Is it ethical or legal to overtake a car thats going slow in a traffic jam

So imagine youre on a single lane road and the driver in front of you suddenly decides to allow 600feet plus to the car in front of him, all while travelling at less than 10 mph, so you pull out and overtake much to the annoyance of mr pratt , who makes his anger known by flashing his lights repeatedly, sounding horn, shaking fist and making obscence jestures all at less than 10mph and then driving within 4 foot of your bumper.

Thankfully i was just a spectator last week but witnessed it again today.

What advice could the forum collective offer

If it really was 600ft then fair enough I reckon.

Do you mean one lane going each way, or a single track road?

He’s going at the same speed with a bigger gap which requires less concentration, requires less stop start and wastes less fuel/clutch plate. I do it in most jams but accept that some people won’t understand and overtake. Most however are happy to follow along not having to brake or accelerate.

No probs with it. You snooze, you lose.

So, Were you the overtaker or the overtakee?

I have no idea why you would tbh. Whther it’s acceptable or not, I don’t know, it just seems daft to do it, it’s a big gap but it’s not a meaningful gap

Who cares who’s right. It’s driving hence everyone acts like idiots

a bigger gap which requires less concentration, requires less stop start and wastes less fuel/clutch plate.

600ft plus at 10mph? Silly. There’s leaving a sensible gap and then there’s just being silly. That’s the latter.

Nothing illegal, just what’s the point?
Plus leaving a large gap means less stop/starting.

No different to pushing in front in the queue in the supermarket. It’s just rude. In fact I can’t think of a single reason why you would, other than to look like a dick.

Dunno about ethical or legal but it’s just Pointless IMO.

I do the ‘leave a gap’ thing to eliminate all the stop/start, but more like a couple if car lengths.

600ft is just daft!!

200m is a lot. I’d normally go up a gear at about 40m and rely on the engine management system to marginally increase speed and maintain/close the gap. I’m not the only one to do it in this part of the world. However, start-stopping and constantly sitting 5m behind the car in front is pointless, tiring and wasteful.

why would you…it will gain you nothing as you the have to wait behind car infront

some people are just impatient dicks however..

600ft == 180 metres. There’s a gap and there’s interstellar space.

Smoke him.

Single carrigeway road one lane each direction 60 mph speed limit

600ft gap at 10mph? 😯

That bloke shouldn’t be driving if he gets piss off with people filling in the gap.

Smoke him.

You’ll be too far in front and getting smoked yourself stuck up the bottom of the car in front.

With a gap that large at that speed you’d kinda think that the driver is either going to turn off or doing something else as well – mobile etc.

So no problem with the overtake.

I’d have no trouble with the car in front leaving a 180m gap if the accordion movement indicated the thing causing the jam were kms away but 180m in the last 200m before traffic light would be anti-social. You can often see the jam for kms ahead, what’s the rush or the problem with a gap?

The overtakers can overtake though and rejoice in having gained a place in the queue and the right to breathe the fumes of the car they end up sitting behind.

As long as you beat him on STRAVA then it’s legit (douchebaggery of the highest order but legit)

“The moving segment”

The size of the gap is irrelevant really. You’re still all stuck in the same queue. Very occasionally people do leave a gap that is perhaps a little larger than needed….by a fair margin. But people actually think it’s OK to push in front?

For those that do, I’d genuinely like to know what you think you gain from it?

the driver in front of you suddenly decides to allow 600feet plus to the car in front of him, all while travelling at less than 10 mph

Given the numbers, and that this is really about how it’s perceived from behind rather than actual synapses in the guys’ head, I question your definition of “suddenly”.

I can’t think of a single reason why you would, other than to look like a dick.

This.

It’s all context dependent, of course, but personally I’ve grown tired (mentally and physically) of dragging my clutch and wasting fuel just to maintain some sort of expected proximity to whatever’s in front of me, so I don’t bother shuffling up with every baby step forward that the queue takes. It’s not as if pretending to be roped to the bumper in front gets anyone anywhere quicker, so whilst an actual 600ft gap would be pretty hardcore laid-back, jumping into a gap is just dickwaddery.

But yes, it’s legal. There’s no law against being a massive bungnut.

Ive seen someone try to overtake an audi rs4 doing this in a transit.

Rs4 clocked him and shut the door. Car behind him shut th door

The transit was left looking like the dick he was for a few cars before he got back in. Oh how we laughed.

What makes you think the overtaking was the cause of the anger? Perhaps it was something entirely different?

The guy being overtaken (let’s call him Jeff, because that’s his real name) was on his way to the vet with his dog, Buster. Buster had been a happy, bouncy, slightly manic labrador, until a few hours earlier, when he’d been badly attacked by a huge alsation/rottweiler/wolf cross with an owner as uncaring as he was irresponsible. Now, Buster was dying, in the back of Jeff’s car, his blood slowly seeping into the seats.

Jeff turned round to check on Buster, but it was too late. Buster looked up at him, not understanding what was happening, feebly wagged his tail one last time, and then his eyes glazed over, and he was gone.

Jeff slowed down to just 10mph, his eyes filled with tears at the loss of his lifelong companion, remembering when he first brought home his tiny puppy, the times they’d been together, and how it had so needlessly ended.

Just then, a car roared past him. He glanced up – and saw that the driver was the owner of the dog that had killed his beloved Buster. Fury and rage overwhelmed him. Jeff is not a violent man, and so all he did then was to shake his fists. But an icy cold fury came over him. And he knew that he would not rest until Buster’s death had been avenged.

I was in a traffic jam type queue last week – leaving a reasonable gap in order to avoid having to brake etc., but nowhere near 600ft, and probably doing 20-30mph. Got overtaken. I used my horn, but didn’t act like a dick and gave him space to pull into. A few miles later, overtaker pulls off road on which traffic is queueing on, having gained almost nothing at all.

So which one were you today?

I, too, would like to know what folk think they’ve gained other than a single car space.

I think it demonstrates how personal some people take day to day road events. You’re sat behind someone that is behaving in a manner you’re not happy with and he’s holding you up – ‘smoke him’…!

A quick glance in the mirror and a “**** you” slips from your lips.

Done it and felt like a prick. Grew up and started leaving gaps.

Further confirmation Audi drivers are… law breakers. You all know the rule, don’t accelerate when being overtaken.

Oldnpastit – I’ll have some of that shit you’re smoking, fella.

A wasted talent there, methinks.

*nominates oldnpastit’s post for “Best Written Article” in the Readers’ Awards*

Further confirmation Audi drivers are… law breakers. You all know the rule, don’t accelerate when being overtaken.

It’s just a Highway Code rule, you’re not inherently breaking any law by doing it.

200 yards gap is a bit big but the overtakee is still a selfish sod .
2 or 3 cars lengths would be in my book the sort of distance I leave in 1mph traffic eg queuing for lights. You never ever get close enough to the car in front to stop you manoeuvring round it.
As far as I am concerned, if you don’t have your own blue lights flashing, you should wait patiently rather than save a few minutes.

I’ve had the guy behind me overtake when in a stationary jam a gap of approx 4 car lengths appeard in front of me; I couldn’t see the point of starting the engine just to creep forward a bit. He stared and shook his head like I was the idiot as he crept past.

**** tool

Regardless it was funny- as i cycled past the ratrace clawing their way to the office getting steadily angrier with each

Further confirmation Audi drivers are… law breakers. You all know the rule, don’t accelerate when being overtaken.

Especially while checking your very important Emails…

It’s just a Highway Code rule, you’re not inherently breaking any law by doing it.
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Breaking a HC rule is usually good evidence for a careless driving prosecution though – I should think closing up a gap when being overtaken easily qualifies for at least that.

Bloke up here just got convicted of dangerous driving for doing exactly that, although there was also oncoming traffic (far enough away that the overtake was safe had our hero not been a dick, before anyone asks 🙂 ).

In that example I would close the gap if I was 40yrs younger, nowadays I just smile and say get on with it if you think you are getting your kicks 😳 🙄 😉 the road I travel regularly from Gretna to Dumfries is like whacky races most days!!

Just the other day I was in a bit of a tail back, lots of agri machinery about at the moment. Kia Sportage comes up behind me. I had clocked that amongst the lorries, cars, vans and tractors there would be little point in trying any overtake. Anyway, on the only long straight Mr Sportage decides to give it a go! It just happened to be his lucky day, he cleared all the traffic just as he hit the chevrons for the next blind bend having overtaken 10-15 vehicles!!

Breaking a HC rule is usually good evidence for a careless driving prosecution though

In the context of inconveniencing a self-important bellend in an expensive car, maybe, maybe not. But in many other contexts, no, not really.

trail_rat – Member

Ive seen someone try to overtake an audi rs4 doing this in a transit.

Rs4 clocked him and shut the door. Car behind him shut th door

A trio of ****ers, ****ing at each other, it’s so beautiful 😆

(I didn’t know that was in the swear filter btw! You live and learn)