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Practical test
Why it matters
Examiners are watching whether a longer wait behind a cyclist makes you more likely to force a gap out of impatience - staying settled through a slow, hazard-filled stretch is exactly the judgement this skill is testing.
What to look out for
Count every hazard, not just the first one
If there's a roundabout, then roadworks, then a pinch point, the overtake waits for all three - not whichever one clears first.
A quiet stretch isn't always a green light
The road behind a cyclist can be clear of traffic and still not be a real gap, if there's a hazard just out of sight ahead.
Key steps
- 1 Hold back through each hazard in turn - a mini roundabout, roadworks, a pinch point - rather than treating the first clear-looking gap between them as your chance to go.
- 2 Recognise that a hazard doesn't need oncoming traffic to rule out an overtake - a roundabout or a narrowed section is reason enough on its own to stay behind.
- 3 Keep reading ahead as you follow: if there's another hazard visible beyond the one you've just cleared, the wait isn't over yet.
- 4 Once the road is genuinely open - no further hazards, no oncoming traffic - commit positively: build speed smoothly and move out with at least 1.5 metres of space.
- 5 Hold your line past the cyclist and check your mirror before moving back in, the same as any other overtake.
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Common mistakes
Overtaking between hazards instead of after them
A short clear-looking stretch between a roundabout and a pinch point isn't long enough to be worth it - wait until you're past everything, not just the hazard directly in front of you.
Treating a roundabout as safe to pass on
A cyclist going through a roundabout can move in ways a following car can't easily predict - hold back until you're both clear of it, not partway round.
Losing patience over a long follow
A longer-than-usual wait behind a cyclist isn't a reason to force the next marginal gap - the length of the wait doesn't change what makes a gap safe.
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Example scenarios
Illustrative, AI-generated examples - not real photographs.
Avoid
Avoid
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Highway Code
This lesson is a revision aid, not a replacement for The Highway Code.
Rule 162
Before overtaking, make sure the road is sufficiently clear ahead, no one has started to overtake you, and there's a suitable gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake.
Read on GOV.UKRule 163
Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. Leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph, and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds - give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in.
Read on GOV.UK