want to overtake, but they don’t leave a space and you have to get them all at once.

Today I had an annoying situation: I decided to overtake three cars and a lorry, as they were following it for miles and don’t even tried to overtake.

When I started, the first car in the row decided to do the same (maybe he saw me in his mirror and decided that if I think it’s safe, he might give it a try as well) so he just pulled in front of me. Obviously he forgot to put the gear down, so his acceleration was next to nothing.

Therefore I had no chance to safely overtake before the bend (even he was lucky that noone was coming opposite way) and I decided to cut between two cars left.

For the second car it would took only taking a foot of the gas pedal for a half of the second to regain safe distance after I pulled in front of him, but he decided that flashing lights and honking horn at me will do more for road safety… What he thought? That I will stay on the right lane to make him comfortable?

He decided to ignore fact I am now in front of him and kept driving as he was going before, so at my rear bumper until I managed to overtage first car and a lorry…

There is other common situation when I am overtaking. I am from Poland, most of the trunk roads are single carriage with very high volume of traffic from bicycles and tractors to cars and crazy motorbikers, so if you can’t overtake, prepare that your average speed will be the one of the tractor or in the best case overloaded 30years old Jelcz lorry. As I am not happy with driving 30km/h all the time, as most Polish drivers, I overtake so I am used to it. I know how to judge a distance and therefore I can overtake even if the stretch of the empty road ahead is shorter than 25 miles.

So I am overtaking, I am pulling back safely, there is enaugh space to do safely the same by 5 or 6 cars, yet the driver of the oncoming car thinks it’s appropriate to flash lights and show me some disaprobating gestures…

That’s makes me angry. I do understand that most British car drivers drives on the motorways or short disctances on the crowdy English single carriage roads, or on the empty Scottis roads, so they are not used to overtaking. But why they do not let others to do it?

I have to say that many truckers are also to blame.

If you drive at your 56, don’t drive at the bumper of the preceding lorry. Leave me a space, if I want to go 70 (yeah, I know, I shouldn’t go 70, but you shouldn’t go 56 ) it’s easy for me to overtake one lorry, but to overtake two is often too much.

[rob_k]

This ■■■■■■ me off no end as well (the bit about them not leaving a gap and refusing to overtake). I used to get it every weekend on the A65 from Skipton to Kendal. There are very very few places along there to overtake as much of it is twisty but I had the same thing happen to me once where you start overtaking and then the one sat behind the truck then decides to overtake without getting their toe down, causing me to have to brake whilst overtaking.

I remember once when I was coming from Whitby down to Scarborough, just as you leave the town the road is straight and climbs up to a small crest and then it levels out and there’s about 0.75 mile of straight flat road before a double bend and a junction. I’d come up to that crest in a line of traffic doing about 20mph but couldn’t see what the hold-up was. When I crested the hill I could see about 25 cars in front there was a tractor, but no-one was overtaking it despite a clear 0.75 mile stretch of road with nothing coming the other way. WTF? So after a few moments to do some quick mental calculations of my acceleration vs. length of queue vs. how much clear road I could see, I decided to go for it and took the whole 25 cars + tractor in one go . As I went past one guy, he was blasting his horn at me and giving me coffee bean gesticulations out of the window. WTF . People just need to learn how to drive. Simple as.

[brados]

The average drivers in this country just do not understand or know how to overtake - they have never been “trained” in the art of it and so think that it is a bad piece of driving, you see Mr and Mrs average sitting behind tractors for mile after mile until I scream by in my scooby and then they too realise that you can actually overtake another vehicle legally, the old A5 from Wall island to the A38 used to be a 3 lane carriageway (1 each way and the devils highway in the middle) until it was all re-done into 2 lanes some years ago, the times I have been on that road with a big long que of traffic and nothing coming the other way is crazy and when you overtake people look at you as if you have commited a mortal sin — stupid tossers!

Do any of them actually ever read or have done for that matter the Highway Code:

Overtaking

138. Before overtaking you should make sureÂ

• the road is sufficiently clear aheadÂ
• the vehicle behind is not beginning to overtake youÂ
• there is a suitable gap in front of the vehicle you plan to overtake.

139. Overtake only when it is safe to do so. You shouldÂ

• not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtakeÂ
  use your mirrors, signal when it is safe to do so, take a quick sideways glance into the blind spot area and then start to move outÂ
• not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut inÂ
• take extra care at night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance
• give way to oncoming vehicles before passing parked vehicles or other obstructions on your side of the roadÂ
• only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do soÂ
• stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the leftÂ
• give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would a car when overtaking (see Rules 188, 189 and 191.

140. Large vehicles. Overtaking these is more difficult. You shouldÂ

• drop back to increase your ability to see ahead. Getting too close to large vehicles will obscure your view of the road ahead and there may be another slow moving vehicle in frontÂ
• make sure that you have enough room to complete your overtaking manoeuvre before committing yourself. It takes longer to pass a large vehicle. If in doubt do not overtakeÂ
• not assume you can follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking a long vehicle. If a problem develops, they may abort overtaking and pull back in.

141. You MUST NOT overtakeÂ

• if you would have to cross or straddle double white lines with a solid line nearest to you (but see Rule 108)Â
• if you would have to enter an area designed to divide traffic, if it is surrounded by a solid white lineÂ
• the nearest vehicle to a pedestrian crossing, especially when it has stopped to let pedestrians crossÂ
• if you would have to enter a lane reserved for buses, trams or cycles during its hours of operationÂ
• after a ‘No Overtaking’ sign and until you pass a sign cancelling the restriction.

142. DO NOT overtake if there is any doubt, or where you cannot see far enough ahead to be sure it is safe. For example, when you are approachingÂ

• a corner or bend
• a hump bridgeÂ
• the brow of a hill.

143. DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For exampleÂ

• approaching or at a road junction on either side of the roadÂ
• where the road narrowsÂ
• when approaching a school crossing patrolÂ
• between the kerb and a bus or tram when it is at a stopÂ
• where traffic is queuing at junctions or road worksÂ
• when you would force another vehicle to swerve or slow downÂ
• at a level crossingÂ
• when a vehicle is indicating right, even if you believe the signal should have been cancelled. Do not take a risk; wait for the signal to be cancelled.

144. Being overtaken. If a driver is trying to overtake you, maintain a steady course and speed, slowing down if necessary to let the vehicle pass. Never obstruct drivers who wish to pass. Speeding up or driving unpredictably while someone is overtaking you is dangerous. Drop back to maintain a two-second gap if someone overtakes and pulls into the gap in front of you.

145. Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow moving vehicle. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.

I will say it again — tossers!

[mike68]

Orys, the British are unable to drive safely and courteously full stop. The death toll of around 2500 per year is testimony to this

[orys]

mike68:
Orys, the British are unable to drive safely and courteously full stop. The death toll of around 2500 per year is testimony to this

Cannot agree.

I consider that average Polish driver is much better in driving techniques compared to average British one, but he lacks on courtesy while have too much of self confidence (poll showed that 90% of Polish drivers place themselves in 10% best Polish drivers ). Result: they are good drivers technically, but they do stupid things without any care for other road users.

Of two evils I would still prefere to drive on Scottish roads with all that people who cannot overtake, than on Polish roads when every two minutes or so you have to do some evasive actions to avoid crashing into someone who thought he’ll do it and reality proved he’s wrong.

I consider British driver as being very polite and helpful, maybe not in big cities, but somewhere in Scotland it’s nearly perfect.

If we only could have drivers, who have Polish driving skills, German respect to the law, British courtesy and a bit of common sense, the world would be perfect

[mike68]

orys:

mike68:
Orys, the British are unable to drive safely and courteously full stop. The death toll of around 2500 per year is testimony to this

Cannot agree.

I consider that average Polish driver is much better in driving techniques compared to average British one, but he lacks on courtesy while have too much of self confidence (poll showed that 90% of Polish drivers place themselves in 10% best Polish drivers ). Result: they are good drivers technically, but they do stupid things without any care for other road users.

Of two evils I would still prefere to drive on Scottish roads with all that people who cannot overtake, than on Polish roads when every two minutes or so you have to do some evasive actions to avoid crashing into someone who thought he’ll do it and reality proved he’s wrong.

I consider British driver as being very polite and helpful, maybe not in big cities, but somewhere in Scotland it’s nearly perfect.

If we only could have drivers, who have Polish driving skills, German respect to the law, British courtesy and a bit of common sense, the world would be perfect

Yes there is a regional aspect, as you get further away from the towns and cities manners do improve, as for the rest of Europe I have only ever driven in Spain so I’m unable to comment on that really. We all have a bit of a moan about our road network, on the whole our roads are fairly safe despite the small minority who drive badly, and also we have the good sense to fit the steering wheel to the correct side of the vehicle which must help

[truckerjon]

Had an example of Czech overtsking today. I was on the M25 going down the slope towards J23 from J24. As I got about 300 yards from the junction, a czech artic pulled out into lane 2 to pass me. I was doing about 53MP:H as truck is resticted to 52 and i was empty. As i got level with the beginning of the slip road, i saw the left indicator of the Czech truck come on even though he was only half way past me. I knew what he was planning, so hit my brakes, lucky
i did or else he would have taken my cab out as he went onto the slip road for south mimms services!
Think he might have been red indian cos a sign on the back said “Driver sits in left seat”