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by Kuraish Saldin

Today we hear so many media reports about tragic road accidents. Many of these take place due to head on collisions precipitated by reckless overtaking. If the general public is aware of the proper methods of overtaking many of these accidents would probably not take place.

Overtaking is a serious business. Similar to taking a quick single at Cricket. You have to judge the speed at which the ball is travelling to the fielder. Is the ball heading to the side of his throwing arm or his weak arm? Is he quick as Jonty Rhods or is he a slouch on the field? Finally can the non striker keep up with you and complete the run?

The principles of overtaking are -

* Do not overtake if the road ahead is not clear

This is the cardinal rule of overtaking. If your sight of the road ahead is not clear such as at a corner/bend, at the crest of a hill, or if your visibility is obstructed in some form or the other do not attempt to overtake. If you do, your destiny would be signed, sealed and delivered and you might be on your way to meet St. Peter or Lucifer as the case may be.

Furthermore do not rely on the advice or instructions of others. When stuck behind a large container for a long time on narrow winding road you might become frustrated and become prone to take a risk. The container driver might be a helpful sort who makes hand signals indicating whether it is safe to overtake or not. At a point where the road ahead is not clear to you he might indicate that it is safe to overtake.

Do not, I repeat do not overtake if you are unsighted. The driver ahead may be acting in good faith but he would not be aware as to the time that you would take to complete your overtaking manoeuvre. There might be an oncoming vehicle which he feels is not a threat, but it might become one if you delay the overtaking process. Only you can judge whether it safe to overtake or not. Don't put your life in the hands of a man you have never, ever met before.

* Ensure that you are on the right gear to overtake

It is important that you select the correct gear to overtake so that you don't need to change gears during the overtaking process thereby taking one hand off the steering wheel which is risky. The 4th and 5th gears of most vehicles have very little torque (pulling power) and are designed purely for cruising purposes. These gears should not be used for overtaking except where you might want to overtake at speeds in excess of 70 to 80 kms per hour where the 3rd gear would make the engine rev considerably. However this is an extreme example.

When the torque curve of most modern petrol engined cars are plotted on a graph, it can be seen that the torque line starts climbing steeply at about 2000 rpm and peaks at about 4000-4200 rpm. Translated into layman's terms it means that for overtaking you must choose a gear where the engine would not rev too little (no pulling power) or too much. (engine begins to strain at very high revs) If you have to overtake a slow moving extremely long vehicle it might be advised to choose the 2nd gear to start overtaking even though at the back of your mind you know that at the end of it, the engine would be screaming at high revs. The other alternative of starting off on the 3 rd is not good as the engine is not generating enough revs and torque at that slow speed. It really is a Hobson's choice!

The situation is slightly different for an automatic transmission car where the auto gearbox does most of the work for you. However you can lose control of the situation sometimes as an automatic gearbox takes a slightly longer time to react than a manual. It might be advised to position your vehicle on the overtaking lane quite some distance away from the vehicle being overtaken before you stomp your right leg down on the accelerator. This would give enough time for the auto gearbox to react to the force on the extreme right pedal.

The scenario would also differ when driving a diesel or turbo diesel engined vehicle. Adapt to the situation! Remember that the gearbox when used correctly, is your best friend. When abused it could become your worst nightmare.

* Analyse speed of vehicle being overtaken and speed of any oncoming vehicles If both these vehicles are rushing towards each other at great speed, forget the overtaking unless your name is Micheal Schumacher, and you are driving a Formula 1 racing car!!

* Be aware of the capabilities and power of the vehicle you are driving.

We discussed the importance of using the appropriate gear when overtaking earlier. Equally important is the knowledge of the power of the engine of the vehicle that you are driving. What might constitute to be a totally risk free overtaking manoeuvre in a 1.5 litre 16 valve Electronic fuel injected Nissan Sunny FB 15 could turn out to suicidal in a Maruti 800 with a full load.

Furthermore even if you are accustomed to driving a particular model of vehicle, be careful when driving a different engined version of the same car. ie There is a substantial difference in the power output generated by a 1.5 litre Toyota Corolla AE 110 and its lesser equipped brother, the 1.3 litre Toyota Corolla EE 111.

The moral of the story is that if you are driving a vehicle which you are unaccustomed to, do not attempt to take part in any risky overtaking until you become thoroughly familiar with its capabilities. When driving an underpowered car it might help to switch the A/C off just before overtaking to gain extra power.

* Don't change gears after overtaking downhill

Sometimes major accidens occur after the overtaking process has been completed. This happens when a driver overtakes another vehicle on a downhill slope and in his urgency to change gear to reduce the engine revs discovers his speed increasing downhill and not having enough time to stop his vehicle before an obstruction. If you overtake downhill on the 3rd gear continue on this gear until the road flattens out. The 3rd gear has braking qualities which are essential when going downhill.

* Don't just follow the leader

It is a typical Sri Lankan trait to just follow the car in front of you even when it is overtaking. Remember the vehicle in front of you is 1 or 2 vehicle lengths and a couple of seconds ahead of you. A couple of seconds could mean the difference between life and death in overtaking situations which can change instantly. It is better to wait till the vehicle ahead of you completes overtaking before you make your move.

* Overtaking a stationary bus or lorry

Overtaking a stationary bus or lorry on a narrow road poses another type of risk. Because the bus is a high covered vehicle you cannot see a pedestrian trying to cross from in front of the bus. I recommend looking at the space in front of the bus from under it near the region of the front wheels while overtaking. If you see a pair of feet walking in front of the bus toward the centre of the road, stomp on the brakes and reduce speed urgently. You will prevent yourself from killing yet another foolish pedestrian who thinks he is immortal!

* Overtaking on a cold engine

How would you feel is someone roused you from a deep slumber and ordered you to start a 100 metre dash immediately. The chances are that you would collapse even before you made it past the bedroom door. The modern automobile engine is similar to the human body. It cannot provide its maximum power and torque characteristics before warming up. Revving the engine upto the red line when it is cold in overtaking situations is a sure fire method of reducing the lifespan of your engine. Wait until the needle in the temperature gauge rises closer to the mid way mark before commencing your hard revving.

* Overtaking while using hands free mobile phone technology

Modern technology has brought with it the hands free device. A technological marvel, which is a godsend for some of us, who wish to communicate while on the move thereby saving valuable time. But is it really a godsend? A word of warning here. Studies in the USA and Europe have revealed that although hands free equipment minimizes the risk of driving because both hands remain fixed to the wheel it still can cause a significant amount of distraction to the driver to make him make a mistake. A driver using hands free could make it safely from point A to point B but would not remember any landmarks or scenery along the way. Even if a close friend of his were to cross him in another vehicle flashing his lights he might not recognize him. The driver using hands free is on autopilot. He is safe but unobservant.

Overtaking requires maximum concentration. If your talking on hands free just follow the vehicle in front of you. Choose between talking and overtaking. Both don't mix.

* Don't cut across after overtaking

Once you have finished overtaking move safely back to the left side of the road without forcing the vehicle you have just overtaken to brake or swerve even if he did everything in his power to prevent you from overtaking. It is not worth trying to take revenge. There are more important things in life.

Happy Driving!

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