Overrun areas are designed to make the road appear more narrow than it actually is to slow you down. But can you drive over them?
Get a competitive quote for your insurance via these links:
Collingwood (up to 35% discount via the link):
https://www.collingwood.co.uk/learner-driver-insurance-adi/?refid=408619
Confused:
https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=4445&awinaffid=626581&clickref=
Driving test success app: https://referrals.drivingtestsuccess.com/r/Conquer
The above links are affiliate links and Conquer Driving may receive a small commission if you use them but they will cost you nothing to use. I’ve done a lot of research and I would recommend these links for trying to find your cheapest policy. Thank you for watching and supporting the channel.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conquer_driving?r=nametag
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Conquer-Driving-162518957146525
This video is created by an experienced driving instructor, please subscribe to get my latest videos as I upload them to help you pass the GB Driving Test.
Here is my driving school’s website:
https://www.conquerdriving.co.uk
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 it
00:21 Why?
01:19 Driving test
02:12 Large vehicles
02:25 Examples
03:20 Not an overrun area
04:23 Interesting facts
On the approach to this roundabout we have a section of Road that’s a different color it sort of looks like the pavement but it’s not the pavement this is known as an overrun area they can be placed around the roundabout also you can get them on chicanes and Islands designed to make
The road more narrow but what is the purpose in these overrun areas well from the horse’s mouth the department for transport they state overrun areas are used to create the optical illusion that the usable Carriage rate is narrower than it actually is these areas may be employed on Bends to encourage car
Drivers to keep to a low speed but still allow sufficient room for larger vehicles to negotiate them similarly these can be used at Junctions particularly roundabouts to deflect traffic away from a straigh ahead and faster path where the overrunning area allows larger vehicles to negotiate the junction without problems so essentially
An overrun area is a traffic calming measure it’s designed to encourage you to take a path which requires a slower speed so to go around this overrun area I need to go slow enough to steer around it that slows me down if I was to go straight across it I could go much
Faster so although driving on an overrun area isn’t illegal in itself you should still avoid them they’re there to deflect traffic into a slow lower Pathway to reduce the speed of vehicles in that area they’re a traffic calming measure on your driving test if the examiner sees you drive on an overrun
Area that in itself isn’t necessarily a fail but if they decide that your position is unsafe or misleading or that you’re driving too quickly for the situation then you may fail or if the police see you driving very quickly straight across an overrun area although driving on the overrun area isn’t
Illegal they may consider your driving careless or dangerous which means you could get a fine points on your license or you could even end up in court if you’re driving a vehicle that’s too large to go around the overrun area then you should still try to go around it so
That it reduces your speed but of course if your vehicle is too big you may need to use some of the overrun area or even all of it avoiding this overrun area when I’m turning left at this mini roundabout means that I have a sharper
Left turn that forces me to go slower so that I can make the turn easily it’s important though before I make that turn to check my left mirror because there is quite a bit of space on my left where a bicycle or a moped could try to pass me
I’m now approaching a traffic calming measure which is the chicane it’s like a island in the middle of the road with these curbs to stick out and for me to avoid the chicane and avoid the overon area I need to go slowly and of course we’ve got the school crossing Patrol person
There which is why that traffic calming measure is probably there to force traffic to go more slowly where kids are likely to be crossing the road this area of road that has these white diagonal lines borded by a single white broken line is not an overrun area over run
Areas are there to encourage you not to drive over them these White markings are here to tell you not to drive over them the reason why they’re here is because this mini roundabout used to have two lanes but that was proving not to be safe so they used these White markings
To make it one lane as the bordering line is broken you can actually enter this area but only if it’s necessary and you can see it’s safe to do so if the bordering line was solid then you must not enter the area except in an emergency likewise the road markings
You’re about to see at this roundabout are not an overrun area there are white diagonal lines bordered by a solid white line and highlighted in red I must not enter this area except in an emergency here are some interesting facts about overrun areas they should not be used where pedestrians are likely
To cross the road although at this overrun area there is a place for pedestrians to cross the road and that’s because they kind of look like the pavement but they’re not the pavement they are part of the road and as they look like the pavement a pedestrian may
Be standing in the overun area so therefore in the road checking to see if it’s safe to cross also most of them are less than 6 mil Above the Rest of the road that’s so a cyclist can cycle over it safely in case they are forced to by
Other traffic and there are no signs for overrun areas but they should be a contrasting color to the rest of the road and they should be used where there are Street lamps so that you can see them at night but that should be that doesn’t mean they have to be well I hope
You found this video helpful if you did please give it a thumbs up and if you’re looking for car insurance check out the links to Conwood and Confused in the description if you’re learning to drive and want to ensure yourself on somebody else’s car then Collingwood are there
For you because you can do so without affecting the owner’s policy and that takes away a big stress from the owner of that car via the link that’s up to 35% off and a 20 Amazon gift card at the moment if you want to ensure your own
Car I recommend checking out the link to confused.com because you fill out one quote form and get loads of quotes back from many insurers to compare who’s cheapest and you can change your car on that quote as many times as you like without having to do the whole quote
Again so it’s a quick and easy way to compare how much it costs to ensure different cars using the links doesn’t cost you anything but it does support the channel so thank you very much subscribe to get my future videos and until the next one cheerio
44 Comments
Of course you can lol. It’s in the name. Just do it when you have your license, not when you are taking an exam.
And watch out for cops lol.
Richard you are seriously the most precise, accurate and honest driving channel around. Immensely helpful, no clickbait. Love it! ❤
This is the first time I've ever heard of an overrun area, and there's one near me. I just assumed it was some sort of pointless decoration around the roundabout.
I'm a bit curious as to why there's a solid white line around the centre of the larger roundabout you showed – if I'm turning right in a HGV, I want traffic on my nearside to be nowhere near me as I can't see them – some drivers have a terrible habit of not realising they are cutting into a corner. If I was to turn right there, and take a line I'm comfortable with, the back of my trailer would most likely foul the white line by 1 or 2 feet. In this instance, I'm more interested in not having an accident than I am about following a rule. (Of course, by this I mean I want to keep at a few feet clear between me and the lane marking, rather than just sail round half into the marked area).
Regarding the mini roundabout – I note the local authority seems to have put a lot of effort into making sure that junction is safe – yellow backed signs, duplicated mini roundabout sign on the central island, duplicated give way sign, overrun area, etc – but not much thought seems to be given to the drop kerb you showed. Someone with impaired vision could easily be confused by this when a simple delineating line, double yellow, or 'look right' marking could help those users recognise the edge of the carriageway. Btw – one benefit often mentioned for such an overrun area is that left-turning traffic completes their turn much sooner – so waiting pedestrians are less likely to be obscured by the driver's nearside A-pillar.
Also, I've seen several small roundabouts where the central overrun area is heavily cambered, so that traffic would be forced to slow down no matter if they cut across it or not, but still leaves the area available for larger vehicles.
Whilst they are not overrun areas, worth mentioning as related, is the role of the centre circle in a mini roundabout. Once they were raised, which discouraged driving over them. Unfortunately, due to cost cutting, they are generally just painted circles. However, painted or domed, it is an explicit offence to driver over those centre circles unless your vehicle is so long you cannot avoid doing so. There are dozens of YouTube videos of cars being driven over the centre circle, at speed, several of which resulted in fairly hefty collisions. The reason that the rules are there is to slow down the traffic, and if cars just drive over the centre at speed, it can be highly dangerous. In effect, they are a traffic calming measure too, albeit this one with the force of law behind it.
2:55 Thought you were going for Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers for a second
2:00 Police will not do anything in this situation because they don't do anything in any situation, maybe excluding looking for weed growing places.
Bro is in the backrooms
I think the question is not "Can" but "May" you drive on overrun areas. I mean my car is perfectly capable of driving over those, over the pavement, and on a dry day probably over the grass too, but some of those a re forbidden so I "May" not. 🙂 But on a serious point, at around 2:30 you are navigating a mini roundabout with an overrun area on the left. Signalling at UK roundabouts is a little different to here in the Netherlands. You are only required to indicate at your desired exit, so if you see road user on the roundabout, you have to assume they are staying on the roundabout unless they are indicating. So at that mini roundabout all should be fine but I've seen other videos where people complained that they judged the intent of the driver by the position at the entrance to the roundabout. At that junction a car or lorry positioned to the left slightly might be judged as being about to turn left where here we rely (or should rely) solely on the indicator initially. So someone entering that roundabout positioned to the left but not indicating may not be taking the first (left) exit.
Very good video. Thanks for explaining this idiot-design by idiot-planners, which inconveniences good drivers and has no effect on bad drivers.
overrun area in this instance are designed to accommodate the body over swing of large HGVs.
Can you plz help with A-pillar blind spot issue? How to avoid hitting someone coming from A-pillar blind spot?
You should put together an app or website package people can but with virtual lessons. You'd be a great help to people and make a little bit of cash. The videos are great eveb for fulk drivers like me but a structured programme in order would really help some learners. 😊
So, an overun is a part of the road. That’s it.
And diagonals with dashed white line is part of the road too.
What a load off rubbish 🤮waste of money. ⛽️⛽️
Thanks for clearing that up.
Better to just fit proper protected cycle lanes.
This waste of road space makes cycling much more dangerous for regular folks and school kids riding to school.
Define necessary.
Going to need a degree to understand all the different new road stuff, I really wish they were all the same across the country as when you travel into unfamiliar areas they can have different road things which can catch you out
What if you are driving and following the roadway and someone decides to overtake you on the inside at the traffic island. These overrun areas give bad drivers more opportunity to be complete idiots.
Gosh, that was useful, and some of it was news to me (even with 60 years driving experience).
i passed my test second time last week and your videos were a huge help. thank you Richard, best driving youtuber out there
As an ex-Brit Truck driver I can tell your viewers, if you Clipped a kerb with the wheels of the trailer(25ft away)that's an automatic fail on your Driving Test
What do you do if there is a roundabout with a central overrun area, and a single lane, but there are two lanes in the road that approaches the roundabout. Wouldn't it be risking a collision with a vehicle joining from the left hand lane (which in this case comes from a car park) in order to avoid the overrun area?
These areas are part of the road. On one particular roundabout I drive (straight) over with 2 wheels solely to avoid the idiotically placed drain cover which would otherwise take a battering – normally I would make a decent attempt to negotiate correctly, of course.
(My personal opinion is that they are almost as pointless as the daft wee splats of white paint masquerading as roundabouts.)
Your explanation at 3:20 regarding road lining is worthwhile, I'm constantly amazed by the number of people who don't understand the difference between broken and solid lining.
How should you drive on speed bumps uphill, downhill and on plain ground?
When I watched these videos I kept reading the comments of people who've passed their exams and hoped that would be me one day. I can proudly say I passed my driving exam and am one of those people now haha. Huge thanks to you and your videos, mostly for driving anxiety and little bits and pieces on how the car actually works. Rarely are you lucky to have a reasonable instructor and anyone who drives with you is blessed. I shall continue to watch these and practice as much as I can to improve my skills. For anyone reading who's in school now, is nervous or has failed multiple times, you'll be alright. Don't listen to people who say that driving is not for everyone and that you should give up. Forget about being perfect, just keep trying your best, we learn and grow through failiure, the more we fail the better we are. Being afraid of crashing is normal, driving isn't exactly in our dna. We put ourselves in this dangerous situation and our body responds with fear. Then, we practice, we expose ourselves to stress and learn to deal with it better. Best of luck to anyone out there, you can do this !
I was totally in ignorance of the roundabout run on/off thing. My local Tesco has that to enable buses to 180 degrees turn round. I’ve always straight lined it at slow speed because I didn’t see any reason to steer more than necessary.
Maybe I should comply. Just wondering how many of older drivers are aware of this.
3:58 unlike that motorcyclist in front!
I think it would have been useful to clarify that "all vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so" on mini roundabouts by law. Mini roundabouts (which often are raised) are not overrun areas like the red area in the video.
I passed my test this morning. All I did was go roundabouts. I genuinely thought I faild. But I passed😊 getting a new car in 2 weeks
Very useful videos. It's very hard to understand and therefore follow these rules. In the whole of Europe, there are only minor local differences in traffic rules. Except for the UK where everything is unnecessarily overcomplicated.
Thank you Richard! Again very informative video! Was not aware of the overrun areas but of course always try to avoid driving over them at all times. Now have a better understanding the theories and enhance my judgement when encounter them in future. Thank You!
I just wanted to leave a comment here to thank you so much for your videos. I passed my test today with the help from your videos, you really put me at ease. Even though I’ve now passed, I’ll still be watching your videos to keep on learning to be a good driver! Thank you!
The one situation where I think using an overrun area should be encouraged is when taking a 'past-12' exit on a roundabout. I think it's misleading to other motorists for you to be so far to the left if you intend to exit right and they might assume your indicator is an error. It would be their fault if there was a collision, of course, but why take the risk? Keep on the inside near to the island when going around the roundabout.
Hi Richard, as I’m a regular watcher of your videos I thought you might like to know, tomorrow I’m going to call a driving school to see what they can do to help me, driving around my town is so easy and so boring as we don’t have very many nice fun places here and I want to be able to drive in my local city in Leicester, there are so many places in Leicester that I want to visit and I want to make myself and my family proud but most importantly I want to be able to drive to nice fun places in Leicester either alone or with my family, as I have Aspergers apparently they have a team of specially trained driving instructor who are taught how to deal with people with a disability so that would be really good for me, I’ll see what they say tomorrow but hopefully I can do some dual carriageway and motorway lessons and also some spiral roundabouts. 🙃
I would love to say thank you for the videos i have passed the practical and again thank you for the support the late 2 years
I passed my driving test today 13/3/24 with 0 minors I watched your videos and found them so useful I wanted to come back so anyone who is awaiting their test trust me watch the videos the advice given is brilliant
Should 2 wheeled vehicles be undertaking at a roundabout?
i love videos like these, little things that nobody usually think of but have a purpose…
Do u play guitar m8??
I passed my practical lessons today after watching alot of your videos .Thank you and keep up the good job
Aye lad can you possibly do a video on driving an automatic up a steep hill in heavy traffic I would like to see the method of holding or feathering if possible in an automatic, before I think about having a new Peugeot 2008 Gt, I do lift in a place where we actually do have hill extremely steep ones lol and most vids are just little inclines or flat auto bands 😅.
I think a lot of us are confused about these areas, so this is a really useful video Richard, thanks!