A police sergeant has issued a warning about a common motorway driving habit.
Sgt Owen Messenger of Devon and Cornwall Police described "undertaking"—overtaking a slower vehicle on its left—as "really, really dangerous" and something that should never be done on the motorway.
Speaking in a video shared on the @georgescarmedia social media channel, Sgt Messenger said: "In general, you can't undertake on the motorway and that's because people aren't expecting you to come up on the nearside.
"People might look to move back to the left which is their default position on the motorway and they're not expecting you to be coming up on the inside.
"Please don't undertake on the motorway, it's really, really dangerous."
The video is part of a partnership between Devon and Cornwall Police and George's Car Media (GCM), aimed at helping young drivers keep their vehicles roadworthy and stay safe.
What are the rules around undertaking?
Undertaking is not technically illegal in the UK, but The Highway Code strongly advises against it, stating drivers should "not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake."
Rule 267 of The Highway Code also states that drivers should "only overtake on the right."
However, Sgt Messenger clarified that there are limited circumstances where undertaking is permitted.
He said: "You can't undertake on the motorway, the only time you can undertake on the motorway is when your lane is genuinely moving slower [faster] than the other lanes.
"That's generally when you're going through roadworks, or it's heavy traffic or something like that."
Rule 268 of The Highway Code allows for undertaking in congested conditions where left-hand lanes are moving faster than those on the right.
The Highway Code states: "In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right.
"In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to you right.
"Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake."
Drivers caught undertaking on the motorway could be issued a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for careless driving or driving without due care and attention.
This could result in three points on their licence and a £100 fine if the offence is considered minor.
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Sgt Messenger also encouraged motorists to use the nearside lane as their default position.
He said: "You're not going to get there any quicker by weaving through the traffic, so just drive it [the motorway properly].
"[Drive in the] default position to the nearside and just come out [of your lane] to overtake when you need to overtake."
Have you seen drivers undertaking on the motorway recently? Let us know in the comments.
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