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 are 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 decide to pass, follow these rules.

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
• signal right for at least 3 seconds before moving out to pass.
• look behind and check your blind spot to make sure there are no vehicles passing you.

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

• make sure you can see the vehicle in your rear-view mirror – check your blind spot again
• signal left for at least 3 seconds.

Passing on the right

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
• the vehicle you're passing:
  • has stopped, or
  • is signalling a right turn, or
  • is turning right
• you're directed to by a police officer.

Be careful when passing a vehicle signalling a right turn, as other drivers may not see you.

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

Passing on the left

Going around a vehicle

No-passing line

On some sections of road there'll 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 any 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.

No-passing line

As shown in the picture above:

• you may come back over the dashed 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 you're passing, and
• the lane is wide enough for 2 vehicles.

Passing without crossing the no-passing 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 you're passing.

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

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 cyclist 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 cyclist as long as you can do it safely. 

Situations when cyclists 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.

You may see a sharrow marking in these situations.

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

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.

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.

Illegal passing on a curve

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.

Illegal passing without 100 metres of clear road 

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.

Illegal passing at an intersection

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.

Illegal passing near a railway level crossing

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

Information about flush medians

Illegal passing on 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.

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.

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.

Going around a vehicle turning left

Be careful in this situation as a driver turning out of an intersection may not know you’re there because the vehicle turning left is blocking their view.