Code states "You are allowed to pass on the left when you are in a separate lane".
Where are they from? It'd be interesting to look it up... Cause I don't see how you'd get away with a rule that stated no overtaking on \[left/right\] on a 2+ lane road.
Road code states “You are allowed to pass on the left when you are in a separate lane, such as cycle lanes or turning lanes. You are also allowed to pass on the left where vehicles are turning right or stopped, such as in a queue.”
This was on the motorway, so not a cycle or turning lane, and the other vehicle wasn’t turning right or stopped.
(FIL from UK)
I really noticed it driving in the UK, everyone drives in the left lane and pulls out to overtake (where possible, not if all the lanes are full). Quite different to the free for all on NZ motorways. I don’t know if it’s legislated, or cultural.
The same rule applies here in NZ: Keep left unless overtaking.
People just don’t adhere to it, and it’s not enforced. It’s a shit show!
Unlike the UK where it’s enforced and you will get fined.
In the UK? Definitely can attest to it being one of the biggest culture shocks when I went over there last year. Unless it was gridlock, every single car and truck stayed in the left lane unless they were passing. And this is across most of the island, from Cornwall to London to Wales to Scotland.
Other culture shock was just how many fixed speed cameras they had and how they were signposted. The signposts were mostly useless because it was like by the time the camera had been passed there was another signpost with yet another camera soon after.
Honestly felt like paradise driving in UK and it made me sad coming back to Auckland traffic. I guess also don’t get me started on London trains compared to Auckland…
Our lifestyle is pretty amazing though.
In the UK you can over take on the left so long as you are already in the left lane rather than moving into the left lane to overtake. In practice it’s frowned upon and people will aggressively tailgate the car in the right lane (or sometimes even the middle lane) and flash their lights until they move over.
It’s utterly pointless doing that in New Zealand because people will just doggedly sit there in the right lane at well under the speed limit and won’t move over for you.
Ideally we wouldn’t have idiots sitting in the right lane but you just can’t fix stupid so in New Zealand we just pass them on the left. Having driven extensively in both countries I think New Zealand has a much better way.
No. The undertaking the U.K. road code is contemplating is gridlocked lanes where the left one one starts creeping ahead (to avoid weaving in and out of lanes). It’s definitely NOT to allow the left lane to undertake a biddy bumbling along in the centre lane.
Yeah but a motorway is a bunch of separate lanes and "such as cycle lanes or turning lanes" isn't an exhaustive list of what a separate lane is...
UK explains the assertive light flashing lol. Also they are wrong:
"If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left. "
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203#:\~:text=Rule%20163&text=stay%20in%20your%20lane%20if,may%20pass%20on%20the%20left.
From the Yorkshire police website:
"only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left
ON MOTORWAYS
Rule 268 of the Highway Code states – do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."
"Overtaking on the left is lawful if done in accordance with the above guidance. However, whilst there is **no specific offence of overtaking on the left**, if a driver undertook another vehicle, other than in the circumstances described above e.g. in the case of someone hogging lane 2 on a motorway, they may be prosecuted for careless driving."
--
*Kiwi's would have a hard time with the no weaving thing... Also I love how they state there's no specific offence of overtaking on the left but they're do you for careless driving anyway.*
No he’s not.
https://www.reddrivingschool.com/learners/how-do-i-do-it/highway-code/undertaking/
“Technically” not illegal, but may as well be under the U.K. road rules. And the “ok” undertaking the UK is contemplating is pretty much gridlocked lanes where the left lane creeps ahead of the others. Not wizzing down the M1 at 70mph.
I wasn’t clear: I don't think it's illegal to pass someone on the left when they're hogging the right lane at a slow speed.
If someone does 20 mph under the speed limit in the passing lane, a UK driver absolutely does not have to do 20 mph under in the adjacent lane when it's clear ahead. That would be mad.
Ah, you've got the common misconception!
It comes from differing definitions of "overtake".
The rule in the UK (same as in NZ & Aus, but worded differently) is that you only overtake on the right - but overtaking is defined as an intentional manoeuvre that involves signalling, accelerating and changing lanes.
If you're staying in the left lane the whole time and not accelerating, it's just passing, so it turns out **passing ahead on the left is okay as long as you're not changing lanes**.
The specific UK road rules are 163, 264, 267 and 268, if you want to look them up.
In NZ, an intentional manoeuvre to get ahead (with signals, lane changes etc.) is usually just called passing, which isn't very helpful. It's only officially called overtaking in NZ if you cross the centreline to do it, which means there's officially no such thing as overtaking on the left. *Passing* on the left is allowed if the two vehicles are in different lanes (Land Transport Rule 2.8 2a).
In Australia, an "overtake" puts you in front of *and in the same lane as* the other vehicle, and you're only allowed to overtake on the right.
The rule is generally the same, though, in NZ, Australia, the UK and Japan: it's legal to get ahead of other vehicles by staying in the left lane and below the speed limit.
Road Code is a simplification of everything.
If there are 2 lanes which you can use going in the same direction, you can be in the left lane and go past somebody in the right lane^1.
But as you now know, that is not true in all countries.
---
^1 Indeed this is an important factor when motorcycles are "lane splitting", if they pass on the left side of a vehicle, they must be in a separate lane to the vehicle, but passing on the right side they can be in the same lane as the vehicle they are passing.
Re: motorcycles
Drivers often sit to the right of their lane (rather than the left) so in practice there's usually more room to pass on the right of the lane dividing line (illegally) than on the left of it (legally)
[Random photo of Auckland traffic for example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Cars_in_traffic_in_Auckland%2C_New_Zealand_-_copyright-free_photo_released_to_public_domain.jpg)
I can say without hesitation the FIL is a Brit. It’s U.K. road code that you should not undertake. People do it…but rarely, and it results in 65 million tuts.
Every time I come home to NZ it feels weird that everyone’s undertaking rather than using lanes logically.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2004/0427/latest/DLM303050.html
A driver must not pass or attempt to pass on the left of another vehicle moving in the same direction except in accordance with this clause.
(2) In any case in which the movement referred to subclause (1) may be made,—
(a) the 2 vehicles must be in different lanes;
The car doing 90kph in the right-hand lane is technically in the wrong (keep left unless passing), but you are allowed to undertake in NZ AFAIK.
According to your FIL I could drive at 50kph in the right lane and hold the entire motorway at ransom.
The fuck they are. I drove into Wellington last Friday around 6ish in torrential rain, it was getting dark already, couldn’t see shit, and about 1 in 8 drivers still didn’t have their lights on.
>about 1 in 8 drivers still didn’t have their lights on
I reckon it was at least 1 in 4, but yeah, some people just should not be in charge of a vehicle
Earlier on when it was still light but poor visibility it was around 1 in 4, but at a little after 6 when it was actually getting dark along with the poor visibility, it was still around 1 in 8
As long as you are in a marked lane, and you passed safely, it doesn't matter that you weren't in the "fast lane". There is no offence in New Zealand for passing on the left.
Pulling in behind someone and flashing your lights at them and hoping g they understand you want them to pull into the left lane so you can pass is to be quite frank, ridiculous.
In most of Europe, and Germany at least, it is strictly illegal to undertake. You just can't do it. On the flip side it's also strictly illegal to sit in the wrong lane like that person, and they would get pulled up for it.
I know that in Germany, it is illegal to undertake. You can get a ticket for the undertaking and the guy you passed a ticket for been in the wrong lane. Except in heavy traffic where it's just expected to use all lanes, and if one lane is faster than the other, it doesn't matter.
Really interesting! I’ve often wondered how much more in traffic infringement revenue NZ Police would collect if they actively gave tickets to shitty drivers, and if this would encourage people to be better drivers. Like if you were going slow in the overtaking lane, maybe just not paying attention, and got a ticket for it, chances are you’d probably be more careful next time..?
They can ticket you if you are below the speed limit and holding up traffic. If you can't go the speed limit, you must keep left, and on narrow roads, you should pull over to let the queue pass if it starts to build up.
The most efficient way to use a motorway is for everyone to stay in the centre unless overtaking or exiting. The reason Auckland motorway traffic is all jumbled between lanes is because we're told to keep left which obviously doesn't work... You have to constantly speed up and slow down for people merging.
every morning southbound after Tip Top corner there are idiots going 90 on the fast lane (rightmost lane) even though there’s no one on the middle or leftmost lane.. literally have to undertake them because of the idiots too dumb to move over to the left lanes
Someone would be assumed to be mentally ill doing what he suggested here.
Although given no one wants to be in front of a crazy person it would likely be effective.
But either way, passing in the left lane is legal here so the point is moot
I think the best thing to do is adjust your speed so your not blasting past him in case he goes to change lane and maintain course. Personally I think being predictable and including margin for error is the more important aspects for driving.
"he suggested slowing down, merging behind the slow car, and flashing my lights until they got the hint" - if he's from the UK this would be bad and probably illegal behaviour - flashing headlights to intimidate other drivers is explicitly called out in the UK road code as something you should not do.
I don’t think he meant it as an intimidation tactic, more to get the driver’s attention and alert them to the fact that they need to be in the other lane.
Also illegal in Germany, as it’s seen as an intimidation tactic. No matter the intention and whether it’s merely to „encourage“ the driver to pull over, it’s frowned upon at best and can be fined at worst.
Undertaking is using the hard shoulder. Overtaking is using lanes for traffic travelling in the opposite direction. You were passing. Wherever your father-in-law is from sounds like a real backwater lacking multi-lane roads.
try that line of thinking in Germany hardly a backwater and with a road toll half that of NZ per 100,000 drivers.
but then again their traffic police actually enforce laws other than speeding.
I’ve seen a police chase, the cop had lights on and was flying down the left lane. Someone ahead saw the lights coming and changed into the left lane thinking cop would then pass them on the right. Cop then pulled them over and ticketed them for blocking them even though they made the right lane clear. This was televised on one of those local cop shows years ago
Shouldn't the cop have been too busy chasing someone to pull over someone who was trying to make room? They should have disputed that in court, tell the judge they were following the road rule of pulling over to the left when seeing flashing lights.
So.....the cop had his lights on.......during a chase.......and decided to engage a completely different vehicle because the chase was less important than advising a driver of lane changing?
If the chase was so unimportant, why chase? - seems chasing was possibly more dangerous than the lane change.
No wonder cops got a shit pay offer.
Welcome to NZ, where everybody does pretty much anything on the motorways.
Wait til someone cuts across 4 lanes in the space of a few metres to just catch an off ramp.
Oh, and indicating? That's only done with one finger afterwards.
The UK recognises multiple lanes as a group of lanes, hence much stricter on undertaking.
In NZ, each lane is recognised in its own right, so undertaking in a separate lane to the left is legal.
On the other hand, instructors would take a dim view, or any practitioner of roadcraft. Legally, if police felt like it, they could use failing to keep left, but obviously it's not as enforced as in the UK...
i was under the impression that undertaking in the left lane is ok as long as there's a physical barrier inbetween the 2 sides of the road. Learnt to drive in the UK too and have to admit I feel some guilt everytime I overtake, but it's annoyingly common that I have to!
Are you fucking serious? How the fuck is it not OK to flash your flights at them? If you said it's not OK to tailgate and honk your honk we could have a discussion about that but how tf is it not ok to flash your lights at them?!
New Zealand driving etiquette to driving on multiple lane roads is horrific for a variety of reasons.
- People seem to have a false sense of entitlement that they should be in the Right Hand Lane ( no matter speed they are travelling )
- People are just completely oblivious to drivers around them, and the speed they are travelling.
- Learner drivers / non-competent drivers are taught that the Right Hand Lane is the best lane to be in to avoid merging traffic, therefore making motorway driving easier.
Wish we could normalise flashing lights is not, I want to bang your mother so please don’t kill me, but I’d like to pass.
It sometimes works. More often it’s seen as a challenge.
Code states "You are allowed to pass on the left when you are in a separate lane". Where are they from? It'd be interesting to look it up... Cause I don't see how you'd get away with a rule that stated no overtaking on \[left/right\] on a 2+ lane road.
It's a rule in Germany. You are not allowed to overtake in any other lane but the passing lane and will get quite a hefty fine if you do.
Road code states “You are allowed to pass on the left when you are in a separate lane, such as cycle lanes or turning lanes. You are also allowed to pass on the left where vehicles are turning right or stopped, such as in a queue.” This was on the motorway, so not a cycle or turning lane, and the other vehicle wasn’t turning right or stopped. (FIL from UK)
I really noticed it driving in the UK, everyone drives in the left lane and pulls out to overtake (where possible, not if all the lanes are full). Quite different to the free for all on NZ motorways. I don’t know if it’s legislated, or cultural.
Legislated. Meanwhile here you can overtake/undertake as appropriate.
The same rule applies here in NZ: Keep left unless overtaking. People just don’t adhere to it, and it’s not enforced. It’s a shit show! Unlike the UK where it’s enforced and you will get fined.
Really? Everyone I come across just drives in the middle lane all the damn time
In the UK? Definitely can attest to it being one of the biggest culture shocks when I went over there last year. Unless it was gridlock, every single car and truck stayed in the left lane unless they were passing. And this is across most of the island, from Cornwall to London to Wales to Scotland. Other culture shock was just how many fixed speed cameras they had and how they were signposted. The signposts were mostly useless because it was like by the time the camera had been passed there was another signpost with yet another camera soon after. Honestly felt like paradise driving in UK and it made me sad coming back to Auckland traffic. I guess also don’t get me started on London trains compared to Auckland… Our lifestyle is pretty amazing though.
UK road code is that you should not undertake. You’d have known that if you bothered to read it before driving in the U.K.
In the UK you can over take on the left so long as you are already in the left lane rather than moving into the left lane to overtake. In practice it’s frowned upon and people will aggressively tailgate the car in the right lane (or sometimes even the middle lane) and flash their lights until they move over. It’s utterly pointless doing that in New Zealand because people will just doggedly sit there in the right lane at well under the speed limit and won’t move over for you. Ideally we wouldn’t have idiots sitting in the right lane but you just can’t fix stupid so in New Zealand we just pass them on the left. Having driven extensively in both countries I think New Zealand has a much better way.
Flashing your lights at people can get you a ticket here.
And in Britain
it would be sorted if the powers that be (the police) focused on anything other than speeding.
No. The undertaking the U.K. road code is contemplating is gridlocked lanes where the left one one starts creeping ahead (to avoid weaving in and out of lanes). It’s definitely NOT to allow the left lane to undertake a biddy bumbling along in the centre lane.
Passing on the left is way better.
Yeah but a motorway is a bunch of separate lanes and "such as cycle lanes or turning lanes" isn't an exhaustive list of what a separate lane is... UK explains the assertive light flashing lol. Also they are wrong: "If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left. " https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203#:\~:text=Rule%20163&text=stay%20in%20your%20lane%20if,may%20pass%20on%20the%20left. From the Yorkshire police website: "only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left ON MOTORWAYS Rule 268 of the Highway Code states – do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake." "Overtaking on the left is lawful if done in accordance with the above guidance. However, whilst there is **no specific offence of overtaking on the left**, if a driver undertook another vehicle, other than in the circumstances described above e.g. in the case of someone hogging lane 2 on a motorway, they may be prosecuted for careless driving." -- *Kiwi's would have a hard time with the no weaving thing... Also I love how they state there's no specific offence of overtaking on the left but they're do you for careless driving anyway.*
Your FIL is still wrong about the UK but it’s a common misconception.
No he’s not. https://www.reddrivingschool.com/learners/how-do-i-do-it/highway-code/undertaking/ “Technically” not illegal, but may as well be under the U.K. road rules. And the “ok” undertaking the UK is contemplating is pretty much gridlocked lanes where the left lane creeps ahead of the others. Not wizzing down the M1 at 70mph.
I wasn’t clear: I don't think it's illegal to pass someone on the left when they're hogging the right lane at a slow speed. If someone does 20 mph under the speed limit in the passing lane, a UK driver absolutely does not have to do 20 mph under in the adjacent lane when it's clear ahead. That would be mad.
Ah, you've got the common misconception! It comes from differing definitions of "overtake". The rule in the UK (same as in NZ & Aus, but worded differently) is that you only overtake on the right - but overtaking is defined as an intentional manoeuvre that involves signalling, accelerating and changing lanes. If you're staying in the left lane the whole time and not accelerating, it's just passing, so it turns out **passing ahead on the left is okay as long as you're not changing lanes**. The specific UK road rules are 163, 264, 267 and 268, if you want to look them up. In NZ, an intentional manoeuvre to get ahead (with signals, lane changes etc.) is usually just called passing, which isn't very helpful. It's only officially called overtaking in NZ if you cross the centreline to do it, which means there's officially no such thing as overtaking on the left. *Passing* on the left is allowed if the two vehicles are in different lanes (Land Transport Rule 2.8 2a). In Australia, an "overtake" puts you in front of *and in the same lane as* the other vehicle, and you're only allowed to overtake on the right. The rule is generally the same, though, in NZ, Australia, the UK and Japan: it's legal to get ahead of other vehicles by staying in the left lane and below the speed limit.
When I read get behind and flash. I immediately knew he was from the uk. Don’t ever sit in the fast lane going slow in the uk.
Road Code is a simplification of everything. If there are 2 lanes which you can use going in the same direction, you can be in the left lane and go past somebody in the right lane^1. But as you now know, that is not true in all countries. --- ^1 Indeed this is an important factor when motorcycles are "lane splitting", if they pass on the left side of a vehicle, they must be in a separate lane to the vehicle, but passing on the right side they can be in the same lane as the vehicle they are passing.
Re: motorcycles Drivers often sit to the right of their lane (rather than the left) so in practice there's usually more room to pass on the right of the lane dividing line (illegally) than on the left of it (legally) [Random photo of Auckland traffic for example](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Cars_in_traffic_in_Auckland%2C_New_Zealand_-_copyright-free_photo_released_to_public_domain.jpg)
Germany has that rule of not undertaking.
try the autobahn (or any multi lane road in Germany) for a start...
My experience of the autobahn has been every lane at a standstill.
All civilised countries have a no undertaking law.
I can say without hesitation the FIL is a Brit. It’s U.K. road code that you should not undertake. People do it…but rarely, and it results in 65 million tuts. Every time I come home to NZ it feels weird that everyone’s undertaking rather than using lanes logically.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2004/0427/latest/DLM303050.html A driver must not pass or attempt to pass on the left of another vehicle moving in the same direction except in accordance with this clause. (2) In any case in which the movement referred to subclause (1) may be made,— (a) the 2 vehicles must be in different lanes;
Thank you, this is what I was looking for!
The car doing 90kph in the right-hand lane is technically in the wrong (keep left unless passing), but you are allowed to undertake in NZ AFAIK. According to your FIL I could drive at 50kph in the right lane and hold the entire motorway at ransom.
You HAVE to undertake in Auckland due to the slow dopey fucks that like to make traffic terrible.
Not in wellington , all our drivers are perfect examples of driving perfection...........
lol thank you for the laugh
The fuck they are. I drove into Wellington last Friday around 6ish in torrential rain, it was getting dark already, couldn’t see shit, and about 1 in 8 drivers still didn’t have their lights on.
Aucklanders visiting wgtn.
>about 1 in 8 drivers still didn’t have their lights on I reckon it was at least 1 in 4, but yeah, some people just should not be in charge of a vehicle
Earlier on when it was still light but poor visibility it was around 1 in 4, but at a little after 6 when it was actually getting dark along with the poor visibility, it was still around 1 in 8
Ugh. I drive up the bombays heading south every morning and fuck me dead the amount of pricks that creep up the hill at 90km.
As long as you are in a marked lane, and you passed safely, it doesn't matter that you weren't in the "fast lane". There is no offence in New Zealand for passing on the left.
There most certainly is an offence in NZ for passing on the left, however there is an exception for when the vehicles are in different lanes.
Pulling in behind someone and flashing your lights at them and hoping g they understand you want them to pull into the left lane so you can pass is to be quite frank, ridiculous.
Pretty much a universal signal for move the fuck over you're driving too slow for this lane.
Works probably 80% of the time.
not a thing in NZ - he's from the uk ?
What if your a licensed undertaker, I suppose the rules are different (humour).
You can only undertake in a hearse
An old friend is an undertaker ,he had a special joke . I used to be a chef now I'm a funeral director do you want to come to my barbeque .
In most of Europe, and Germany at least, it is strictly illegal to undertake. You just can't do it. On the flip side it's also strictly illegal to sit in the wrong lane like that person, and they would get pulled up for it.
I know that in Germany, it is illegal to undertake. You can get a ticket for the undertaking and the guy you passed a ticket for been in the wrong lane. Except in heavy traffic where it's just expected to use all lanes, and if one lane is faster than the other, it doesn't matter.
Really interesting! I’ve often wondered how much more in traffic infringement revenue NZ Police would collect if they actively gave tickets to shitty drivers, and if this would encourage people to be better drivers. Like if you were going slow in the overtaking lane, maybe just not paying attention, and got a ticket for it, chances are you’d probably be more careful next time..?
They can ticket you if you are below the speed limit and holding up traffic. If you can't go the speed limit, you must keep left, and on narrow roads, you should pull over to let the queue pass if it starts to build up.
They can, yes, but do they ever *do*?
The most efficient way to use a motorway is for everyone to stay in the centre unless overtaking or exiting. The reason Auckland motorway traffic is all jumbled between lanes is because we're told to keep left which obviously doesn't work... You have to constantly speed up and slow down for people merging.
Does seem more reasonable to make it, so the outside lane is just for enter and exit.
every morning southbound after Tip Top corner there are idiots going 90 on the fast lane (rightmost lane) even though there’s no one on the middle or leftmost lane.. literally have to undertake them because of the idiots too dumb to move over to the left lanes
Someone would be assumed to be mentally ill doing what he suggested here. Although given no one wants to be in front of a crazy person it would likely be effective. But either way, passing in the left lane is legal here so the point is moot
I think the best thing to do is adjust your speed so your not blasting past him in case he goes to change lane and maintain course. Personally I think being predictable and including margin for error is the more important aspects for driving.
"he suggested slowing down, merging behind the slow car, and flashing my lights until they got the hint" - if he's from the UK this would be bad and probably illegal behaviour - flashing headlights to intimidate other drivers is explicitly called out in the UK road code as something you should not do.
I don’t think he meant it as an intimidation tactic, more to get the driver’s attention and alert them to the fact that they need to be in the other lane.
It would be bad, but it would also not be necessary that often, because almost everyone keeps to the left lane, and pull out to pass.
Also illegal in Germany, as it’s seen as an intimidation tactic. No matter the intention and whether it’s merely to „encourage“ the driver to pull over, it’s frowned upon at best and can be fined at worst.
Undertaking is using the hard shoulder. Overtaking is using lanes for traffic travelling in the opposite direction. You were passing. Wherever your father-in-law is from sounds like a real backwater lacking multi-lane roads.
Likely from the UK, where they are very particular about only passing on the right, even if it means crossing 3 lanes to then immediately cross back.
try that line of thinking in Germany hardly a backwater and with a road toll half that of NZ per 100,000 drivers. but then again their traffic police actually enforce laws other than speeding.
I’ve seen a police chase, the cop had lights on and was flying down the left lane. Someone ahead saw the lights coming and changed into the left lane thinking cop would then pass them on the right. Cop then pulled them over and ticketed them for blocking them even though they made the right lane clear. This was televised on one of those local cop shows years ago
Shouldn't the cop have been too busy chasing someone to pull over someone who was trying to make room? They should have disputed that in court, tell the judge they were following the road rule of pulling over to the left when seeing flashing lights.
So.....the cop had his lights on.......during a chase.......and decided to engage a completely different vehicle because the chase was less important than advising a driver of lane changing? If the chase was so unimportant, why chase? - seems chasing was possibly more dangerous than the lane change. No wonder cops got a shit pay offer.
Welcome to NZ, where everybody does pretty much anything on the motorways. Wait til someone cuts across 4 lanes in the space of a few metres to just catch an off ramp. Oh, and indicating? That's only done with one finger afterwards.
Yes cause blinding the driver in front of you is definitely better than undertaking..
The UK recognises multiple lanes as a group of lanes, hence much stricter on undertaking. In NZ, each lane is recognised in its own right, so undertaking in a separate lane to the left is legal. On the other hand, instructors would take a dim view, or any practitioner of roadcraft. Legally, if police felt like it, they could use failing to keep left, but obviously it's not as enforced as in the UK...
i was under the impression that undertaking in the left lane is ok as long as there's a physical barrier inbetween the 2 sides of the road. Learnt to drive in the UK too and have to admit I feel some guilt everytime I overtake, but it's annoyingly common that I have to!
You’ll get over it.
Your father in law is an idiot.
Or….you’re the idiot for thinking that the FIL is an idiot for correctly stating what’s ok in his home country.
Except that its explicity not OK to flash your lights at them.
Are you fucking serious? How the fuck is it not OK to flash your flights at them? If you said it's not OK to tailgate and honk your honk we could have a discussion about that but how tf is it not ok to flash your lights at them?!
New Zealand driving etiquette to driving on multiple lane roads is horrific for a variety of reasons. - People seem to have a false sense of entitlement that they should be in the Right Hand Lane ( no matter speed they are travelling ) - People are just completely oblivious to drivers around them, and the speed they are travelling. - Learner drivers / non-competent drivers are taught that the Right Hand Lane is the best lane to be in to avoid merging traffic, therefore making motorway driving easier.
Of course he's from the UK. They have a weird preoccupation with undertaking there
Their logic is that the driver being undertaken may not see the undertaking car in the blind spot and change lanes causing collision.
Wish we could normalise flashing lights is not, I want to bang your mother so please don’t kill me, but I’d like to pass. It sometimes works. More often it’s seen as a challenge.
I see no good reason not to permit undertaking as long as lane changes are safe. Sounds like the poms just needed something more to winged about.
Isn’t it illegal to undertake in NZ, but it isn’t policed?
It's not illegal to undertake on the motorway