Overtaking

Many motorcycle accidents occur during an overtake manoeuvre and therefore it is important to understand the difficulties faced by motorcyclists during the two specific types of overtake manoeuvre.

The two types of overtake are:

When there are no hazards and you can approach the hazard in one manoeuvre- Rolling Overtake
When hazards require you to take up a following position before you can overtake- Shoulder Overtake

Rolling Overtake

When overtaking in the absence of hazards, a motorcyclist will position themselves at the appropriate time, will then cross over the white line,, will then adjust speed, select the most responsive gear and then adjust the speed once again to return to the identified gap. In other words; Position, Speed ,Gear, Acceleration .

Shoulder Overtake

Overtaking when hazards are involved requires a motorcyclist to take up a following position. This can frequently expose a rider to risk of injury commonly where the driver ahead decides to brake for no apparent reason or when a motorcyclist is committed to an overtake and whilst in the overtake position, the car in front, seeing a gap, pulls out without checking the rear view mirror.

If you have been involved in an accident when carrying out an overtake, your lawyer needs to understand the stages of the overtake as this will often assist the Court in making a determination as to who is at fault. It is also important for your lawyer to understand the two different types of overtake and equally your lawyer should have a basic understanding of the life-saver.

Stage 1 is the following position

Stage 2 is the overtake position and

Stage 3 is the overtake itself.

As the overtake position is usually closer than the following position, a rider is at risk and must ensure there are no hazards ahead that will cause the vehicle in front to brake heavily. If there are no hazards ahead and the vehicle does brake heavily causing the following rider to either strike the rear of the vehicle in front of take evasive action that results in a loss of control, the onus will be on that driver in front to explain his actions.

See Motorcycle Roadcraft Chapter 8

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