Planning & Preparation For Overtaking

It has often been said, as with many things in life, that good preparation holds the key to a successful outcome, and that is certainly true where overtaking is concerned. It is not only important that preparation is completed in a thorough and diligent manner, but also the manoeuvre itself needs to be planned, and with a back–up plan available.

What we are going to talk about in this chapter is the stages of preparation required for effective overtaking on single acarriageway roads. This will take you from the very beginning of the overtaking process, right through to the end.

We start this by thinking about how we can identify our approach to the type of road environment in which the opportunity may arise, and how we may be able to anticipate when it is about to present itself. This process starts right back where you first have the idea you would like to pass the vehicle you are following, and is also the point where you start to consider when and how you may begin preparing for the manoeuvre.

Missed Overtaking Opportunities

How many times do you miss a good overtaking opportunity simply because you were not ready for it at the moment it presented itself? This is where anticipation and preparation comes in, and it is quite an exacting skill to work out where and when the opportunity of an overtake will happen; to recognise the approach of that moment before it actually arrives.

Anticipation is one of a set of three vital components needed to complete an effective overtaking manoeuvre, and all three will be required as a group if the intended manoeuvre is to be successful. The other two are, Observation and Planning. Without good observation there can be no anticipation, and if you are not anticipating and observing, then you certainly cannot plan for the event.

Obtaining the visual information will tell you if the manoeuvre is possible, or indeed if it is appropriate, and it is all about looking for the clues. An example of this may be that you are following the a vehicle on a section of road with a solid double white line system in force.

Upon seeing ahead the line system is about to break in your favour this could be a sign that an overtaking opportunity may be about to appear. There are many other clues too, and as we go through this subject, you will learn of many more.

The Follow Position & The Overtaking Position

You will hear us talk about three positions in relation to overtaking, the Safe Follow, the Overtaking Position and the Launch Position. The Follow Position is a safe distance that you maintain between the front of your vehicle and the rear of the one ahead. This distance needs to be just far enough back so you can stop in an emergency, without having a collision, but close enough so as not to lose touch should you anticipate the approach of a passing opportunity.

The Overtaking Position is used when you have anticipated an overtaking opportunity is imminent, and so you have closed the gap on vehicle you wish to pass, thus reducing the amount of distance between the two. This distance, or separation gap between vehicles, we refer to as dead ground.

By moving up to the Overtaking Position you are reducing the amount of dead ground and that means you will reduce the amount of time that you are going to spend on the offside of the road completing the whole overtkaing procedure. However, there is no point closing up and into the ovetaking position if your view of your overtaking opportunity becomes blocked by the vehicle you wish to pass.

The next stage is the Launch Position, but we will come that a little further on, as it does require some detailed discussion.

Moving The Vehicle Around Within The Road

To maintain your view of the road ahead from behind another vehicle you are going to have to get used to moving the car around within the road. You will need to continually alter your road position in relation to the preceding vehicle, both laterally and by separation distance.

There is to be no fixation with the rear number plate ahead please, as you will need to look beyond that vehicle and into the far distance. You are going to have to break that invisible tow rope and begin driving the road for yourself, and you can only do this if you can see the road for yourself. So how do you see what is going on down the road ahead?

You all know about edging out towards the centre of the road when trying to see beyond that large truck you have been following for miles. Everyone has done it at some stage or another when looking for the elusive passing opportunity.

However, there is absolutely no earthly point in edging out into the middle of the road to see around the outside when the information you need can only be obtained by looking up the inside. The view up the left side will very often reveal far more useful information than ever you will get by trying to peep around the offside.

Bends in The Road Make Good Overtaking Opportunities

Believe it or not, one of the most effective places to overtake is at the exit to a bend. For example, if you are travelling around a left–hand curve, and that curve is coming to an end, by using the nearside (inside) view, and at a certain point as the road begins to straighten, you will get a really good view of what is ahead.

You do need to be in a verge–hugging position through the bend, and be far enough back to be able to take advantage of it when it happens. You also need to have your vehicle prepared, and that means being ready in the most responsive gear in relation to the road speed, so that when you do go for the overtake, it can be done instantly and cleanly.

The field of vision is directly affected by your road position

Looking at our first diagrams, you will see the shaded areas represent the parts of the road that are hidden from the view of the driver of the red car. Part of the reason this is so is because he or she is following the vehicle too close, and whilst in a poor road position. No amount of trying to look around the outside of that blue truck is going to give any information of what is ahead.

In the second diagram, the driver of the red car has this time made a dramatic difference in terms of improving the view and has achieved this only by adjusting the position of the car by a couple of feet to the left. It is remarkable how much of a huge difference there can be made to the range of vision just by changing the lateral position of the car on the carriageway by a small amount.

Right Hand Bends Provide Good Overtaking Opportunities

Another fruitful place where there is often the potential for an overtaking manoeuvre is coming out of a right hand bend. The all–important view will happen as both yours and the vehcile you are following drive out of the bend, as for a moment, there will be a clear view of the road ahead and just before the road straightens out.

However, that view will be soon lost again as the file of vehicles straightens out, so you have to be ready to pounce with the overtaking gear already loaded and ready to fire.

The next diagrams illustrate this well, showing the point where there will be that fleeting visual opportunity, which is there one moment, but gone in the next. Again, as with the other diagrams, the shaded areas represent what will be hidden from the view of the driver of the red saloon car.

When travelling on a straight section of road, as seen in the second illustration above, it doesn’t matter which side you use to try and look beyond the vehicle ahead, as you are not going to see very much at all. When faced with this scenario you have to drop way back until you can see enough to allow you to move out safely for a better view.

However, don’t try and commit to a passing manoeuvre just yet, as from way back there you are not going to be ready and there is a lot more to discuss before you can think about doing the actual act of overtaking.

By assuming that position you can be ready for the view to appear to the nearside. However, if that previous glance up the road told you the road bends to the right, you know that you can move up a little tighter to the vehicle ahead, tuck over to the left and wait for the view to open out as you come off the bend. So many drivers only see things in two dimension and think in a singular manner, missing out on so much available information.

Other Methods by Which to See More of The Road Ahead

In terms of how you get your view, and we have already given you some advice on how you can exploit opportunities to do this, there are a few more tricks that can be used. Looking under a large vehicle, between the wheels and under the axles as it drives over a bridge or brow of a hill is a good one. But you have to be ready for it, and being ready for it means being in the right position to see it.

Exploiting your height advantage when on high ground is another useful method. When you are at the top of a hill, or at least somewhere between there and the bottom, you may be able to see the road stretching away across the valley.

Even if you can’t see enough to overtake at this point it may well give you some information as to where a potential opportunity is going to present itself. Cross–views at bends provide some excellent visual opportunities, this being the view you can sometimes obtain across the land at the inside of a bend.

The Vehicle Ahead Could be Hiding Another

Vehicles, such as articulated trucks and large passenger carrying vehicles, can very effectively hide the fact that they are following a car, small van, motorcycle, or pedal cycle, and partway through an overtake is not a good time to learn that additional information. Even by looking at the diagram you can get the idea of how an ordinary box van may conceal the presence of a car ahead of it.

When in a line of traffic, if you lose your view at any time, you are going to have to drop back and build up the whole preparatory process over again. Remember, the views of the road ahead from behind the vehicle you wish to pass will not necessarily give you enough information to commit to an overtake.

Getting that all important visual information of the environment ahead one thing, but if you are not prepared in other ways then even though the opportunity to overtake has presented itself, it will all go to waste if you can do nothing with it.

Julian Smith
Ride Drive Limited

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Part–1 Identifying Overtaking Opportunities
Part–2 Planning & Preparation to Overtake
Part–3 Overtaking Another Moving Vehicle
Part–4 Creative Overtaking Opportunities

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This page was last updated
Thursday, 27-Jan-2011

Planning & Preparation For Overtaking