Undertaking has proven to be a growing issue on smart motorways with guidance issued encouraging drivers to stay left.
The rollout of smart motorways, which often involves the removal of the hard shoulder, has created a new frustrating problem for many of the UK’s motorists – and that’s drivers who seem insistent to stay in the third and fourth lanes despite not overtaking.
This problem has led to many frustrated drivers then, wrongly, hopping over into lanes one and two and breezing by those who are seemingly unaware of the problems they’re causing.
As a result of this problem, if you travel on a smart motorway this week you will likely see signs encouraging drivers to stay left unless overtaking.
But when it comes to undertaking, what can you actually do?
Undertaking is not strictly illegal in the UK, but it can be punishable if deemed to be careless driving, which would result in a minimum of three points on their driving licence and a £100 fine.
However, there are some situations where passing on the left is acceptable or necessary, such as when traffic is moving slowly on a motorway, and the driver needs to keep up with the vehicle in front.
In this case, once traffic starts moving more freely, the driver should revert to the keep-left principle and overtake on the right. Passing on the left is also acceptable on motorways where average speed limits are in place, and the driver should stay in their lane and pass a slower vehicle on the right if it can.
