Someone else's misjudged overtake - WWYD?
Discussion
I'm driving along from Romsey to Winchester, and I'm just through Hursley in a 30. It's dark and unlit. I'm doing spot on 30 and ahead is an NSL sign, where my intention is to GLF.
I'm being followed by at least one other car. As I reach the NSL and begin accelerating away, I notice a car overtaking the car behind and presumably me too. To avoid prolonging their time on the wrong side of the road, I abort my acceleration.
However I also notice an oncoming car ahead and think that there is going to be a problem, so I brake, again with the intention of doing my utmost to facilitate the already dangerous overtake.
What actually happens is the overtaker aborts his overtake whilst I brake to a stop with him pulling in behind me. I don't think that was ideal and, despite *their* many errors, in some regards *I* made it more dangerous - for starters I could have just kept on accelerating. I found this hard to predict and had to judge a lot quickly, so the majority of my behaviour was based on pre-conceived ideas I suppose.
What would you have done?
I'm being followed by at least one other car. As I reach the NSL and begin accelerating away, I notice a car overtaking the car behind and presumably me too. To avoid prolonging their time on the wrong side of the road, I abort my acceleration.
However I also notice an oncoming car ahead and think that there is going to be a problem, so I brake, again with the intention of doing my utmost to facilitate the already dangerous overtake.
What actually happens is the overtaker aborts his overtake whilst I brake to a stop with him pulling in behind me. I don't think that was ideal and, despite *their* many errors, in some regards *I* made it more dangerous - for starters I could have just kept on accelerating. I found this hard to predict and had to judge a lot quickly, so the majority of my behaviour was based on pre-conceived ideas I suppose.
What would you have done?
Edited by trashbat on Tuesday 6th March 19:31
Similar thing happened to me the other day, approaching the end of an overtaking lane on the crest of a hill so presumably they didn't know what was going to happen and ploughed on through.
I did the same as you and broke pretty steadily to let them past and in. If they started braking too it gets more complicated, not sure what I would do!
I did the same as you and broke pretty steadily to let them past and in. If they started braking too it gets more complicated, not sure what I would do!
Can see how that could have looked messy. If someone is overtaking me i full expect them to abort if they cannot make it as i cannot read their mind i would have stopped accelerating but not braked. generally though before accelerating when there is a speed limit increase you should check mirror first.
Pork_n_Beem said:
Can see how that could have looked messy. If someone is overtaking me i full expect them to abort if they cannot make it as i cannot read their mind i would have stopped accelerating but not braked. generally though before accelerating when there is a speed limit increase you should check mirror first.
Indeed - I did that bit but they went for it as I'd begun gaining speed. I kind of figured if they were the type to overtake whilst still in the 30, they would be going for it, but apparently not. I don't think it had good sight lines either but I'll have to look at Street View when I get in. As regards my move, I suspect braking rather than just slowing was a bad response that added more doubt than assistance. trashbat said:
TorqueTalk said:
Was the overtaker alongside you at any point?
No. [/quoteI personally feel yout reaction was premature, the overtaker would not expect you to brake. Seen a situation similar however the overtaking car was doing a stupid multi-take, lorry coming round bend, overtaker tried to scrub of speed to file back in, but the last car did as you did and braked hard. End result lots of twisted metal, but no major injuries.
TorqueTalk said:
I personally feel yout reaction was premature, the overtaker would not expect you to brake. Seen a situation similar however the overtaking car was doing a stupid multi-take, lorry coming round bend, overtaker tried to scrub of speed to file back in, but the last car did as you did and braked hard. End result lots of twisted metal, but no major injuries.
Agreed, I think. Easier in retrospect though.Anyway, to make it a bit more interesting, here's where it was, but obviously at night: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=hursley&hl=en&...
Incidentally, if you swing the camera around to the other direction...
It's also possible I got this wrong, and advanced driving style, they were just over the line for a look, and I massively overly reacted. Hmmm.
1point7bar said:
No you didn't.
Low speed gives you more options to change direction or even leave the carriageway completely in a controlled manner.
Agreed on this too - having looked at the road and thought about this some more, if they really were going for the overtake (not sure) then I think I did the right thing - it's a stupid place to attempt it. If they were always planning on getting in behind me, or simply having a look, then I made a mess of it. On balance I'd bet it was at least a 70% chance of the former.Low speed gives you more options to change direction or even leave the carriageway completely in a controlled manner.
Your acceleration to GLF was unpredictable to the overtaker. Those who stick to speed limits and then accelerate hard are a rare breed and s/he had maybe never encountered such behaviour before. By making your driving more predictable and accelerating gently (like they might well expect you to do) you would be complying with the safety before speed tenet that is the basis of expert driving. Of course you may then get stuck behind someone who can't corner very well and your entertainment will be ruined. The choice is yours, safety or fun.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
Martin A said:
Your acceleration to GLF was unpredictable to the overtaker. Those who stick to speed limits and then accelerate hard are a rare breed and s/he had maybe never encountered such behaviour before. By making your driving more predictable and accelerating gently (like they might well expect you to do) you would be complying with the safety before speed tenet that is the basis of expert driving. Of course you may then get stuck behind someone who can't corner very well and your entertainment will be ruined. The choice is yours, safety or fun.
Hope this helps
This is an interesting point, and one I'll take on board since that is my driving style. I do anticipate impatience but it doesn't often pose a problem - on the way back home someone overtook as I was leaving a 40 into a NSL, but they zoomed off at 80mph or more so it wasn't really about that.Hope this helps
However, in this case I didn't even get that far; maybe 1 second or less of throttle before backing off, and it's an average performing car so probably 35-40mph.
R0G said:
Been in that situation a few times and found a simple rule that seems to work
If they are starting to come pass me then slow
If they are still behind me then quicken
99.9999% of those overtaking in that situation will brake and pull in behind
That, if observed by her majesty's finest could be construed as obstructive and at worse "racing" Need to be careful with that approach, leaving them sitting on the wrong side is naughty, H/C says steady up and possibly slow down if necessary to allow overtaker room...so many variables down to what type of vehicles both parties are in etc.If they are starting to come pass me then slow
If they are still behind me then quicken
99.9999% of those overtaking in that situation will brake and pull in behind
Gary
I think every situation's different. I've been in a similar situation a few times.
Personally I think the key is to follow the overtaker's signals/intent. As someone else said: wait for him to react and then you take the complimentary action. If you have nothing behind and the overtaker has started braking, then drop two and accelerate
But bear if you have a car following you then it's difficult to control the space behind.
Guessing what he's going to do without watching what he's doing is as reliable as playing scissors-paper-stone.
A similar problem occurs when people that enter a motorway without checking for a gap.
Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, IMO the safest thing to happen would the car on the other side of the road (the one facing the on-coming overtaking car) to slow right down, but not stop. I've had to do this before for oncoming emergency vehicles.
The problem gets more complicated if the car overtaking you has another car overtaking him very closely, in which case he can't brake.
Personally I think the key is to follow the overtaker's signals/intent. As someone else said: wait for him to react and then you take the complimentary action. If you have nothing behind and the overtaker has started braking, then drop two and accelerate
But bear if you have a car following you then it's difficult to control the space behind. Guessing what he's going to do without watching what he's doing is as reliable as playing scissors-paper-stone.
A similar problem occurs when people that enter a motorway without checking for a gap.
Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, IMO the safest thing to happen would the car on the other side of the road (the one facing the on-coming overtaking car) to slow right down, but not stop. I've had to do this before for oncoming emergency vehicles.
The problem gets more complicated if the car overtaking you has another car overtaking him very closely, in which case he can't brake.
This has happened to me a lot in the past. As long as the overtakers car hasn't made it alongside me, I just continue to accelerate as I was doing. I find that the driver that misjudged their overtake has nearly always dropped into the gap I've created behind me. One or two have given me a thank you short flash later on if they've decided to pass me further along the road. One or two have given the coffee beans. None have ever come a cropper.
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