Overtaking

Overtaking in an HOV or HOT lane is usually illegal for cars that do not meet the HOV/HOT criteria, except when directed by the police.

Many jurisdictions mandate a safe overtaking distance when passing pedestrians, cyclists, persons on horseback, motorcyclists, or those on motorized scooters.

For instance, Germany and the United Kingdom both prescribe a horizontal overtaking distance of at least 1.5 metres (5 ft).

Statistics from before 1990 showed that many fatal accidents in the Netherlands were due to unsafe overtaking actions, where the speed of oncoming traffic was underestimated.

[11] One of the new features on regional distributor roads (GOW) was a wide double centre line,[12] often without interruption, designed to create more lateral space between two opposite directions of traffic and to stop people from overtaking.

The idea behind the solid centre line was the thought that overtaking cars have to move into lanes with oncoming traffic, which was considered unsafe even on perfectly flat and straight stretches of road with proper visibility.

People in favour of the 'Duurzaam Veilig'-project point out that it has succeeded in creating more safety, as the number of fatal accidents has gone down quite dramatically as 'Duurzaam Veilig' road design was rolled out across the Netherlands.

Many countries consider overtaking on the inside dangerous and therefore designate it a driving offence; however, most countries make the distinction between involuntary undertaking (passing centre side vehicles in heavy traffic) as opposed to the deliberate attempt to pass a slower moving vehicle for one's own benefit.