Assorted bits of the A6 Castledawson-Derry, particularly the hill up the Glenshane Pass. Describing it as two lanes up, one lane down is exactly how it is driven - single file downhill unless it is definitely safe to overtake.

A224 Polhill, a few locals may nod and agree with the extra lane on the right side of the road, although if you continue to trawl up the road, there is a minor concern that recently hatched line are slowly shrinking the S2 +1.

Also the A830 just outside Mallaig.

It used to be interesting to graduate from a 3 lane fast highway to a single track road with passing places. I can't think of any such contrast on a single trunk road. The landscape-defying neo-brutalist upgrading of the A830 from Morar to Loch nan Uamh has ended this.

I remember that. Good times were had blasting along that quiet bit of fast road, complete with the S2+1. Then you travelled under the dramatic viaduct only to find yourself on a single track road. I've not driven it since the project was completed.

The Arisaig-Morar stretch is good for a speed test......

And surely that gives the lie to those who claim this layout is never acceptable - it's a long straight, and downhill visibility is fine. If it was double whites, would you really hold back behind a 15 mph tractor or 35 mph Micra? Really?

As an aside, in my fantasy country, this kind of layout is commonplace, and is usually marked with a thick broken "hazard" centre line, and lane lining on the +2 side. It is described in the highway code, and generally understood. DWLs are sometimes applied around bends.

Well I argue that is, to all practical intents and purposes, a standard S3 road with a suicide lane.

I do understand the thinking others have explained upthread about the double line marking the effective centre of the road, but I really do feel the distinction between that and a "normal" S3 is lost on most people, and in terms of what you're actually allowed to do in terms of overtaking there really isn't any practical difference.

I think what really grates with me is the solid line is prohibiting something you're not allowed to do anyway.

Derek

You could have moved out of the way,

Would that be into the car I was overtaking (to my left), or head-on into the car he was moving out to overtake (to my right)?

It's difficult to say for sure as I wasn't there to judge for myself, however, given that one of the two of you were over the double white line, that would imply to me that one of you had a lesser degree of "right of way" than the car that had entered the "middle" lane after you, I'd also suggest that applying the brakes and dipping back in behind the car you were overtaking takes less thinking about than flashing your lights at the oncoming car and expecting them to figure out what is going off before hitting you head on at a closing speed of 120mph plus ?

May I ask, what was the end result, I'm assuming by the fact you are writing about it that one of you "gave way", regardless of being in the right or not ?

As is the section from Arisaig to the Skye Bridge, usually really quiet and pretty much straight. Thankfully I saw both sides as S1 before they were upgraded.

I was heading uphill and had already pulled out before he came into view, crossing a single dotted line to do so. I also had my dipped headlights on as I often do in grey conditions, so as to make myself more visible.

The car coming the other way was coming downhill, had to cross over a solid/dotted double white line in order to make his move, and only began to do so when I was already up alongside the car I was passing. Even if he was calculating that I would have completed my manoeuvre by the time he met me, how did he know that there wasn't a car following me through? Moreover, the lane I was in is used by traffic turning right at the next roundabout, so it was quite a cheek to expect me to get out of it.

I was so dumbstruck by his manoevre that I applied full beam lamps to deter him (they are less dazzling during the day than at night, and the Highway Code recommends their use as a warning anyway; my only fault it that I turned them on, instead of just flashing!). I continued to out-accelerate the car to my left so as to complete the manoevre, as I would have had to brake very hard to drop back in behind the car I was already passing, and I couldn't look at it because I didn't dare take my eye off the car coming the other way!

The guy coming the other way was in a whole stream of traffic, and would never have passed more than one or two cars anyway, even if I had not been there. He was still pretty insistent on coming out, though.

In the end I had to pull across on the car I was passing, which I had fortunately cleared. I and the guy coming the other way ended up passing each other straddling the respective sets of lines towards our own side of the road (as a crowd of parked truckers in a layby watched on!). When I looked in the mirror he had aborted his manoevre, and retreated to his place in the long queue he was part of.

I have no doubt that I was in the right on the grounds that I was going uphill, had only crossed the single dotted line, was already making my move when he started his, and was using a lane which automatically became "mine" a few hundred meters further on, whereas he would have had to get out of it anyway before he reached the next roundabout.

If you want to know where it was, it was on the A361 S2+1 heading from Frome towards the roundabout with the A36 at Beckington.

I'm not that familiar with the area, but seen stuff like that many times before... It's like a modern day chicken for some drivers, several years ago, I might have stuck to my guns, now, I'd probably be more passive and slip out if the other guys way to protect myself from injury... I'm not saying I'm a perfect driver, but found that by assuming every other driver on the road is a complete and utter moron, I tend to be better prepared for the few real morons that make our daily lives a pain.

So how come you're not allowed to overtake someone who's already overtaking on an S3? You're not crossing an unbroken line.
HC rule 135 says don't do it but is that a law?

No, it's not law, although except in exceptional circumstances using the third lane could be seen as careless driving (falling below the standard expected of a reasonable, prudent and competent driver).

The great irony with the kind of S2+1s on which I had my incident described above, is that if going uphill you cannot use the third lane because you would have to cross a solid line (to your far right) in order to do so, but someone going downhill - for whom the road does not appear to give the overtaking priority - would actually be able to go right out to the third lane without having to cross a solid line at any point.

Hmm... I seem to recall something about not been able to go beyond one lane... Can't recall if that's in TSRGD though

Edit - perhaps just reckless endangerment ???

It's odd, isn't it? It's something I've only done once (that I can recollect). Alresford bypass. Someone pulled out in front of me as I was overtaking and rather than slam on the brakes I used lane 3 as the entire road was clear ahead. Not a habit, but I couldn't see anything wrong with it, from a safety point of view.

Using the third lane (rightmost) is classified as dangerous driving by creating a three abreast situation (it is a Common Law interpretation of Sect. 2 of the RTA).

Obviously in pjkh's case that would not apply as he was taking emergency avoiding action. Though the person who pulled out could be up for a charge of DD themselves for causing the situation to develop..

I remember my dad criticising someone we once saw take to the third lane, and ever since then I've always assumed it's a no-no! I'm a very confident driver, but I wouldn't do it.