Overtaking bicycles

usedtobefast

So my wife went on one of those driver re-education courses today, and she came back saying a few things I didn't know. One of which is apparently it's illegal to overtake a bicycle travelling at 10mph or more. Sounds a bit wrong to me, can anyone confirm this as correct ?

Thanks

Red Rock

Not sure, but is it that you can't overtake a cyclist doing more than 10 mph when it would mean crossing a solid white line in the centre of the road.

Smokin Joe

Red Rock wrote:

Not sure, but is it that you can't overtake a cyclist doing more than 10 mph when it would mean crossing a solid white line in the centre of the road.

Wot he said.

petemadoc

usedtobefast wrote:

So my wife went on one of those driver re-education courses today, and she came back saying a few things I didn't know. One of which is apparently it's illegal to overtake a bicycle travelling at 10mph or more. Sounds a bit wrong to me, can anyone confirm this as correct ?

Thanks

Here in lies the problem, women have difficulty understanding anything vehicle related.

runs for cover

mouth

Red Rock wrote:

Not sure, but is it that you can't overtake a cyclist doing more than 10 mph when it would mean crossing a solid white line in the centre of the road.

+1. Same goes for farm equipment and other such slow moving vehicles.Something I came across whilst training for my bus license. If it was illegal to overtake cyclists going over 10mph in normal conditions, wouldn't the country sort of grind to a halt?

shouldbeinbed

usedtobefast wrote:

So my wife went on one of those driver re-education courses today, and she came back saying a few things I didn't know. One of which is apparently it's illegal to overtake a bicycle travelling at 10mph or more. Sounds a bit wrong to me, can anyone confirm this as correct ?

Thanks

Load of rubbish 10mph is readily achievable by even pretty modest riders on big heavy machines (me in other words)
That would effectively limit the speed of all traffic to bike pace & cause huge queues of crawling traffic.

Doesn't happen outside of that there London.

MattC59

usedtobefast wrote:

So my wife went on one of those driver re-education courses today, and she came back saying a few things I didn't know. One of which is apparently it's illegal to overtake a bicycle travelling at 10mph or more. Sounds a bit wrong to me, can anyone confirm this as correct ?

Thanks

I think that's a touch of selective deafness on your wife's part. Most women suffer this on a daily basis, my wife does, I'm sure yours does too !!

Cue DD.

plowmar

If overtaking any road user exceeding 10 mph then normal road rules apply. E.g. double white lines, hatched areas etc.

Regret that car drivers do not comprehend this and seem to have the same attitude as the sexist comments previously expressed.

usedtobefast

Not sure, but is it that you can't overtake a cyclist doing more than 10 mph when it would mean crossing a solid white line in the centre of the road.

I think you'll find it's illegal to cross a solid white line at any speed. I'm sure there are practical exemptions to this such as something is parked blocking the road requiring passing vehicles to cross the white line.

A colleague was done recently for "clipping" a solid white line he was approaching at the end of an overtake unfortunately for him there was a police car following him.

ellieb

I think you'll find it's illegal to cross a solid white line at any speed

No; You can cross to pass a slow moving vehicle or bike.

Highway code:
"129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 26]"

chiark

ellieb, what do you think you're doing quoting things like the highway code, when the ultimate source of knowledge is what your friend of a friend misremembers overhearing down the pub a few years ago...

Get a grip, eh?

mtb-idle

chiark wrote:

ellieb, what do you think you're doing quoting things like the highway code, when the ultimate source of knowledge is what your friend of a friend misremembers overhearing down the pub a few years ago...

Get a grip, eh?

s'true, that's a bit like Alan Davies on QI who has assumed all his knowledge from things he heard whilst down the pub

MattC59

plowmar wrote:

If overtaking any road user exceeding 10 mph then normal road rules apply. E.g. double white lines, hatched areas etc.

Regret that car drivers do not comprehend this and seem to have the same attitude as the sexist comments previously expressed.

oooooooh................ get you !!!

nwallace

ellieb wrote:

I think you'll find it's illegal to cross a solid white line at any speed

No; You can cross to pass a slow moving vehicle or bike.

Highway code:
"129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

[Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 26]"

Specifically applies to Double White lines.
A solid single white line is illegal to cross under any circumstance.
The Double white line was brought in with its own rules so that
a) A Police officer could instruct you to cross it.
b) To allow crossing from one side only
c) To allow exemptions to the no crossing rule such as cycles, road rollers and horses travelling at less than 10mph.

It is perfectly legal to overtake anything at double or single white lines provided you do not cross the line(s) to do so. This is why double white lines have not superceeded the no overtaking sign, which means no over taking under any circumstance at all.

There are very very few central single white lines now. There was one on the North Off ramp of the tay road bridge until recently.