Overtaking on cross hatchings

laurz121

Lum wrote: »

Poor drawing on my part and an unfortunate typo. Corrected now thanks. And I guess I was wrong on the vehicle type, thought it was just the speed that mattered.

I thought it was just the speed as well, in fact i'm sure it is. So if I was folllowing a car driving at 1 mile an hour on a road with a solid white line and the line continued for 10 miles I would be forced by law to follow this vehicle for 10 hours? That can't be right surely.

Norman_Castle

Highway code,pages 24 and 25 states
DO NOT overtake,,where you might come into contact with other road users,for example,,,where you would have to drive over an area marked with diagonal stripes or chevrons.

You can drive on areas marked with chevrons or diagonal lines if the line around them is unbroken and if it is safe to do so,but not to overtake.

flyingscotno1

Lum wrote: »

Here, I made a handy print out and keep diagram in MS Paint for people's reference



Click for large size

Can I point out that technically the cross hatchings are going in the wrong direction- they go upwards towards direction of travel, and that a solid single line would not be a good marking bar motorway- it would be double whites at the edge of the hatching.

DaveF327

laurz121 wrote: »

I thought it was just the speed as well, in fact i'm sure it is. So if I was folllowing a car driving at 1 mile an hour on a road with a solid white line and the line continued for 10 miles I would be forced by law to follow this vehicle for 10 hours? That can't be right surely.

It is right, unfortunately, although it would be the car in front taking 10 hours to go 10 miles which would be "not right". In the head anyway . That said, there may be parts of the road where you can squeeze past without actually crossing the lines. It's also unlikely than a continuous solid line would last as long as 10 miles.

As mikey72 correctly quotes from the highway code, only the overtaking of particular hazards qualifies for the exemption. To be even more pedantic, the legal definition of "road maintenance vehicle" for this purpose states that the vehicle must be "in use" and displaying a "keep left" or "keep right" sign to the rear. Let's just say that when I overtook a 5mph road roller on a road with double white lines one day, I was somewhat flexible with that definition as it's unlikely a policeman would report someone under those circumstances.

Anyway, to answer the OPs original question:

rev_henry wrote: »

So why did everyone get annoyed with me exactly?!

Because empty vessels make the most noise.

It's a bit like the old biddies who will sit there through several cycles of traffic lights to turn right just because they refuse to move forwards into the box junction just because traffic's busy coming the other way. Or they will sit there refusing to let following traffic through just because the green filter arrow is not showing. Far too many people know the sketchy basics of a rule, without actually knowing the complete set of exceptions which are often encountered far more frequently.

Lum

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

a solid single line would not be a good marking bar motorway- it would be double whites at the edge of the hatching.

I have seen both forms in common use when the near side of the hatched area has a broken line.

I suspect the difference is that when it is a single line at the far edge of the hatched area, it's ok to cross that line too, going completely onto the other side of the road, but when it's a double you must stay within the hatched area to complete your overtake.

C_Mababejive

All agreed but i would add that i always assess and say, if in doubt, dont. You can always pause a while,re-assess and maybe hold back or go depending on your re-evaluation. Almost always though, the if in doubt dont personal rule means..erm..dont.

Strider590

Welcome to the club.....

Chevrons / Cross hatching.... It's all the same under the highway code.

Many years ago I overtook slow moving traffic here (all queued up behind a tractor), just as with one of the previous posters, someone swerved out to stop me and I hit them (practically destroying the front/side of his car). It was their insurance that had to pay out! 100% in MY favour!

HERE



I positively HATE vigilante drivers who force their own made up highway code onto other drivers!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cuecU3Mqno

It's amazing how many clueless morons there are out there......

Oh and..... After a recent complaint I made to the Police about another driver (see my other video), I took the opportunity to ask the officer who took my statement, about overtaking on chevrons. He confirmed that I am in fact RIGHT!

YOU CAN OVERTAKE ON (broken white line) CHEVRONS





Here's hoping this thread gets to the top of Google search results.... (some key words)

Overtaking on chevrons
legal
illegal
highway code

That should do it


Edit - 1 hour later and it's first page

rev_henry

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

Some people just don't like being overtaken.Most drive too close to the car in front and when you suddenly( I say suddenly as to them it is sudden as they haven't been checking their mirrors)appear and try to pull into the space in front of them they see it as pushing in which goes against the British sense of fair play.If I myself am looking for an oppurtunity to overtake and someone passes me then I find it a bit annoying but other than that I just let them get on with it.

I'd sooner someone overtook me quickly and safely than tailgate me for 5 miles because they think I am going too slow.

I had originally thought maybe I pushed in a little in front of the guy who flashed me, but having re read the Code, HE was not maintaining the 2 sec rule, nor was he maintaining a steady speed to let me in.
Strider I quite agree. We have something called Traffic Police to enforce the law, not any motorist who feels like it. If he has a problem he should call the police and allow them to decide, not try to give the driver a ticking off by driving dangerously behind/in front of him. Vids are fantastic btw.

Norman I cannot find the part that mentions the stripes, I found the rest of what you quoted here but without the stripes bit:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

laurz - However in the example you give the 1mph holder upper would himself be commiting an offence; Code Rule 169:
Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow-moving vehicle. Check your mirrors frequently, and if necessary, pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.

DaveF327

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Highway code,pages 24 and 25 states
DO NOT overtake,,where you might come into contact with other road users,for example,,,where you would have to drive over an area marked with diagonal stripes or chevrons.

Bloody hell, I've seen some outdated quotes from old Highway Codes before, but that one is from the 1994 edition!

Back then, hatched areas were few and far between and it was rarely necessary to overtake there. Now that more and more hatched areas are painted to narrow roads down as a traffic calming measure, it is no longer appropriate to advise motorists not to overtake at those specific places. Of course, previous advice about "coming into conflict" still stands, but if you can clearly see there would be no conflict or breach of the law, then pedal to the metal.

flyingscotno1

Lum wrote: »

I have seen both forms in common use when the near side of the hatched area has a broken line.

I suspect the difference is that when it is a single line at the far edge of the hatched area, it's ok to cross that line too, going completely onto the other side of the road, but when it's a double you must stay within the hatched area to complete your overtake.

image 1, should be a broken white line like shown but the other side should be two broken lines I think. Number 2 is O.K under new regs but very uncommon.