Are You Allowed to Undertake? | Highway Code | BlackBeltBarrister

You can also undertake if your moving from a right hand lane to a left-hand lane because your left hand lane exit is coming up.

Great explanations. Being a HGV driver i come across a lot off middle lane hoggers especially going through roadworks, were i will often undertake the vehicles (they then speed up, and sit alongside until we meet a slower vehicle in front and prevent us from moving out into the middle lane). Car drivers, trucks speedometers are calibrated every 2 year's and are pretty accurate. Cars and white vans are not, and are quite often 3-5 mph out. So when you think your travelling at 50mph through roadworks, its quite possible that your only doing 46mph. So when an HGV comes past doing an accurate 50mph, do not think he is speeding and attempt to block him. Rant Over.

Worth keeping in mind the rules on Lane Hogging, as you should keep left unless overtaking.

If the act of undertaking is enforced under the category of careless, driving, I would be inclined to argue that the definition of carelessness is a lack of care and attention, but my driving was both considered and conscientious when I undertook the vehicle to my right.

I've been using a four lane section of the A1M sporadically for the last twenty years, often in the early hours of the morning when it is virtually empty. I am also often totally bewildered by having to pass another vehicle, whilst in the extreme left hand lane, while they are driving well below the speed limit in the extreme right hand lane, with a totally empty road ahead.

Need to talk about middle lane plodders on multi lane motorways...crossing multiple lanes to overtake is more dangerous than continuing in your left side lane.

Middle lane hoggers are the bane of my life. Very often I'll see the middle and right lanes packed, and nothing in the left lane for a good distance. Nobody wants to move left because they don't want the hassle of moving back into the congested middle lane when they eventually catch up to another vehicle. More lanes is not the answer to congestion because we don't even make full use of the ones we have.

Undertaking is, in itself, not illegal. What may be deemed to cause an issue is what and how you are doing it. i.e. dangerous driving; careless driving. These are what you would get points for.

If you are rapidly changing lanes to overtake or undertake vehicles you will get charged for weaving in and out of lanes and not for over/undertaking.

My understanding is that a motorway has a driving lane and 2 overtaking lanes and that you should drive on the left lane unless overtaking...If you undertake a middle lane hogger in the left lane surely you are obeying the left lane at all times rule and your undertake is only because of middle lane hogger assuming 3rd lane being busy...if the lane hogger was driving in the left lane you could safely over take to the right..if you were stopped for the undertake surely the lane hogger should also be stopped for not driving in the left lane which was the cause of your own stop..

BBB just curious but who has the power to set speed limits on UK motorways? Is it the hogger or the local council? Every time I'm approaching a car going under 70mph in any lane to my right I've noticed the posted sign stays as at 70mph.

Came to this video late. Currently when travelling in the left hand lane of a motorway I will move out to the right hand lane to pass a slower middle lane vehicle and then return to the left hand lane. It seems that provided I remain in the left hand lane I can stay there and pass the middle lane vehicle.

The highway code states, that you must always travel in the inside lane and only use the righthand lanes for overtaking. So, if there is a vehicle in the righthand lane and you are traveling under the speed limit and you under take the vehicle, it is the vehicle in the righthand lane that is committing an offence and should be stopped. I was taught this by one of the first motorway traffic Police officers.

If it's not acceptable as you say, to move from lane 3 into 2 to overtake lane 3 then that makes you a hogger by obstructing traffic behind. I think you should look into this in more detail.

BBB if I overtaking and move back into my original lane are you saying it's illegal for me to undertake? I cannot find where it says that in the UK highway code. I'll have to go to Specsavers😂

I undertake all the time... by driving at a consistent speed, and observing lane discipline by keeping left whenever possible. If I'm doing 70mph in the left lane, and approach a middle lane cruiser going slower than myself, I will not cross three lanes of traffic to pass them, unless I see there will be an imminent need to move to the middle lane to pass another vehicle in the left lane after the undertaking manoeuvre. (I also use my mirrors a lot, which seems to be a lost art these days for most drivers, and look over my shoulder both before moving out, and moving in -- that comes from riding bikes for 35+ years.)

Do Not according to BlackBeltBarrister seems to have 2 opposite definitions in the same sentence. Rule 268 says Do Not overtake on the left, and Do Not move to a lane on your left to overtake. How can the first one be accepted or legal and the other not?

Question. BBB if what you say it true then what danger would moving from lane 3 to 2 and passing both lanes 1 and 3 have that moving from lane 1 to 2 and doing the very same does not have???

Some people seem to have a problem distinguishing the difference between weaving in and out of lanes to get past slower moving vehicles and undertaking. To undertake is legal, the other is not. Then you have others who say you can move from the slip road and undertake any amount af traffic to your right but you cannot move from lane 2 to do the exact same. What a load of absolute rubbish It doesn't give a fiddlers what lane you came from, both are legal.

Thanks. You ommitted the different types of lane markings, one of which designates a left hand lane as a separate road. These often appear quite some way ahead of a major turn off.