Crosswords1 min ago
Passing On The Left
40 Answers
Hey all.
Sorry to bring up probably what has been an ongoing debate for years but after reading a few forums I am still stuggling with this one.
Is it legal to pass a vehicle on UK motorways on the left hand side. Apparently some people call it undertaking and some call it passing (both of which seem to sound similar).
To give you an example, and please do read this example because to me it seems 'reasonable'... If you are driving down the motorway at 70mph in the left hand lane (first lane) and a vehicle is travelling in the middle lane (second lane) at 65mph are you allowed to pass the vehicle (with due care) in the current lane?
Another example, if you are travelling in the first lane at 70mph, a vehicle travelling in the second lane at 60mph and a vehicle travelling in the third lane at 65mph are you allowed to pass in the current lane or do you have to cross to the third lane and wait for the vehicle in front to either speed up or move over to the second lane?
Sorry it's a long winded question but in every debate someone has said "It's legal, look in your highway code" but has never provided a link to the highway code where it actually says you can pass in the left hand lane other than when there is congestion....
Thanks,
Sorry to bring up probably what has been an ongoing debate for years but after reading a few forums I am still stuggling with this one.
Is it legal to pass a vehicle on UK motorways on the left hand side. Apparently some people call it undertaking and some call it passing (both of which seem to sound similar).
To give you an example, and please do read this example because to me it seems 'reasonable'... If you are driving down the motorway at 70mph in the left hand lane (first lane) and a vehicle is travelling in the middle lane (second lane) at 65mph are you allowed to pass the vehicle (with due care) in the current lane?
Another example, if you are travelling in the first lane at 70mph, a vehicle travelling in the second lane at 60mph and a vehicle travelling in the third lane at 65mph are you allowed to pass in the current lane or do you have to cross to the third lane and wait for the vehicle in front to either speed up or move over to the second lane?
Sorry it's a long winded question but in every debate someone has said "It's legal, look in your highway code" but has never provided a link to the highway code where it actually says you can pass in the left hand lane other than when there is congestion....
Thanks,
Answers
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Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
This explains it far better than I did
Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
This explains it far better than I did
Just my personal opinion but I personally think it would be far safer to pass on the left instead of doing what many road users prefer to do; get right up behind the numpty and flash their lights like some mentalist at an all night rave. I always used to pass on the right on the motorways, in a way I suppose it does spice up the drive, having to dodge idiots at 2am.
mickrog: what's to say he/she won't move into the third lane? If he/she seems to be so stupid they could do anything. Maybe ramming them up the rear bumper and knocking them over the crash barrier would be the safest option for road users in the future; take the driver off the road with brute force to save lives!
passing just means moving faster than someone else, whatever the lane. Overtaking is a manoeuvre: pull out of one lane, pass a car, pull back into the original lane.
If you're going to overtake, it should be on the right side, not the left. But if you're not changing lanes you can do it wherever you like as ojread's second post says.
If you're going to overtake, it should be on the right side, not the left. But if you're not changing lanes you can do it wherever you like as ojread's second post says.
Often when motorway driving you come across a busy 4 lane carriage way and the traffic is all moving at speed limits but the outside lane is nose to tail traffic with no way to pull out safely so to pull into the left hand lane to pass the middle lane road hogger is far better, IMHO, than trying to squeeze into a gap that isn't there if it is safe to do so.
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Absolutely Eddie
I've been saying for years that after passing your test there should be a compulsory lesson of at least an hour on the motorway before your pass cert is signed. How many of us actually pick up a copy of the high way code after passing? I bet the number is very, very low
The first time I drove on my own after passing was on a motorway and I was terrified - it was dark, wet and I had never driven over 40 mph before and it was completely different to driving on usual roads. Thankfully this was a *ahem* number of years ago and there was far less traffic than there is now
I've been saying for years that after passing your test there should be a compulsory lesson of at least an hour on the motorway before your pass cert is signed. How many of us actually pick up a copy of the high way code after passing? I bet the number is very, very low
The first time I drove on my own after passing was on a motorway and I was terrified - it was dark, wet and I had never driven over 40 mph before and it was completely different to driving on usual roads. Thankfully this was a *ahem* number of years ago and there was far less traffic than there is now
I have always interpreted diz's example thus:
If you are in the inner lane, and a slowcoach is in lane 2 or the lane is slow, there is nothing to stop you proceeding at a faster pace whilst staying in lane 1. That's just going past.
However, if you are in lane 2 behind the slowcoach, to overtake him you MUST pull over into lane 3 and pass on his left then pull back in front of him when safe to do so - what you MUSTN'T do is pull left into lane 1 to overtake him and then pull back into lane 2. That's undertaking and is against the law.
If you are in the inner lane, and a slowcoach is in lane 2 or the lane is slow, there is nothing to stop you proceeding at a faster pace whilst staying in lane 1. That's just going past.
However, if you are in lane 2 behind the slowcoach, to overtake him you MUST pull over into lane 3 and pass on his left then pull back in front of him when safe to do so - what you MUSTN'T do is pull left into lane 1 to overtake him and then pull back into lane 2. That's undertaking and is against the law.
