What are the situations where overtaking is not allowed?
2 Answers
According to the 'Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China', the following situations prohibit overtaking: Article 43 of the 'Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China' stipulates: When motor vehicles are driving in the same lane, the following vehicle should maintain a safe distance from the preceding vehicle sufficient to take emergency braking measures. Overtaking is not allowed in any of the following circumstances: 1. When the preceding vehicle is making a left turn, turning around, or overtaking; 2. When there is a possibility of meeting an oncoming vehicle; 3. When the preceding vehicle is a police car, fire truck, ambulance, or engineering rescue vehicle performing emergency tasks; 4. When passing through railway crossings, intersections, narrow bridges, curves, steep slopes, tunnels, pedestrian crossings, or sections of urban roads with heavy traffic where overtaking conditions are not met.
After driving for so many years, I've seen plenty of accident cases caused by overtaking. Never overtake on curves where visibility is blocked—if a car comes from the opposite direction, it's over. Hilltops are also dangerous because you can't see what's behind the slope. Intersections are even worse, as cars can suddenly appear from the sides. Following another car’s overtake is even more deadly—they block your view, making accidents highly likely. Places like school zones and crosswalks have many pedestrians, making overtaking prone to collisions. Inside tunnels, the narrow space and poor lighting make overtaking almost certain to cause scrapes. On rainy or snowy days, slippery roads make overtaking likely to lose control. My neighbor once crashed into a tree while overtaking on a curve, completely wrecking the front of the car. Remember these scenarios—staying patient and following the flow is always the right move.
