All drivers have probably met, at least once, on the roads in Romania a cart, a tractor or another car that moves very slowly. And, as a matter of fact, these obstacles were exactly in the place where passing is not allowed. Well, if there is no oncoming car, is it legal to overtake on a solid line?
In Romania, many of the road accidents occur because of the infrastructure. That is, of the roads laid out like 100 years ago, with only one lane per direction, winding, without visibility.
Although traffic rules and regulations have been permanently adapted, there are still drivers who do not take these obligations into account.
So, this combination of undisciplined drivers and underdeveloped infrastructure leads to the occurrence of thousands of serious accidents every year.
Overtaking rules
The Highway Code establishes a series of overtaking rules, which must be respected by all drivers.
„Overtaking is a maneuver through which a vehicle passes in front of another vehicle or past an obstacle, located in the same direction of traffic, by changing the direction of travel and leaving the traffic lane or the row of vehicles in which it was originally located“, it is stated in the traffic law.
The overtaking vehicle driver is obliged to:
- to make sure that the one following or preceding him has not signaled the intention to start a similar maneuver and that he can overtake without endangering or disturbing traffic from the opposite direction;
- to signal the intention of overtaking;
- to keep a sufficient lateral distance from the overtaken vehicle while overtaking;
- to re-enter the lane or the original traffic lane after signaling and making sure that he can perform this maneuver safely for the overtaken vehicle and for the other traffic participants.
Overtaking is also prohibited in several situations.
In what situations is overtaking prohibited?
„It is forbidden to overtake vehicles when, in order to perform the maneuver, the continuous, single or double, marking that separates the directions of travel is violated, and the vehicle travels, even partially, in the opposite direction, or the marking that delimits the prohibited space is violated“, according to Art. 120, para. 1, lit. (i), from the Highway Code.
In addition, when meeting the no overtaking sign, you cannot enter the opposite direction to perform this maneuver.
And near intersections, pedestrian crossings or railway crossings, this maneuver is also prohibited.
Can you overtake on the solid line if there is no oncoming car?
There is no justification for breaking the continuous marking, even if there is no oncoming car.
However, many drivers do not take into account this rule. And, even if they are in an area where there is continuous marking, they go into overtaking. Sometimes even when they have no visibility, relying on driving experience, knowledge of the road or signals given by other drivers.
„The number of kilometers (even backwards) is not a virtue. Virtue for a professional driver means discipline, it means respect for other traffic participants and, above all, it means awareness for following the rules of the road“, he wrote on his account Facebook the policeman Daniel Zontea, when describing a clip.
In the images it can be seen how the driver of a heavy tonnage car overtakes several cars at a significant speed:
- in the area with the sign “Overtaking prohibited”;
- by breaking the continuous line;
- in a curve with reduced visibility;
- in the 30 km/h speed limit zone.
On the recording, other rangers can be heard admonishing him over the radio for the risky overtaking. I really draw his attention to the fact that he can kill someone at any time. However, he does not consider that he did anything wrong.
„If you guys want to go 30 an hour, fine. But stop fooling around with people. Do you think I killed someone?! Shut the fuck up and watch your steering wheel“, says the driver who made the risky overtaking.
This line was followed by a “rain” of swearing from the other gunners.
The policeman Daniel Zontea pointed out, on the images, some of the traffic rules violated by the unconscious driver:
- irregular overtaking;
- violation of the lower speed limit.
Can you cross the solid line if your lane is blocked?
Theoretically, the violation of the continuous longitudinal marking is prohibited. However, there are some exceptions.
„It is forbidden to overtake vehicles on uneven passages, on bridges, under bridges and in tunnels. As an exception, animal-drawn vehicles, unattached motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles can be overtaken in these places, if the visibility of the road is ensured at a distance greater than 20 m, and the road width is at least 7 m”, the traffic law establishes.
Apart from these situations, it can happen that the lane you are driving on is partially or totally blocked by an obstacle. That is, a stopped car, a fallen tree, a pothole, etc.
In such a situation, you can get around that obstacle by violating the continuous marking, but only if you have sufficient visibility and no one is coming from the opposite direction. Or if other oncoming traffic stops to allow you to overtake.
In the event of a traffic accident, if it is found that you violated the continuous line, it is very likely that the entire fault belongs to you.
Source: www.promotor.ro
