Overtaking, as we have said before, is potentially the most dangerous manoeuvre you will make in a car, and one that many will make such unnecessary hard work to complete. This can be excused, however, because the chances are that no one has ever taught you how to do it and so you have been left very much to your own devices in finding your own way of getting by. There is a way of overtaking where the risk to you, and to other road users, is significantly reduced, and a way that makes the actual process so smooth and effortless. Having made the decision to overtake another vehicle, how many people do it will be like this?

Upon seeing what looks like a chance to get passed, most will accelerate towards the rear of the target vehicle, and just prior to reaching it, will swing out to the offside of the road to pass. The drill is then to return to the left side of the road and then brake heavily to bring the speed down to that of the next vehicle up the line, or for a bend etc. We see it every day and you probably even mimic this style yourself when you pass another moving vehicle. Actually, this is a poor way of doing it, and this is why.

When you decide the overtake is available, and you begin making that first move by accelerating towards the back of the target vehicle, you are already part-committed to completing it in full, because if the circumstances change during this phase, and you have to abort the manoeuvre, how do you retreat from it? Awkward isn't it, but actually you are not in too much of a bad position just yet, as you are at least still on your side of the road and travelling fairly straight. However, what if you have progressed to the stage of swinging out to the right before you decide you need to withdraw? How do you abandon the attempt from there and get your car back into a position where you are again following the target vehicle? If you change your mind at that point it really is a not good situation, because now you are having to hurriedly brake and fight with your car to get it back in line with the one you were hoping to pass, and because at that point the car is all off-balance, due to what you are trying to do in recovering your situation, a fight with it is exactly what you end up having.

At the point where you made that initial surge forwards you has already decided that you were going to complete the whole manoeuvre, and because you have committed to it from this stage, any retreat will turn out to be awkward. So, what you have to understand is the method does not have any structured withdrawal plan built in to it and so it is therefore inappropriate to use. Depending upon how far into the manoeuvre you have progressed when the decision to abort is taken, will determine how messy the whole thing becomes, and messy here does not refer to a collision, but to how untidy the process of recovery will be.

You can make a complete spectacle you make of yourself when making your recovery from this style of overtaking, but often you may well get away with it, depending upon what kind of car you are driving and the condition of the road surface at the time. However, for every time that you do get away with it you are increasing the odds that your next attempt will become you worst nightmare. Besides that, when you do start having to wriggle out of the tight spot, what a right twit you will make yourself appear in the eyes of those around you, and then you have to follow the car that you just tried to get passed knowing that driver has got you weighed up as a complete wally.

Even if you do not become interrupted completing the overtake, think about what is actually going on with the car. When you begin accelerating towards the rear of the target vehicle you are applying an increase of power, which continues as you steer to the right to move out to the offside of the road, steer left to straighten, steer left to regain the nearside and right to straighten up. That is four steering inputs all being completed under power, and depending upon the vehicle, that can be a lot of power. This certainly does not do you any favours in terms of maintaining the balance and stability of the car, as with each direction change you are causing a weight-shift, changing the loading on each wheel and tyre, which is hardly the best way to retain absolute control of the car.

We call the above method of overtaking the slingshot or banana method, and we don’t like it, but it would hardly seem fair to criticise without suggesting a better alternative, so here it is and why it works.

From a safe following distance continually adjust your lateral position on the road so as to maintain your view ahead of the target vehicle. When you anticipate that an overtaking opportunity is about to reveal itself, change to, or if already selected, remain in a gear ratio that is going to give you the required degree of response from your car in terms of acceleration to complete the manoeuvre. Now close in tighter on the rear of the target vehicle and match its speed, but without losing your view of the road beyond it. If this means changing road position to do this, then so be it. This is called Catching and Matching, and the reason for closing in at this point to minimise the amount of Dead Ground between vehicles. Dead Ground is the length of empty space between the front of your vehicle and the rear of the one you wish to overtake, and it respresents distance that you have to overhaul before you begin to pass the target vehicle during the execution of the whole overtaking manoeuvre.

The further back the position from where you begin your overtake, the more dead ground you have to cover and so the more time you will take to complete the whole manoeuvre.

When it is clear to do so, continue to match the pace of the target vehicle, but now step your car out to the offside of the road and hold there whilst you have a good hard look at all areas of actual and potential danger ahead. The great thing about this is that you now have a built in escape plan, because if circumstances change so that you have to withdraw, think how easy that will be. As you haven’t yet committed to the manoeuvre from that position, in that you have only got into position ready to launch, to get out of it you simply steer gently back to the nearside with no change in power, with no braking and with no fuss or drama. It really is very slick.

Don’t forget that once you have returned to the nearside, and if there isn't going to immediately be another opportunity to pass, just drop back from the target vehicle to restore your safe following distance so that your manner does not appear oppressive to the driver ahead. You can see how this works in the first of the video clips we have built into these pages for you. Click on the video icon to be taken to the viewing screen.

The sort of things you are looking for that will help you decide if it is safe to pass will be a hidden vehicle ahead of the target vehicle, any obstruction in the carriageway that may cause the target vehicle to alter course, entrances leading onto the road, a change in line markings, in fact anything that may affect your decision to complete the manoeuvre. If the vehicle that you wish to overtake is a truck, or other large vehicle, have a good look into its door mirror to try and gauge if that driver is concentrating on what he/she is doing. Give a single headlamp flash if necessary to emphasise that you are there. The beautiful part of this method is that from out there you can see all there is to see and therefore make a very well informed decision as to what to do.

If the target vehicle is behaving erratically, i.e. lurching about and not holding position very well, it may be prudent not to attempt the manoeuvre at all, but to hang back and see if the situation changes. However, if the overtake is available, you can now squeeze the ccelerator pedal smoothly and progressively, launching the car into the overtake and in a straight line. As you get along side the target vehicle, begin to throttle back so that your car is still being propelled along the road by the engine power, but not accelerating, whilst you ease over to the neaside to regain your normal road position.

If you think about it logically this method allows you to keep the car under full control at all times, because not only does it give you great visual advantages, but at all times you are maintaining the stability of the vehicle to the maximum level. This is because maximum power delivery only takes place when travelling in a straight line and all steering movements take place on a balanced throttle, which all translates to a balanced car. If you are not sure about how it works then try this as a means of gaining pactice.

Take your car onto a dual carriageway or a motorway at a time when the road is fairly quiet. Find yourself a truck or other slow moving vehicle that is occupying the nearside lane and slot in behind it. Having matched your speed with that vehicle, select the most responsive gear for that speed as if preparing for an overtake in a single carriageway road. Next, check mirrors, and without increasing speed, move out to the next lane and hold position for about 2-seconds. Now apply power and complete the overtake, but as you get to the front of the target vehicle, ease the throttle back to a balanced or neutral setting before steering into the nearside lane ahead of it. When you step the car out, and whilst taking that 2-second pause, just consider how easy it would be to return back to the left, as if having to abort the idea of the overtake. Now isn’t that much better than the old banana or sling-shot method?

Remember, like an aircraft pilot, you should never take off if you don't know where you are going to land. Don’t think you can make it up as you go along, otherwise you will quickly find out that you are left out on a limb, and will probably then be taking several bites out of your seat cushion - but not with your teeth!

Obviously the usual common sense rules apply here. When in doubt, hold back, and always be prepared to give ground. Road driving should never develop into a contest and you should never cause any other road user to alter course or speed.

Another type of overtake that needs to be covered is the follow through overtake. This is where one driver will latch onto the car ahead, which itself is completing the manoeuvre, and following it through as if on tow by use of an invisible rope. This is fraught with danger and whilst there may be sufficient space for the lead vehicle to complete the manoeuvre, the driver who is leading you through is certainly not judging the overtake to allow for you in your car following to get through as well. I tis so easy, if you do try to follow, for you to be shut out in the cold with no where to run.

We have said it several times within this series of articles that overtaking on a single carriageway road is potentially the most dangerous manoeuvre that you can complete in a vehicle, as there is planty of opportunity for it to go horribly wrong. Always remember that when following other vehicles, whether dealing with overtaking or not, all decisions you make should only be calculated by you as the individual performing the action or manoeuvre, and when driving on the road, don’t let others drive it for you by allowing yourself to be drawn along by them or you could find you are pulled along into some very awkward circumstances.

Another single carriageway road overtake to consider is the multi vehicle overtake, and in explaining this we stress that it should only be practiced by those who have been trained to a high level of advanced driving, as the process, for the uninitiated, is quite complex. Get it wrong and you have several witnesses who could give evidence against you in a court of law, but get it right and it is a very satisfying achievement.

If you are overtaking more than one vehicle on a single carriageway, and they are travelling far enough apart so as to afford you enough space to slot in between, look at the whole task and then break it down into more manageable pieces. It's a bit like eating a steak in a restaurant in that you cut your food up into pieces that will easily fit into your mouth and so be more manageable to chew on. There is nothing wrong in holding your position on the offside of the carriageway whilst you re-assess the situation, as staying out on the off side gives you two options. Either to stay out to overtake the next vehicle, or to move into the gap to your left. It may be that moving into the left is the only way that you are going re-establish your view of the road ahead, and other times moving to the left will cause you to lose that visual advantage. Often, by staying out on the offside, this may allow you the opportunity to maintain your view advantage and will keep you on the position where from you can safely launch into your overtake. Each overtaking opportunity has to be judged upon its own merrits and circumstances at the time.

In this next video clip, Roger, who is a genuine Ride Drive customer, and our willing film-making participant, completes a five-vehicle overtake, which involves two cars, a van and two lorries, and takes place on a winding B-class rural road. The film is run twice, once with narration and added visual effects to help explain what is happening, and to show the sequence of events in slow motion, and again in real time.

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