Overtaking on a single carriageway of a public road is potentially the most dangerous manoeuvre you can make and it is therefore something that requires careful preparation and planning. Also, when reading this series of four chapters that devoted to the topic of overtaking, it should always be remembered there is no rule or law that says you have to overtake. It is a voluntary action and is not to be taken lightly.

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 important that not only the preparation is completed in a thorough and diligent manner, but also the manoeuvre itself.

What we are going to talk about in this chapter is the very beginning of the overtaking process, and that is the identification of the road environment in which the opportunity may arise, and then being able to anticipate when that opportunity may present itself within that environment. This is a process that starts right back where you first have the idea that you would like to pass the vehicle travelling ahead, and the point where you start to consider when and where you may have the opportunity. How many times do you miss a good overtaking opportunity simply because you were not ready for it when the moment presented itself? This is where anticipation and preparation comes in, and it is quite an exacting skill that you need to learn if you are to work out where and when your chance of an overtake will happen, and to recognise the approach of that moment before it actually arrives.

Anticipation is one of a set of three vital components needed during the preparatory stage of an overtaking manoeuvre, and all three will be required as a group if that 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 that will tell if the manoeuvre is possible, or indeed if it is appropriate, is all about looking for the clues. An example of this may be that you are following the target vehicle along a road where there is a solid double centre white line system in force, and upon seeing that the solid line applying to you is changing to a broken line, you take this as a sign that an overtaking opportunity may be about to present itself. There are many others too, and as we go though this subject you will see we have highlighted many of them.

You will hear us talk about two positions in relation to overtaking, these being the Safe Follow and the Overtaking positions. The Follow Position is a safe following distance that you would use when pacing the target vehicle as you travel, being just far enough back so you can stop in an emergency without running into the back of it, but close enough so as not to lose touch should you begin to anticipate the approach to a passing opportunity. The Overtaking Position is where you have anticipated that an overtaking opportunity is imminent, and so you have closed the gap between yours and the target vehicle, so as to reduce the amount of distance between (dead ground) that you will need to cover before overhauling the other vehicle when you begin to manoeuvre This reduces the amount of time that you are going to spend completing the whole procedure.

The Overtaking Position is a place from where you move out to make your final assessment prior to committing to the overtake itself. However, we will talk more about that part later, as for the moment this chapter is all about the identification of an opportunity and the subsequent preparation that is required prior to commencing the overtaking manoeuvre.

To effectively anticipate an opportunity you need to first maintain as much of a clear view of the road ahead as possible, otherwise you are not going to get any information at all. It will be from the initial viewpoint whilst in the Follow Position that you will gain the information to decide if there is likely to be an overtaking opportunity at all.

To do this effectively you are going to have to get used to moving the car around on the road. No staring at the rear number plate of the preceding vehicle, as you are going to have to break that invisible tow rope and begin driving the road for yourself. We all know about edging out to the right when making an attempt to see passed that truck you are following; trying to see if there is anything coming the other way, don’t we? We have all done it ourselves at some time or another, but there is absolutely no earthly point in edging out to try and see around the outside if the information you need can only be obtained by looking up the left side. Yes, the view up the left side of the vehicle will very often reveal far more useful information than ever you will get by trying to peep around the outside.

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 placing yourself well in to the left there will come a point at which you get a really good view of what is going on ahead through looking up the inside. You need to be in a verge-hugging position through the bend, and be far enough back, to be able to maintain that view of the road ahead of the vehicle you are following, looking out for when the road is beginning to straighten and then to see what the road environment looks like that you are about to enter. It is when anticipating that point that you begin your preparation process.

Another and often fruitful place where the potential for an overtaking manoeuvre can be found is coming out of a right hand bend. The all-important view ahead of the target vehicle will happen due to the position of your vehicle relative to that of the target vehicle, as you both come out of the bend. For a moment there will be a clear view of the road ahead, just before the road straightens out, but that view will be lost again as soon as the file of vehicles straightens out.

is oncoming traffic, don't just dismiss the situation as an overtake that is not going to happen, because that may not be the case. Take a deeper look and read more detail from the scene.  Before you lose your view try to identify the last vehicle in the oncoming line, so after you have moved back in to the left, and once that vehicle has passed by, you can use it as a marker to indicate when it may be safe to have another look. You will see this demonstrated many times within the video clips that we have lined up for you in part-3.

Also, when you go out for your first peak, don’t just look at what is coming towards you, look beyond and into the distance to see which way the road travels ahead. For example, there may be two cars coming towards you, but you may also see that beyond them the road bends to the left, which should tell you that you will need to adjust your position as shown in the first diagram, so as to be ready for the view to appear to the nearside of the target vehicle. However, if that glance up the road told you the road bends to the right, you know that you can move up a little tighter to your target vehicle, tuck over to the left and wait for the view to open out as you come off the bend. So may drivers only see things in two dimension and miss out on so much available information.

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

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 target vehicle will not necessarily give you enough information to commit to an overtake, but should be used only to gain enough information to allow you to step out across the road for the real good look that will give you the complete picture. Getting that all important visual information of the environment ahead to determine whether or not you have a real opportunity to make progress is one thing, but if you are not prepared in other ways then even though the opportunity has presented itself, it will all go to waste if you can do nothing with it.

When you recognise the appearance of a passing opportunity you will need to prepare for it and that starts with another good quality check of your rear view mirrors - all of them, as you need to know what is going on behind you as much as what is happening in front. Next, you will need to select the appropriate gear that is going to provide you with the required degree of response from your car to carry you through safely. When considering your choice, just think which gear ratio is going to give you the required amount of power to make a swift passing manoeuvre and give you the range in engine revs to fully complete the overtake, preferably without having to make another gear change whilst doing so. We refer to the part where the required gear is selected as loading the gun, which as the metaphor suggests, means the car is prepared to a state of readiness so that it will instantly respond when required.

Just to re-cap in conclusion to this first page, follow the target vehicle at a safe distance that is far enough back to leave a good safety gap, but close enough to remain in touch with it. When the visual clues tell you there is the potential for an opportunity to overtake about to appear, check all mirrors, select a responsive gear for the speed you are travelling and close up more tightly on the rear of the target vehicle to reduce the amount of dead ground. Maintain a position from where you can see as much of the road ahead of that vehicle as possible, plan the manoeuvre by assessing if you are going to realistically complete it in full by plotting when you are going to pull out, and more importantly, work out where you are going to return to the correct side of the road. If the plan doesn’t come together, and it doesn’t look as though a second opportunity is going to appear instantly, drop back to the safe following position to give the driver ahead some breathing space, so as not to appear intimidating, or put that driver under pressure. If you do put that driver under pressure by pressing him or her too closely there is a good chance that he or she will actually slow down, and this reaction to your overbearing presence will then impede your progress even more.

When you have finished reading this page, and watching the video clips, please move on to the second of four parts in our series of Driving Hints and Tips on Overtaking