Do you still have questions about speeding to overtake a slower vehicle? Or did you get a ticket to Tacoma, WA, or all of Puget Sound and plan to use that defense? Before you make the same mistake as the potential customer, make sure you understand the law of speed for passing a slower vehicle. (1) No person shall operate a motor vehicle at a speed so slow as to interfere with normal and reasonable traffic unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe or lawful driving, PROVIDED that a person who is following a vehicle driving at a speed below the legal limit and wishes to pass that vehicle, may exceed the maximum speed limit, subject to the provisions of section 46.61.120 RCW on roads where there is only one lane in each direction, only at the speed and distance necessary to cross the pass with a reasonable margin of safety. Let`s break this down: According to the provisions of ORS 811.410, a person commits the offence of dangerous passing on the left if: If another vehicle passes you on the left, reduce your speed slightly and stay centered in your lane. When the vehicle is safely passed and in front of you, continue at normal speed. If the conditions are correct, check your mirrors and signal your lane change. Before entering the left lane, take a quick look over your left shoulder through the rear side window to make sure there is no vehicle nearby behind you in the left lane. Never rely on your mirrors when preparing for a lane change. Even properly fitted mirrors leave “blind spots” behind both sides of your vehicle. If a vehicle is in the blind spot, you may not see it in your mirrors.
Always look over your shoulder quickly before changing lanes or overtaking. If you are about to pass on the right at an intersection, check the traffic in front of you carefully. Make sure an approaching vehicle is not ready to turn left in your path and watch out for pedestrians, cyclists, in-line skaters and moped riders on the right side of the road. A few weeks ago, I received a call from a potential client (PC) asking if I would be willing to represent him on appeal against his ticket, which was recently convicted by the judge hearing his case earlier this week. You can only cross the center line in a no-pass zone if the right side of the road is blocked – or if you turn left into or out of an intersection, alley, private road or driveway. If you notice that you are passed by many vehicles on the right, you should change to the right lane and let them pass you on the left. Keep in mind that vehicles carrying people with disabilities can be equipped as school buses and you will need to stop for them as you would other school buses. When passing, drive to the left lane. Before returning to the right lane, signal and look in your interior mirror and make sure you can see the front bumper of the vehicle you passed.
Take a quick look over your right shoulder to make sure you can see at least a few feet of sidewalk between your vehicle and the one you`ve passed. Then return to the right lane. Before a school bus stops to load or unload passengers, the driver usually flashes the yellow lights. If you see them, slow down and be ready to stop. Home » Blog » Can You Exceed the Speed Limit to Exceed? (c) When passing and passing another vehicle, a driver may drive in the centre-left of the carriageway when travelling in the same direction, unless the left side is clearly visible and free of oncoming traffic. This is necessary so that there is sufficient distance to overtake and overtake without affecting the operation of a vehicle approaching the opposite direction or a vehicle that has been passed. Overtaking another vehicle is a normal part of driving, but it can be very dangerous. Before you start passing, make sure you have enough space to complete the maneuver. If you have to get back into your lane too early, you run the risk of wiping the side of the vehicle you are trying to pass. If you don`t get back on track early enough, you risk a head-on collision with another vehicle. So if you are trying to pass and pass another vehicle on a two-lane road, you should only pass to the left of the vehicle.
Under certain circumstances, passing left [ORS 811.410] or right [ORS 811.415] is dangerous and illegal. In this section, we will discuss the details of each of these maneuvers. If you are approaching a vehicle in front of you that is significantly slower than the traffic and speed limit, this situation can present a risk, and you have realized that it is safe to pass the slow vehicle, so it makes sense to pass this vehicle. Vehicle owners – In 2019, legislation was passed1 authorizing school districts and municipalities to use stop arm cameras on school buses to impose penalties on owners of vehicles passing through a school bus while the school bus is stopped to drop off or pick up passengers, and red lights are flashing on the school bus. But is it legal? This is not the case. You must respect the speed limit. If you don`t have enough space to pass safely without crossing this line, you shouldn`t pass. You are required by law to signal at least 100 feet before changing lanes.
Never drive past a vehicle that has stopped so that a pedestrian can cross it. So why do people do this? The reason is often that they think it`s really safer. They try to limit their exposure to oncoming traffic. The less time they spend on this track, the lower the exposure. They are ready to accelerate, illegal or not, so that they can get back on track quickly. I recently got a question about this topic and thought it was worth a blog post. The driver had been charged with speeding for driving faster than the speed limit by passing another vehicle. He explained that he believed the law had “assigned” drivers 15 miles per hour over the speed limit when overtaking. At an elementary level, he was right, but the circumstances under which you can drive 15 mph over the speed limit are much more complex than people think.
(d) A passing vehicle shall return to an approved lane as soon as possible. The logic of this thought process makes sense, but the police would argue that you should just slow down and not happen at all. If you really wanted to stay safe, this would be the way to go. Many people break the speed limit when they pass another car. For example, the front car can travel at 50 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone. The car in the back is catching up. When they reach a wooded area, this driver simply accelerates towards the ground. They reach 70 miles per hour as they pass, then slow down again to 55 once they return to the right lane. Before turning right on multi-lane roads such as highways, be sure to check your mirrors, use the correct lane change signals, and look for other vehicles over your right shoulder.
After passing, be sure to quickly look over your left shoulder and wave before returning to the left lane. If it is necessary to pass other vehicles, according to the law, you only have to pass other vehicles on the left side (in the left lane). Avoid passing other vehicles in the right lane unless absolutely necessary to avoid a traffic hazard and when it is safe. Most drivers, like the person above, believe that this rule applies whenever you try to pass someone on the road.