Overtaking position

[Dr Jekyll]

You're following a vehicle you wish to overtake, an opportunity appears to at least go offside for a final check. Do you move out from your following position or close up?

I've had an instructor in the past recommend the 'contact' position and I really wasn't comfortable with it, others say stick to the following distance, Most of my overtakes are on a bike so no need to close up anyway, But then a bike ROSPA observer said I should close up for the offside view, he talked as if the offside position was to allow closer following as much as for extra vision.

What's the general view?

[Haltamer]

Personally I'm of the same thought - I dislike closing to extremely close launch positions until I've got a good idea it's going to be on, however, I'd say this does have negative impacts - "Launching" from too far back without tempering acceleration can lead to you flying past at maximum warp, which is an unnecessary increase in risk & not great for perception.

Given that, If I'm closing for a possible launch, I'd look to combine that with an offside move (Careful not to look with one's right foot) - If you're on, the gentle nudge to close will have you on the boil (Especially if you're winding up a turbo), and if you're not, you can rebuild your following distance before returning to your following position (Mindful of traffic behind closing the gap)

(To keep the ramble going;) I generally find just closing the gap to be fairly pointless unless you're looking for an early launch from a bend (Using a nearside / offside view at the exit) or have already cleared it, as otherwise you're just filling your view with more of their car.

I'll qualify all of that with - That's from a cars perspective, so opinions may differ once the bikers come along

[Pica-Pica]

For me it depends on many factors, including road layout, bends, perception of the attitude of the driver in front, traffic behind.

My judgement would be to take the position which does not spook or antagonise the other driver. I am not a great believer in ‘last looks’ unless it is for that last 2% of surety. Popping out and popping back in looks a bit dithery. Most of my overtakes will be on straight roads with a clear view ahead from a two second gap, I am not a strong believer in a ‘closing position’.

People will look more kindly on an overtaking biker closing up and sticking out, more than they would a car.

[johnao]

Dr Jekyll said:

You're following a vehicle you wish to overtake, an opportunity appears to at least go offside for a final check. Do you move out from your following position or close up?

I've had an instructor in the past recommend the 'contact' position and I really wasn't comfortable with it, others say stick to the following distance, Most of my overtakes are on a bike so no need to close up anyway, But then a bike ROSPA observer said I should close up for the offside view, he talked as if the offside position was to allow closer following as much as for extra vision.

What's the general view?

As always… it just depends.

If you are looking to overtake off a right hand bend it pays to close up to the contact position before the bend as this will give the earliest view off the bend and facilitate an early decision and early movement offside.

If you are looking to overtake off a left hand bend it pays to hold back in the following position before the bend as this will be the most advantageous position to obtain a view down the left hand side of the overtakee prior to moving offside for the final check.

[Dr Jekyll]

I'd agree about the right hand bend with a potential overtake on the exit, that's one scenario when I might well close up a bit. Though on a bike you can often get much the same view by sticking your left elbow in the nearside hedge.

[Salted_Peanut]

johnao said:

If you are looking to overtake off a left hand bend it pays to hold back in the following position before the bend as this will be the most advantageous position to obtain a view down the left hand side of the overtakee prior to moving offside for the final check.

While I agree about holding back for overtakes off a left-hand bend, bikes have more flexibility with lateral positioning. For example, I may approach a left-hander towards the centreline before easing to a nearside position to obtain a view down the left-hand side of the overtakee (especially if it's an HGV). Despite being on a left-hand bend, it's a nearside position, but I'm flexible with positioning depending on the circumstances.

Similarly, I'm flexible with my positioning for overtakes off right-handers. I may approach positioned towards the nearside for the best view. However, I might ease towards the centreline (but not enough to come into conflict with oncoming traffic) towards the exit of the bend as the road straightens out.

This flexibility is one of the great things about riding – one of the very many reasons why it's much more fun than driving