{"id":5423,"date":"2015-03-10T05:18:49","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T19:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/?p=5423"},"modified":"2020-06-20T01:11:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T15:11:11","slug":"idiotic-overtaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/driving\/idiotic-overtaking\/","title":{"rendered":"Idiotic Overtaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"overtaking\"<\/a>OK, I might have to stick my neck out a bit and explore the gender differences in driving here a bit. But what is it with guys and overtaking?\u00a0 Or, to be slightly more specific, why on earth do the driving men in my life (husband, son, father and brothers) feel compelled to overtake anything that\u2019s in front of them if they\u2019re out on the open road?\u00a0 The only male I know who doesn\u2019t is my elderly grandfather\u2026 who (a) is quite content to perform complicated mathematical operations involving the numbers on the licence plate of the car in front of him and (b) doesn\u2019t do much open road driving.\u00a0 They always say I\u2019m far too patient when overtaking, but I say that safety is more important, and if I can\u2019t get a nice open stretch of road with plenty of visibility and clear road to pass safely, then I\u2019ll resign myself to being stuck behind that freight truck for as long as necessary.\u00a0 Truckies are usually pretty considerate and if they can see you in the mirrors and a twisty hill\u2019s coming up, they tend to find a shoulder to pull onto while you whip past.<\/p>\n

However, I am happy to say, the men in my life are reasonably safe drivers when overtaking (with the exception of one leadfooted brother but that\u2019s another story). \u00a0I wish I could say the same for other drivers on the road.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed but there are some real idiots out there.\u00a0 The most moderate of these idiots are the ones who overtake you when you\u2019re doing the speed limit or possibly a shade over\u2026 but they still sweep past you and disappear into the wide blue yonder.\u00a0 You shake your head and wonder what they\u2019ll do if a cop on speed patrol is waiting just around the corner.<\/p>\n

This happens around town, too, although the likelihood that the overtaker will get picked up by a cop is much higher.\u00a0 Around town, there seems to be two main motives for pointless overtaking. Pointless overtaking around town involves whizzing past another vehicle and then stopping in front of the lights \u2013 a slightly risky manoeuvre just to gain a place in the queue at the lights, which will save that driver all of two seconds, if that.\u00a0 Motive number one for pointless overtaking seems to be the \u201cI\u2019m in a hurry\u201d mentality. A hurried driver cannot bear to be held up for the merest fraction of a second.\u00a0 Any driver doing less than the posted speed limit will be overtaken, even if said person is only slowing down to turn into a driveway.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s pretty easy to sympathise with these drivers.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all been late at times and know what it\u2019s like to be slowed by others when every second counts because you\u2019re already late picking up the kids or getting to that appointment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit harder to sympathise with motive number two. Motive number two seems to be pride and badge loyalty.\u00a0 It is best demonstrated by what happened one night back when we had our Ford Falcon<\/a>.\u00a0 We were quietly minding our own business and cruising along when a car roared past us.\u00a0 We got a glimpse of a Holden <\/a>badge.\u00a0 The lights turned red in front and we and the Holden driver stopped side by side at the front of the queue.\u00a0 My husband was driving and couldn\u2019t resist switching drive mode to sport and putting the foot down (the traffic was only light, I must add).\u00a0 We got away first but the Holden charged past at the next possible opportunity.\u00a0 The pattern was repeated at the next three lights, a skirmish in the ongoing battle between red circle and blue oval. \u00a0Eventually, when we got to the motorway, the Holden driver had had enough and absolutely floored it.\u00a0 We laughed and let him go.\u00a0 I dare say similar battles could take place with other makes and models, depending on how passionately you are for or against a particular brand.\u00a0 As long as this overtaking is done safely and legally, it\u2019s harmless fun.\u00a0 It\u2019s a game that one of the Top Gear team dubbed \u201cBMW Leapfrog\u201d \u2013 i.e. find a posh, powerful car and overtake it. Wait and see how long it takes for driver of said posh car to overtake you.<\/p>\n

However, there is nothing at all safe or harmless about the last sort of overtaking idiot \u2013 the sort that doesn\u2019t allow him or herself enough room to pass properly.\u00a0 There is no sort of excuse for this behaviour.\u00a0 To quote the road rules <\/a>, \u201cBefore overtaking another vehicle, you must:<\/i><\/p>\n