Passing

Many serious crashes on our roads are caused by dangerous passing.

To safely pass another vehicle, you need to be extremely careful. You must have a clear view of the road ahead, to make sure you can finish passing safely. You must also pay close attention to the vehicle you’re passing, in case it changes its course.

Passing on the right

Passing on the right can be dangerous, especially if you have to:

change your path of travel
enter a lane or part of the road used by oncoming vehicles.

Before passing, always ask yourself, ‘do I really need to pass?’ Don’t pass just because you’re feeling impatient with the vehicle in front – that’s often when crashes happen.

If you do decide to pass, follow the rules below.

Before you pass:

make sure you'll be able to see at least 100 metres of clear road for the whole time you're passing – if not, don’t pass
look well ahead to make sure there are no vehicles coming towards you
look behind to make sure there are no vehicles passing you
signal right for at least 3 seconds and check your blind spot before moving out to pass.

A blue car is shown passing a red car. Black dotted arrows show the progression. The blue car moves to the broken white centre line and crosses over it as it passes the red car. Once passed, the blue car pulls back into the lane in front of the red car.

Passing on the right

Before pulling in front of a vehicle you've passed:

make sure you can see the vehicle in your rear-view mirror
signal left for at least 3 seconds.

Important!

Take extra care, and leave extra room, when passing cyclists, horses or pedestrians, as the wind gust from your vehicle could affect their balance.

Passing on the left

You can only pass on the left when:

there are 2 or more lanes on your side of the centre line and you're able to pass safely by using the left-hand lane
you're directed to by a police officer
the vehicle you're passing:
- has stopped, or
- is signalling a right turn, or
- is turning right.

At all other times, when you're passing, you must pass on the right.

A blue car and a red are are travelling along the road in the same direction. Black arrows indicate the direction the cars are travelling.

Important!

Keep a safe distance behind the vehicle you're about to pass. Follow the 2-second rule.

If you're being passed by another vehicle:

move as far to the left of the road as possible
never speed up to stop the other vehicle from passing you.

No-passing line

On some sections of road there will be a solid yellow line painted on your side of the centre line. This line is called a no-passing line.

No-passing lines are usually there because it’s unsafe to cross the centre line to pass, because features like hills and curves make it impossible to see if there’s oncoming traffic.

Sometimes no-passing lines are marked because:

there’s already a passing lane on your side of the road and you must use that to pass
the road is multi-laned, so you don't need to cross the no-passing line to pass.

You must not pass a motor vehicle or animal-drawn vehicle if it means you have to cross over a no-passing line on your side of the centre line.

If you see a broken yellow line on your side of the centre line, that means that a no-passing line is about to start.

While you may come back over the broken yellow line to finish passing, you must not cross it to start passing.

A blue car is travelling on a road with a broken yellow line centre line that turns into a solid yellow line. A and B on the broken yellow line show where you can finish passing. C and D on the solid yellow line a show where you must not pass.

No passing line

As shown in the picture above:

you may come back over the broken yellow line between A and B to finish passing
you must not cross the solid yellow line between C and D.

You can pass at a no-passing line if:

you stay on your side of the solid yellow line, and
you can see 100 metres of clear road in front of you for the whole time while you're passing, and
the lane is wide enough for 2 vehicles.

A blue car indicates right and passes a motorcycle but stays in the same lane. The solid yellow no passing line is on the left side of the centre line, the right shows broken white lines.

Passing without crossing the no passing line

A blue car indicates left to finish passing a red car without crossing the centre line. The solid yellow no passing line is on the left side of the centre line, the right shows broken white lines.

Passing without crossing the centre line

Passing on a 3-laned road

If there's no solid yellow line on your side of the centre line, you may use the centre lane to pass as long as:

there are no vehicles in that lane, and
you can see 100 metres of clear road in front of you for the whole time while you're passing.

Don’t use the centre lane to pass if there's an oncoming vehicle in the centre lane.

A blue car and a truck have a single lane. The blue car wants to pass the truck. The cars travelling in the opposite direction have 2 lanes. The blue car crosses into the opposing traffic's lane to pass the truck. Black dotted arrows show the progression.

Passing on a 3-laned road

Passing a cyclist

You should allow at least 1.5 metres between you and a person riding a bicycle when passing. If you can’t pass safely, slow down and wait behind the cyclist until you can.

Sometimes a rider may want to move to the centre of the lane to keep safe. This is called taking the lane. You can use a flush median to pass a rider as long as you can do it safely.

A blue car indicates right and moves onto the flush median to pass a cyclist.

Using a flush median to pass a cyclist

Situations when riders may take the lane are:

on roundabouts
turning right at intersections
turning left at intersections
when the road is too narrow for motor vehicles to safely pass them
when parked car doors might unexpectedly open in their path.

At a 4 road roundabout 2 cyclists travel through the roundabout using the centre of the road. Sharrow road markings show they might do this.

Cyclist taking the lane at an intersection

You may see a sharrow marking in these situations.

The sharrow road marking shows where riders are likely to ride in the centre of the lane for safety. You should slow down and follow the riders until the road widens and you can pass safely, or use another lane to pass them.

A road marking with an image of a bicycle topped with double arrows.

Sharrow road marking

Where you must not pass

Remember, it’s against the law to cross over a no-passing line on your side of the centre line to pass another vehicle. But this isn’t the only situation where you mustn’t pass. There are other situations where passing is both unsafe and illegal.

Don’t pass any vehicle that’s stopped, or is slowing down, for people on a pedestrian crossing.

A red car is stopped at a pedestrian crossing and waiting for people to finish crossing. A blue car behind the red car is attempting to pass the red car. A large red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do.

Illegal passing near a pedestrian crossing

Don’t pass any vehicle when you’re coming to a blind corner or curve. A blind corner or curve is where you can’t see what’s around the corner.

A blue car is attempting to pass a red car but cannot see the green car around the corner. A red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do.

Illegal passing on a corner

Don’t pass any vehicle when you can’t see at least 100 metres of clear road in front of you for the whole time while you’re passing.

A blue car is attempting to pass a motorcycle, the green car is closer than 100 metres. A red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do. When approaching or crossing an intersection, don’t pass on the right of a vehicle if it means you’ll cross the centre line. You must not get in the way of:

vehicles coming towards you
vehicles coming out of side roads.

A blue car is attempting to pass a red car at a T intersection. A red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do.

Don’t pass:

any moving vehicle when you're less than 60 metres from a railway level crossing
any vehicle that's stopped for a train.

A bus is stopped for a railway crossing and a blue car is attempting to pass the bus. A red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do.

Illegal passing near a railway level crossing

Don’t pass any vehicle if it means you have to drive over a flush median.

On a 4 laned road with a flush median for a centre line a blue car is attempting to use the flush median to pass a truck and a red car taking up both the lanes. A red X indicates this is the wrong thing to do.

Turning on or off a road with a flush median

Passing at an intersection

In some situations, you're allowed to pass another vehicle at an intersection. However, you need to be very careful when doing this.

Passing on the left at an intersection with one lane on your side of the road

In this situation, you can pass on the left if there's enough room in your lane for you to pass and the vehicle you're passing:

has stopped, or
is signalling a right turn, or
is turning right.

Don’t pass if the vehicle has signalled a left turn.

A blue car and a red car are travelling in the same direction using the single lane on their side of the road. Black arrows indicate the blue car can travel straight ahead or turn left. A black arrow indicates the red car can turn right.

Passing on the left at an intersection with one lane on your side of the road

Passing on the left at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road

In this situation, you can pass on the left if the vehicle you're passing is in a different lane and you can pass safely.

A blue car and a red car are travelling in the same direction in their own lane. Black arrows show the blue car in the left lane car can travel straight ahead or turn left. A black arrow shows the red car can travel straight ahead.

Passing on the left at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road

Passing on the right at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road

In this situation, you can pass on the right if you're turning right or going straight ahead.

Passing on the right at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road

Online services

Passing on the right

Important!

Passing on the left

Important!

No-passing line

Passing on a 3-laned road

Passing a cyclist

Where you must not pass

Passing at an intersection

Passing on the left at an intersection with one lane on your side of the road

Passing on the left at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road

Passing on the right at an intersection with more than one lane on your side of the road