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In the UK, it's illegal for a motorist to cross a solid white center line on their side of the road to overtake a cyclist unless the cyclist is traveling 10mph
by mrob 4y ago
In the UK, it's illegal for a motorist to cross a solid white center line on their side of the road to overtake a cyclist unless the cyclist is traveling 10mph or slower. I estimate less than 1% of motorists obey this law.
Rule 129:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/general-rules-techniques-and-advice-for-all-drivers-and-riders-103-to-158 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/general-rules-t...
Some rules in the Highway Code are guidance only, but those marked with uppercase "MUST" or "MUST NOT" have legal force.
- martyvis 4y agoHere in NSW Australia it is almost the exact opposite now. You are permitted to cross the centre lane to overtake a bicycle (if it is safe) and need to keep a 1 to 1.5 metre gap to the bike. https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/roads-safety-and-rules/overtaking-and-merging/sharing-roads-bicycles#:~:text=When%20overtaking%20bicycles%2C%20you%20must,you%27re%20sure%20it%27s%20safe https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/roads-s....
- M2Ys4U 4y agoThat's the law here in the UK, too, as long as the centre line isn't solid (which is what mrob was citing). Most roads don't have solid centre lines.
- M2Ys4U 4y agoThe key point in that rule is that it only applies to solid centre lines. Motorists are free to cross broken lines to overtake.
- matheusmoreira 4y agoOf course. The line is solid and can't be crossed to overtake slower vehicles. Not just bikes. I think that's a really interesting law since it actually makes an exception for slow bicycles. Looks like they're such a nuisance that cars are actually allowed to overtake them despite the solid line.