Some advice on a overtake I carried out

[anonymous-user]

IcedKiwi said:

You're not pausing to give them a chance to look in their mirrors, you're moving to a position where you can better assess what they're going to do. If the vehicle is maintaining their gap to the one in front, then maybe the overtake is on and you're already in the ideal position to quickly over take simply by pushing the accelerator pedal. If they appear to be closing in on the one in front then you can anticipate that they're planning on overtaking (potentially without a mirror check), and abort the overtake.
If there's not enough clear road ahead to assess that situation and how the other driver is going to react, then there's not enough space for the overtake (even though theoretically there would be if everyone carried on as normal).

Thanks for clearing that up Kiwi.

[CaptainCosworth]

AB57 said:

PS. Isn't a dig at you CC

No offence taken

[_Neal_]

AB57 said:

Just a quick one, you shouldn't overtake using the method CC has outlined when having a less powerful car? Just asking as I'm changing from my E46 to an MX5 soon. You should still move to the offside then accelerate. Not accelerate in your 2 second gap then pull out, regardless of the power of the car, correct?

I'd say that is correct, yes. My 2p would be that perhaps for a single car overtake, in a low-powered car where visibility is excellent, and you can just "flow" around the overtakee without dropping speed, the "run up" approach may be safe. I'd still be hesitant about doing it though, as accelerating into your own safety margin must limit, or cost you entirely, your ability to abort the overtake if needed. Also you minimise the valuable time on the offside to have a proper look, because you're pretty much committed to the move once you pull out.

Unfortunately that may mean that overtaking just isn't possible in certain places if you don't have a quick-enough car, but that's the way it goes.

[TheExcession]

AB57 said:

He was following a learner

Reg Local said:

learner driver

My car has L plates on it - I'm not a learner, but sometimes it is a learner driving.

This reminds me of one of the most important lessons I was taught by a motorcycle instructor 'You see a car with its right hand indicator flashing. What could that mean?'

The correct and only answer is of course 'The bulb works.'

[r129sl]

Is it wise to overtake immediately upon the end of a 30mph restriction and the start of a NSL? Surely there is a high probability that the vehicle in front will accelerate up to the new NSL? Wouldn't it be preferable to let him get away and see where he settles?

I encounter this quite a lot. I am quite strict about observing the 30mph but tend to regard the NSL more as a guide than an absolute. One of my cars is also quite slow to accelerate. Frequently I am overtaken in or shortly after a 30mph zone only to find that the overtaker wishes to proceed at 50mph or 55mph and is holding me up.

[Toltec]

r129sl said:

Is it wise to overtake immediately upon the end of a 30mph restriction and the start of a NSL? Surely there is a high probability that the vehicle in front will accelerate up to the new NSL? Wouldn't it be preferable to let him get away and see where he settles?

I encounter this quite a lot. I am quite strict about observing the 30mph but tend to regard the NSL more as a guide than an absolute. One of my cars is also quite slow to accelerate. Frequently I am overtaken in or shortly after a 30mph zone only to find that the overtaker wishes to proceed at 50mph or 55mph and is holding me up.

They will then post that this dawdler doing 30mph in an nsl then sped up and tailgated even though they were doing 60 (indicated).

There is no perfect answer sometimes other than making sure you acted safely.

[boyse7en]

TheExcession said:

My car has L plates on it - I'm not a learner, but sometimes it is a learner driving.

If the learner isn't driving, aren't you supposed to remove the L-plates?

[r129sl]

boyse7en said:

TheExcession said:

My car has L plates on it - I'm not a learner, but sometimes it is a learner driving.

If the learner isn't driving, aren't you supposed to remove the L-plates?

Dream on.

[boyse7en]

r129sl said:

boyse7en said:

TheExcession said:

My car has L plates on it - I'm not a learner, but sometimes it is a learner driving.

If the learner isn't driving, aren't you supposed to remove the L-plates?

Dream on.

Thought i was right.

"You should take L plates off your vehicle when it’s not being used by a learner."
https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-dri...

[7db]

OP - well done for having a good think about this afterwards.

Only thing I'd add is that watching Reg's videos (good though they are and a fine driver though he is) are not a substitute for overtaking training with a coach in the car with you. Good overtaking is - in my experience - a result of doing nearly everything else in your driving right and then finding yourself in a position where the decision to pass is a complete doddle. It's the queen of manoeuvres.

[Gary C]

HustleRussell said:

5 car lengths isn't enough really unless we're talking sub-15mph.

.

bks, 5 lengths would be fine if there is enough road to overtake, match speed and merge back in.