Undertaking (driving)
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Undertaking or, in British English overtaking on the inside° refers to the practice of overtaking (passing) a slower vehicle on the road using the lane that is kerb side of the vehicle being passed, that is to say a lane to the left of the vehicle in countries where driving is on the left or a lane to the right of the vehicle in countries where driving is on the right. The practice of undertaking, therefore, may only usually occur on a motorway or other road where there is more than one lane in the same direction. (Although there may be exceptions in the cases of contraflow bus lanes).
°In the United Kingdom the concepts of inside and outside are reversed when used in reference to road lanes, as such the inside lane is the one closest to the kerb, not the one closest to the centre.
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[edit] Situations where undertaking may occur
The road traffic laws of most countries generally state that, on multi-lane highways, vehicles must keep to the lane nearerst the kerb unless overtaking. This therefore implies that overtaking must occur in the lane towards the centre of the road. Since the traffic in that lane is likely to be travelling at greater speed anyway, this makes perfectly good sense. Conversely passing a vehicle in the kerb side lane is likely to be much more dangerous and/or futile due to the chances of the passing vehicle encountering even slower traffic than the vehicle being passed in that lane. Nevertheless there are some circumstances where undertaking commonly occurs:
- If a slow moving vehicle is encountered in a "fast" lane when the lane one towards the kerb is clear. (In this situation that vehicle itself can be breaking road traffic law because it should have pulled over).
- If a traffic jam has occurred, where all the lanes are congested, the nominally slower lanes may move through the congestion more quickly, and thus vehicles in it will pass those in the faster lane.
[edit] Legal status
Many countries consider undertaking dangerous and therefore designate it a driving offence, however most countries make the distinction between involuntary undertaking (passing centre side vehicles in heavy traffic) as opposed to the deliberate attempt to pass a slower moving vehicle for one's own benefit.
- United Kingdom - Undertaking is not specifically illegal, however drivers should overtake on the right where possible.[1][2] Undertaking in an aggressive or reckless manner could be considered Careless Driving or more seriously Dangerous Driving, both of which are legally enforcable offences.
- Germany - Undertaking is specifically prohibited.
- France - Undertaking is specifically prohibited.
- United States - Undertaking is usually allowed if not expressly forbidden by road signs.
[edit] Undertaking in special lanes
Undertaking in special lanes is generally considered to be much more dangerous and is therefore almost always considered to be an offence. Most countries have the following rules:
- Bus lanes - Generally if the vehicle undertaking is not a bus this would be forbidden.
- Contraflow Bus lanes - Forbidden in all circumstances.
- Hard shoulder - Forbidden in all circumstances.
- HOV lanes - May be allowed if the vehicle in question meets the criteria for that lane and undertaking is not outlawed in that country.
- Cycle lanes - Forbidden in all circumstances.
