In Great Britain undertaking is when you overtake on the left side of a vehicle whilst driving on a dual carriageway. In this video I explain whether it is illegal, how it can land you in court and why it can be dangerous.
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This video is a guide intended to help people who are learning to drive with a driving instructor in Great Britain, it is by no means a replacement for driving lessons with an appropriately qualified driving instructor.
Laws and driving rules may be different in your country. The makers of this video cannot be held liable for any consequences caused by any information that is in any way inaccurate, misleading or missing. The makers of this video are not liable for any person’s driving other than their own, it is the responsibility of the person driving a vehicle to ensure they drive safely and within the law. The makers of this video are also not liable for any person failing a driving test as a result of the information provided in the video.
00:00 What is undertaking?
00:16 Is it legal?
00:36 What is a Dual Carriageway
02:20 Why can undertaking be unsafe
04:48 Why you can get fined?
05:39 Less safe place to undertake
07:22 When passing on the left is required
08:48 Highway code is missing something?
10:54 Lane hoggers
34 Comments
wow, you do explain things well and make it easy to understand. It's great for me as well, even though I have been driving for 50 years we tend to get And to keep up to date. into bad habits and a reminder sometimes.
I think what you forget to explain but you show by examples, is that undertaking is passing on the left AND pulling in front… that’s what leads to the accidents you’re showing. Just passing on the left and holding your lane is NOT undertaking. If a car is hogging the middle, I’m not going across three lanes to overtake and then pulling back across three lanes. I’m much more likely to have an accident than just holding my lane and passing on the left.
If you cannot roll a ball from the outside edge of one side of the road to another, it's a dual carriageway.
It was a question from my driving examiner way back then.
When can you over take on the left?
One way system, in a queue, car turning right. That’s it.
Passing the lorry at the slip road would be perfectly legal, which is the question in the title of the video. Undertaking DANGEROUSLY is illegal as is overtaking DANGEROUSLY.
4:11 and that's why in every civilised country undertaking is illegal. Uk as in many (not all) cases is like 100 years behind.
There are numerous occasions when I am on the M1, where I want to drive in the Left lane, and there is a slow truck hogging the middle lane, travelling at 50mph. I am in the Left lane where he should also be, and there is nothing in the Left lane for as far as I can see, I am easily able to drive at the 70mph limit, but the truck insists on staying in the middle lane at a slow speed. I simply continue in the Left lane at 70mph, that is not undertaking, I am just using the left lane as we are supposed to do.
So when a vehicles travelling at 40 in the right lane I should just stay behind it and in hope no one rear ends me 🎉
Rule 268 is poorly worded. It contradicts itself by saying very clearly and bluntly “do not overtake” (in addition to do not move to a lane on your left to overtake) BUT then says “passing traffic in the lane to your right” is okay in congested conditions. So basically it comes down to each person’s interpretation of “congested”. If I can’t do 70mph then it’s congested in my book.
M1 North of Derby, 4 lanes 0 lane discipline, drivers in lane 3 doing 60mph with 2 empty lanes on their left, undertaking is rife
If there won't be lane hoggers then undertaking won't exist
what you did was wrong. at 2.03 you passed a stationary vehicle on zebras.
Great video! So many people misunderstand this （with respect)!
If I'm in the left hand lane of a 3 lane motorway that is relatively quiet driving at 70mph. As I continue there is a car in the middle lane driving at approx 65mph. I get nearer to the car in the middle lane naturally. Should I pull out across 2 lanes to overtake the car in the middle lane then move back to the left hand lane, pull out to the middle lane behind the middle lane hogger and then flash my lights in the hope they move back to the left hand lane, or do I just continue in the left hand land at 70mph and undertake them?
Undertaking is the effect, lane hogging is the cause
4:46 Green car helps the broken-down blue car. 😂
I don't get it. You drive normally on lane 1 and sometimes drive faster, within the speed limit with vehicles hogging lanes 2 and/or 3 and you get done instead of them? How did we get here? It doesn't make sense!
Very clearly stated thanks
Useless video for hgv drivers. We are not allowed on 3rd lane to overtake sleepy lane hogeers when 2 of them drive next to each other with 45 in a 50 average speed.
It happens normally, as people are not actually driving in the left lane most of the time
There is no such thing as “undertaking” when driving, it’s overtaking on the left. Undertaking is what funeral directors do.
👍 Most annoying drivers is who sitting in right lanes with left lanes empty… Is so dangerous overthinking them by right side overpassing many lines 📢
Lane-togglers most annoying thing!, because makes dangerous situations
On motorways, lane-hogging and then drivers overtaking left side, need to do something with this, it's most annoying driving that's not safe
If someone is lane hogging, and you flash your lights to let them know you want to pass them, as advised here, and they still don't move into the left lane, are you then allowed to overtake them on the left?
Good to hear that undertaking is not illegal when doing it safely ! I do it all the time, to overtake lane hoggers. But i am always anxious of them moving left when i am in their blind spot.
"If you have to undertake someone, there was space for them to get out of the way" – paraphrase from Top Gear of all things. It makes sense but if people were more aware we wouldn't have so many issues.
In NSW, Australia it isn’t illegal. Furthermore, Australia is a “civilized” country.
Thanks for clarifying the legal aspect of undertaking in queues Richard. I have been guilty of gradually creeping up and passing vehicles on my right at normal speed on duel carriageways where we are all in what you might call high speed queues. This is because keep lane changing to perform a correct overtake can itself get somewhat dangerous with fast German marques barrelling down the outside and I don’t want to mix it with them. I always thought if I’m “creeping up” there is little danger, but if course you are perfectly correct about blind spot vision to the left, and creeping into that zone is not a good idea.
I bet this guy is an absolute hoot at parties
My dad told me to look, signal then make any lane change on a motorway slowly. I have never yet had an accident but I'll re-watch because there is always room for improvement. I have to say that there are traffic reasons for some middle lane driving.
If you are being undertaken, it means that YOU are in the wrong lane.
Driving instructor you are incorrect. Passing the Mini IS classed as undertaking. Its the passing of a vehicle thats on your right. Its got nothing to do with whether its a single or dual carriageway.
Only zombies drivers or those who dont know how to set up their mirrors have blind spots.