Overtaking multiple vehicles

Often the problem is a lack of familiarity with either the geography and/or the ability of the car under conditions we as drivers are not accustom to. All year there’s usually you – the driver – and little else in the car, but on holidays with a car full of kids, clothes, kit and caboodle, the driving dynamics of your car are changed dramatically.

1- Is it illegal to overtake 2 cars at the same time on a single lane road?
2- Can the last vehicle (the green Volvo) overake all the vehicles in front of it?

1- If you have looked far enough in the distance and are sure there are no cars oncoming that you are going to conflict with, no hidden dips where oncoming cars might be and no offside lay-bys or junctions on either side….you are confident of the performance of your vehicle….you have been watching the drivers in front and are aware of their vehicles and their potential intentions….and you also have somewhere to go if it starts to look ‘close – exit strategy’….then……….. overtake.

If the cars are spaced out enough for you to overtake one and have enough space (if needed) to move back (without causing the driver you’ve overtaken to brake)..treat each car as an overtake….ie: if there are 7 cars it’s seven overtakes….

However, if the cars are bunched up together with no room to get back in….you have to treat the 7 cars as one overtake. Imagine it as a huge long goods vehicle. So if you don’t have enough power in your car and road ahead to pass all of them safely in one go…then don’t do it..

2- Regarding the Volvo, although there is a broken line there are two lorries which hide the oncoming traffic from the curve a few meters ahead. So it is not advisable to do it until you have a better visibility.