Picture from another forum. Mondeo doing 40 mph in a National, pulls over to the left - to allow you to overtake? What would you do?
If no coppers are in sight, overtake... there is no good reason why it should be double whites on a road with that much visibility... You could be past him before the slight bend to the right, easy. Or, be law abiding and squeeze past him on the left side of the white line
If there's nothing coming the other way then overtake as far to the right as you can (he's obviously letting you pass), while being careful not to cross the white line (if you're worried a copper might be lurking). Is it a trick question?
Id probably go for it but it depends on how long I'd been following them, and if I could see far enough ahead. Technically yes it is illegal though.
+1 you're only allowed to cross them if the vehicle you are overtaking ie a cyclist is doing less than 15 mph
Plenty of room to keep your tyres just within the white lines making it legal... He's given you the room why not use it? Like previously said, you can see clearly what is coming, seems a weird place for double whites!
Don't cross them. The driver moved over so you can overtake inside the white lines nice and steady - i only do it when the otherside is clear though just incase.
Hes given you a shite load of room, but even so, if there were no coppers I would go on the other side of the road, and If you got pulled by an undercover say it was for safety. You never know if hes actually pulled over to the left for you, or if hes dozing and drifted, or if hes dropped something in the car and trying to retrieve it, drifting across - you can see really far ahead and theres no need to put yourself in danger by overtaking close in the same lane, even if it is not legal. Most coppers will melt inside if you say "i thought it was safer" - ive done the same with my tinted visor when the sun was setting, and the copper agreed it is safer to wear it than wear glasses under your helmet, as they are not realisticly removeable if you go through a tunnel etc, where as a visor you can flip up.
Wait for a bit, see what he does. After that probably pass the car without crossing the white lines once the road straightened up a bit. So what's the correct answer?
A double white line system consists of three elements: broken / solid, solid / solid and solid / broken. You can cross the broken length if it is safe but you must cut in before the solid line. You can though cross the solid length to access premises or to overtake a horse, pedal cyclist or a slow moving maintenance vehicle ie. road sweeper, as long as their speed is not more than 10mph (rule 129 of the highway code) and of course assuming it is safe. To be legally enforceable all double white line systems must have reflective road studs between the lines. So...in this case, as long as the car gives you room and you dont touch the white lines whilst overtaking then you are ok.
What does it mean "another forum"????? :? "Does not compute!" :? Anyway, I'd probably ping past him leaving as much space between him as I could without crossing the Double white line. BUT It's a judgment call. Not enough information from just a snapshot picture. Speeds of both vehicles, locality, other traffic & environmental factors, even time of day would all effect my actual decision. Oh, and if the police were possibly anywhere at all I probably would just tuck in behind him to keep on the safe side irrespective of the legality . :evil:
that's why I thought it was such a perfect picture - it tells you everything. Car in front is doing 40, you are doing 52 and the speed limit is 60. You can see other traffic (2 in the distance going the same way), see the locality = rural, environment? :? daytime what more would you know if you were actually there.
Far point mate, we're all entitled to our opinions IMHO. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3bfO1rE7Yg[/youtube]
+1 I regularly overtake with far less room than that! No hesitation there. According to the Surrey Police, as long as you don't go over the centre line then you're fine - i.e. you can ride on the white line on your side.. but that's probably just in Surrey.
Get it up on the back wheel, power past the old git while flipping him the bird and shouting obscenities at him? ...now if it was an Audi!
I wouldn't pass there - IMHO there isn't enough space for it to be safe. Some will scoff no doubt but if that is a country road there's a fair chance the verge will have an assortment of rocks and road kill. If you're squeezing the bike between the car and the whites there's no room IF the car suddenly moves out......if a rabbit / pheasant bolted from the left I'd put money on the driver swerving straight into you rather than hitting the animal! It's instinctual in my experience. The IAM use the concept of having a "safety bubble" around you when on a bike. The aim is to ensure nothing enters that bubble. It's a way of ensuring you're giving yourself enough space basically but is quite a handy concept. IMHO squeezing through that gap compromises your "bubble". Also, there's another two cars ahead of you! So, you decide to squeeze though that gap (taking the risk everything will be fine)....to get....stuck behind another two cars :roll: . I'd back off the mondeo and wait until the whites and the road opened up - at that point you can plan all potential overtakes without putting yourself at any additional risk. Finally, thank the mondeo driver once past so he knows you're grateful :mrgreen: . Just to be seen is good when on a bike generally!! If you cross the whites it's 3 points and a £60 fine.....for what? being impatient? You might get lucky but given the other cars ahead and that you'd have to do the same manoeuvre a couple more times it just doesn't seem worth it to me.
