Overtaking - how fast??
Discussion
Just been stopped by an officer (1st time in 15 years) for overtaking - no ticket, just a grilling.
So, stuck behind a 45mph lorry and 2 cars on a NSL, I overtook the back one - a police car - Enough room, vision, dashed line.... A mile later i overtook the car and lorry on a long straight, again clear vision.... Next thing, i can see him doing the same and nailing it after me - he slams on the brakes about 2 ft from my bumper... Then the lights
He then reckons i was doing 80, bla bla... Goes on about safety, and finishes with "you cant pass a plod without expecting to wind him up...." WTF - that sounds more like he stopped me just because i didnt sit behind giving "respect"
What is the situation with overtaking - The highway code states "move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking" - i did exactly that
, then coasted back to 60... He said that i should do "60, no more" and was adamant that TED or "time exposed to danger" was immaterial.
Seems so bloody pedantic and unnecessary
So, stuck behind a 45mph lorry and 2 cars on a NSL, I overtook the back one - a police car - Enough room, vision, dashed line.... A mile later i overtook the car and lorry on a long straight, again clear vision.... Next thing, i can see him doing the same and nailing it after me - he slams on the brakes about 2 ft from my bumper... Then the lights
He then reckons i was doing 80, bla bla... Goes on about safety, and finishes with "you cant pass a plod without expecting to wind him up...." WTF - that sounds more like he stopped me just because i didnt sit behind giving "respect"
What is the situation with overtaking - The highway code states "move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking" - i did exactly that
, then coasted back to 60... He said that i should do "60, no more" and was adamant that TED or "time exposed to danger" was immaterial. Seems so bloody pedantic and unnecessary
I never check my speed when overtaking. There are far more important things on which to concentrate. Overtaking several cars at once is likely to involve very naughty speeds, so is not to be attempted, unless sure that there are no Police or cameras around (taking as a given that you would only do it in conditions that made it reasonably safe to do so).
cheeky_chops said:
thats my question - highway says "move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking". Its a bit "finger in the air" isnt it??
Re stupid - i dont think so. We were doing 45 on a NSL - he is just pissed off because i did, and 99.9% of people wouldnt.
The highway code states that you must keep to the posted limit so the "move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking" section will require you to do this within the limit, safe or not. The limit is an absolute limit, not variable if you are overtaking. You said that you came down to 60 after the overtake which would indicate that you had gone over 60 when overtaking. To do this in front of a police car is asking for a pull.
Zod said:
I never check my speed when overtaking. There are far more important things on which to concentrate. Overtaking several cars at once is likely to involve very naughty speeds, so is not to be attempted, unless sure that there are no Police or cameras around (taking as a given that you would only do it in conditions that made it reasonably safe to do so).
Likewise.
The speed limit is 60mph. You admit to exceeding that. You also overtook I would presume an unmarked car?
If you overtook a marked one and exceeded the limit to do so, you are stupid and it is no wonder you got the reaction you did!
If the officers presence was obvious, would you take the same risk on passing a speed camera in the hope it was not live and loaded and it was safer to pass the target quicker than the limit allowed?
If it was unmarked, you were unlucky!
Next time you go to overtake, make sure that you do so as quickly and safely as you can. It was bad luck if you overtook an unmarked one which will probably never happen again.
If you overtook a marked one and exceeded the limit to do so, you are stupid and it is no wonder you got the reaction you did!
If the officers presence was obvious, would you take the same risk on passing a speed camera in the hope it was not live and loaded and it was safer to pass the target quicker than the limit allowed?
If it was unmarked, you were unlucky!
Next time you go to overtake, make sure that you do so as quickly and safely as you can. It was bad luck if you overtook an unmarked one which will probably never happen again.
gone said:
The speed limit is 60mph. You admit to exceeding that. You also overtook I would presume an unmarked car?
If you overtook a marked one and exceeded the limit to do so, you are stupid and it is no wonder you got the reaction you did!
So you would pull someone for a perfectly safe bit of driving because they exceeded the magic number for 200m?
Mr E said:
The speed limit is 60mph. You admit to exceeding that. You also overtook I would presume an unmarked car?
If you overtook a marked one and exceeded the limit to do so, you are stupid and it is no wonder you got the reaction you did!
So you would pull someone for a perfectly safe bit of driving because they exceeded the magic number for 200m?
IF THEY DID SO AND PASSED MY JAM SANDWICH TO DO IT THEN 
Considered to be taking the p..s!
If people cannot have a bit of restraint when they are, for the few moments of their lives, in the presence of a marked Police unit and break the law purposefully, then they will get a tug.
They then rely on which way the meeting goes as to which way on the sliding scale discretion is applied!
There are not many marked units about these days. If you cannot hold off and behave for the few moments they may be inconveniencing you, then tough titty!!!
GreenV8S said:
RoSPA Advanced Drivers Association guidelines are (or used to be) that it is OK to exceed the speed limit during the manoeuver (by no more than 10%) in order to reduce time exposed to danger.
That is what i had been told and asked him - he said no - the limit is 60
He was a panda car, not unmarked. I passed him on the 60 limit. I passed the truck over the limit, probably upto 70, but as people say i was paying attention to the road.
Whether i am stupid overtaking a BiB is peoples opinion - i just want to know if i can pass traffic at a "reasonable" speed (eg +10%) above the limit. That also includes if a scamera was located on the road
cheeky_chops said:
RoSPA Advanced Drivers Association guidelines are (or used to be) that it is OK to exceed the speed limit during the manoeuver (by no more than 10%) in order to reduce time exposed to danger.
That is what i had been told and asked him - he said no - the limit is 60
He was a panda car, not unmarked. I passed him on the 60 limit. I passed the truck over the limit, probably upto 70, but as people say i was paying attention to the road.
Whether i am stupid overtaking a BiB is peoples opinion - i just want to know if i can pass traffic at a "reasonable" speed (eg +10%) above the limit. That also includes if a scamera was located on the road
No you can't. ROSPA do not set the law. You break the law at your own risk. Don't think that I don't break the limits but not in front of a marked car.
Having read Roadcraft recently (I've not got the copy with me today), in the 'overtaking' section there is no explicit 'do not exceed the speed limit' statement when you're overtaking (of course, neither is there an explicit 'you can exceed the speed limit'!). The text implies that you should minimise the time in the danger zone, but could it therefore also be implied that you could exceed the speed limit during the manoeuvre to minimise this time in the danger zone?
It's interesting that with Roadcraft you move the car into the overtaking position, which is actually pretty close to the vehicle in front (albeit for a relatively short time and not to intimidate the driver in front).
What are you taught to do regarding your speed during overtaking on a RideDrive course? (I plan to do this course in a couple of months)
How would a BiB react observing this behaviour in a layby, rather than actually being overtaken as was the original incident of this thread?
Julian
It's interesting that with Roadcraft you move the car into the overtaking position, which is actually pretty close to the vehicle in front (albeit for a relatively short time and not to intimidate the driver in front).
What are you taught to do regarding your speed during overtaking on a RideDrive course? (I plan to do this course in a couple of months)
How would a BiB react observing this behaviour in a layby, rather than actually being overtaken as was the original incident of this thread?
Julian
gone said:
Considered to be taking the p..s!
Passing a marked unit - I can see your point.
But if it was a car 3 or 4 ahead of you, and was simply passing a slower road user with judged use of the throttle......
....I don't want to be on the wong side of the road any longer than I have to. And given the number of idiots I've had accelerate when I was passing in an attempt to hang me out to dry (one is one too many), I pass in 3rd gear on full boost.
cheeky_chops said:It may be that your speedo overreads by that much anyway, so you might still be driving at legal speeds .
He was a panda car, not unmarked. I passed him on the 60 limit. I passed the truck over the limit, probably upto 70, but as people say i was paying attention to the road.
Whether i am stupid overtaking a BiB is peoples opinion - i just want to know if i can pass traffic at a "reasonable" speed (eg +10%) above the limit. That also includes if a scamera was located on the road
I think it's a bit daft really, afterall, if there was no police there, you would have done it anyway, infact thats why you did it in the first place!
So, suppose it's just the police saying, "oi, we are here, at least give us THAT much credit"
If they didn't it would be a bit daft, but at least you got away with it.
Better than being snapped by a scamera with no leniancy or common sense!
Just unlucky it was unmarked car, but there is nothing worse than been stuck behind a row of cars in an NSL all parading along behind the slow leader and no one making an effort to get past.
Surely driving slower than the limit, or over-slow for the conditions is just as silly as driving over them, as it makes people do things like overtake too fast!!!
Hmmm
Dave
So, suppose it's just the police saying, "oi, we are here, at least give us THAT much credit"
If they didn't it would be a bit daft, but at least you got away with it.
Better than being snapped by a scamera with no leniancy or common sense!
Just unlucky it was unmarked car, but there is nothing worse than been stuck behind a row of cars in an NSL all parading along behind the slow leader and no one making an effort to get past.
Surely driving slower than the limit, or over-slow for the conditions is just as silly as driving over them, as it makes people do things like overtake too fast!!!
Hmmm
Dave
julianc said:
Having read Roadcraft recently (I've not got the copy with me today), in the 'overtaking' section there is no explicit 'do not exceed the speed limit' statement when you're overtaking (of course, neither is there an explicit 'you can exceed the speed limit'!). The text implies that you should minimise the time in the danger zone, but could it therefore also be implied that you could exceed the speed limit during the manoeuvre to minimise this time in the danger zone?
The "don't exceed the speed limit" should be taken as given because they would not expect people to break the law. Keeping within the law is the constraint on the speed you can go.
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