Overtaking a cyclist as a driver - what would you do

[barnesy]

Just a quick question. I cycle and drive and i was in the car yesterday going along a busy road which is one lane each way, it has double white centre lines so no overtaking.

Infront of me were 2 mountain bikers, one on the pavement, his friend on the road. Doing good pace of around 15mph seeing as it was a slight incline.

There were no cars coming the other way but overtaking isnt allowed.

Would you stay behind the cyclist at 15mph for around a quarter mile with drivers behind you getting angry and the cyclists potentially wondering why you are going so slow behind them or overtake meaning going over the white lines?

 

[Matthew_T]

Just a quick question. I cycle and drive and i was in the car yesterday going along a busy road which is one lane each way, it has double white centre lines so no overtaking.

Infront of me were 2 mountain bikers, one on the pavement, his friend on the road. Doing good pace of around 15mph seeing as it was a slight incline.

There were no cars coming the other way but overtaking isnt allowed.

Would you stay behind the cyclist at 15mph for around a quarter mile with drivers behind you getting angry and the cyclists potentially wondering why you are going so slow behind them or overtake meaning going over the white lines?

When people overtake me, they do it everywhere; on the brow of a hill, double white lines, cross-hatchings in the middle of the road, blind corners, oncoming traffic, etc.

You did the legal thing and waited behind them, even if people get stressed behind you, it is technically illegal to overtake in the circumstances.

 

[lulubel]

The law depends on the speed the cyclist is travelling at:

129
Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

I think most people would overtake a cyclist doing 15mph anyway.

 

[Matthew_T]

I think most people would overtake a cyclist doing 15mph anyway.

They would probably overtake the cyclist doing 30mph.

 

[bitmadmax]

Tough call. Most of the time I have been lucky and there is no oncoming traffic, so I'll move right the way over into the other lane, it is always at the back of your mind if something happens to their bike they could end up under your wheels

On the other hand, if you hold back until it's safe you risk annoying drivers behind you and also the cyclist..

 

[Banjo]

Just to reinforce Lulubels post. You are allowed to cross a double white line (with great care)to pass a slow moving vehicle doing less than 10 mph.

If only more people knew this.

 

[Alien8]

The white lines don't make the road any more or less safe for overtaking. If they weren't solid white lines would you overtake? There's your answer. From experience 99.9% of motorists are either ignorant of or choose to ignore the 10mph highway code law.

 

[Simba]

They would probably overtake the cyclist doing 30mph.

Yep. I was doing 33 mph in a 30 zone yesterday and I still had some muppet in a Audi overtaking me, only to turn off 100 metres down the road, I eyeballed him when he was level with me to show my displeasure.

 

[fimm]

I found myself driving behind 4 heavily laden touring cyclists cycling up a hill last weekend. There were double white lines on the road, but they were going so slowly that I could have legally overtaken. But in my opinion I could not overtake them safely, so I sat behind them until we all got round the corner and I could see to pass. Yes, there was somewhat of a tailback behind me, but so what? I did what I thought was the safest thing for me to do. (We did get passed by some roadie who came hoofing it up the hill and dissappeared into the distance!)

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Just a quick question. I cycle and drive and i was in the car yesterday going along a busy road which is one lane each way, it has double white centre lines so no overtaking.

Infront of me were 2 mountain bikers, one on the pavement, his friend on the road. Doing good pace of around 15mph seeing as it was a slight incline.

There were no cars coming the other way but overtaking isnt allowed.

Would you stay behind the cyclist at 15mph for around a quarter mile with drivers behind you getting angry and the cyclists potentially wondering why you are going so slow behind them or overtake meaning going over the white lines?

Solid white lines at the road's centre do not mean "do not overtake", they mean "do not cross" (subject to exceptions).

These days they're used far too often. If it was safe to cross them, I would have done so.

 

[Paulus]

I would of overtaken the cyclist, but only when it was safe to do so. You are not going to cross the white lines completely as if passing a car. Other posters have mentioned the highway code and when you can over take with unbroken white lines, too few people seem not to know what the highway code actually says.

 

[chillyuk]

Solid white lines at the road's centre do not mean "do not overtake", they mean "do not cross" (subject to exceptions).

It may be worth checking the facts there.

I was recently watching one of those police type programmes on TV where a motorcyclist was penalised for overtaking a car but not crossing the double solid lines. The policeman stated to camera that it was a misconception that you can overtake as long as you stay your side of the lines. I cannot say if the officer was correct, and no mention was made of the outcome of the ticket.

 

[Jezston]

They would probably overtake the cyclist doing 30mph.

Even if the speed limit was 20.

 

[davefb]

It may be worth checking the facts there.

I was recently watching one of those police type programmes on TV where a motorcyclist was penalised for overtaking a car but not crossing the double solid lines. The policeman stated to camera that it was a misconception that you can overtake as long as you stay your side of the lines. I cannot say if the officer was correct, and no mention was made of the outcome of the ticket.

wierd.


that isn't what the highway code says , (though I suppose I better checkout rule129 )
165
You MUST NOT overtake

• if you would have to cross or straddle double white lines with a solid line nearest to you (but see Rule 129)

 

[dellzeqq]

I would have stopped the car, set fire to it, and fallen down on my knees to beg God for forgiveness