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Difficulty: MediumSafe and Courteous Overtaking

If you begin an overtaking manoeuvre on a single-carriageway road and suddenly realise that an oncoming vehicle is closing the distance faster than you anticipated, you should immediately accelerate harder to complete the pass rather than braking to abort and drop back.

Answer: Answer

Answer

False
The statement is False because a safe and courteous driver never forces an overtake when safety margins evaporate. If an oncoming vehicle appears or approaches faster than expected, trying to out-accelerate it creates an extreme risk of a head-on collision. The correct action is to abort the manoeuvre promptly, brake smoothly, and pull back in behind the vehicle being overtaken.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Assess the dynamic risk of the ongoing overtaking manoeuvre against oncoming traffic.
Identified that the closing speed of the approaching oncoming vehicle eliminates the safe safety margin required to pass cleanly.
Overtaking requires a guaranteed clear distance to complete the pass and return to your lane without forcing oncoming traffic to brake or alter course.
2
Evaluate the response options: attempting to accelerate versus aborting the pass.
Determined that accelerating risks a head-on collision, whereas dropping back requires much less distance and time to restore safety.
A driver must always be prepared to abort an overtake safely rather than committing to a high-risk gamble when circumstances change.
3
Select the correct evaluation of the statement.
The statement advises accelerating instead of aborting, which is unsafe and contrary to Highway Code guidance.
The correct answer is False.

Key Concept

Aborting an unsafe overtake and managing closing speeds
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Safe and Courteous Overtaking

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