Is it allowed to overtake from the right side of a car?
3 Answers
Cars are not allowed to overtake from the right side, as it is considered illegal. Overtaking is prohibited under the following circumstances: 1. The vehicle ahead is turning left, making a U-turn, or overtaking. 2. There is a possibility of encountering oncoming traffic. 3. The vehicle ahead is a police car, fire truck, ambulance, or engineering rescue vehicle performing emergency duties. 3. Passing through railway crossings, intersections, narrow bridges, curves, steep slopes, tunnels, pedestrian crossings, or sections with heavy urban traffic where overtaking conditions are not met. Below is additional information on overtaking precautions: 1. Observe the road conditions: Before overtaking, check the road ahead and choose a flat, straight section if possible. Also, observe the lane you intend to use for overtaking by checking the left rearview mirror for any vehicles approaching from behind. Wait for the vehicle behind to complete its overtaking maneuver before proceeding. 2. Use of lights: When conditions permit, turn on the left turn signal, then alternately flash the high and low beams and sound the horn to alert the vehicle ahead. Once the vehicle ahead signals to yield, you can steer to the left. 3. Driving in the overtaking lane: If already in the overtaking lane, downshift and press the accelerator deeply to increase engine speed and boost power. The reason for downshifting is that when accelerating, downshifting provides a quicker throttle response, allowing for faster speed increase.
I have deep personal experience with right-side overtaking. Last year on the highway, I witnessed an accident caused by this very maneuver. According to traffic regulations, right-side overtaking is strictly prohibited in China primarily because drivers have smaller blind spots on the left side and significantly larger ones on the right. When you overtake from the right, the driver ahead can hardly spot you in their mirrors, making sudden lane changes particularly prone to sideswipes. It becomes even more dangerous with large trucks, whose right-side blind zones can extend over ten meters. With ten years of driving experience, I always overtake properly using the left lane - signaling in advance, confirming safe distance, then accelerating to pass. Remember: safety always outweighs saving time. Don't risk your life for momentary haste.
As a daily commuter, I witness all kinds of reckless overtaking behaviors on the elevated highway every day. Passing on the right is absolutely dangerous because the right-side visibility is inherently poor, especially at night when visibility is worse. Our traffic authorities explicitly prohibit passing on the right, and violators will face penalty points and fines. In actual driving situations, if the car ahead is moving slowly, first check the rearview mirror, signal left, change to the left lane, and then overtake. Those who always try to cut corners by passing on the right are often the main culprits behind chain-reaction collisions. I recommend enabling the safe driving reminder feature in your navigation app settings, as it provides real-time warnings for dangerous overtaking maneuvers.
