Undertaking and passing on the inside are two completely different things. Undertaking involves a lane change before the event
Where are you getting this from? Just from a policeman's personal definition? That holds no weight except when dealing with that policeman.
There is no legal definition of "undertaking". It is a slang word. It means overtaking, but on the wrong side. Nothing more, nothing less. Under = opposite to over. Undertaking = opposite style of action to overtaking. Simple.
Secondly, the only difference between passing and overtaking is that overtaking suggests passing a *moving* vehicle. Whether you're changing lanes or not merely changes how complicated and risky the overtake is. I suspect laws stick to using "passing", or use "passing" and "overtaking" synonymously. (In much the same way as "stopping" and "parking" are treated as the same in many laws.)
Again, break down the word to understand it. Overtaking = taking more, relatively = going faster, and passing someone else (in context.)
passing on one side is no more dangerous than passing on the other, if the person you are passing doesn't check their mirrors beforehand...
Oh, so it *should* be safe, so it's OK for you to assume it's safe? Get real. "If" may only be two letters, but it's a mighty big word.
Do you really not know that blind spots are a bigger problem on the nearside? And that checking the nearside requires observing a wider arc of view? And you drive a bus??? You might want to be careful who you say these things to. Would you happily tell your boss that passing on the inside is just as safe as passing on the outside? I doubt it.
And what about those instances where you have two motorways running parallel but separated by just white lines?
An exceptional case. People are directed into specific lanes and the lane markings are often different. So people have reason to expect others to be passing on the inside, so it's safer. Caution is still needed though, as we often see in dash cam footage.
Those white lines separating lanes are give way lines
They are called lane markings. But you're repeating a phrase I've seen elsewhere. Who is dreaming up these interpretations and presenting them as fact?
what, exactly, constitutes a "safe speed" for passing on the inside?
A speed where you can safely react to entirely predictable events.
my dropping 11mph for no good reason certainly isn't a safe option for anyone following me
Slowing to ensure a crash doesn't happen IS a good reason.
Dude, people's speed drifts up and down by that much all the time on motorways without them even noticing.
But you are presenting a contradictory argument. You are saying a planned and controlled 11mph alteration is so high that people can't cope, yet an undertaker can cope if a lane hogger cuts in front of him without warning at that speed difference.
Besides, a 10/11 mph difference is reasonably cautious in my book. You can shed that much speed almost instantly in an emergency, at least at legal speeds.
It's the +20-30mph (or greater) undertakes that are reckless. I see them a lot.
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