If the car in front signals a left turn, is it permissible to overtake on the right?
While driving on the road, if a driver sees a vehicle in front signaling a left turn and occupying the left lane, is it considered a traffic violation to overtake it on the right? This is a question raised by Mr. Tran Trung C. (Van An commune, Nghe An province).
Reply:Article 14 of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety stipulates the following regarding overtaking:
Article 14. Overtaking and yielding to vehicles requesting to overtake.
1. Overtaking is a traffic situation on a road where each direction of travel has only one lane for motor vehicles, and the vehicle behind moves to the left to move ahead of the vehicle in front.
On roads with two or more lanes for motor vehicles traveling in the same direction, separated by lane markings, when a vehicle behind moves ahead of the vehicle in front, the lane usage rules stipulated in Article 13 of this Law shall apply.
2. When overtaking other vehicles, you must overtake on the left; however, if the vehicle in front is signaling a left turn or is turning left, or if a specialized vehicle is working on the road and overtaking on the left is not possible, you may overtake on the right.
3. A vehicle requesting to overtake may only do so when there are no obstacles ahead, no oncoming vehicles in the section of road intended for overtaking, the vehicle ahead is not signaling to overtake another vehicle, and has already signaled to turn right and move to the right.
4. When a vehicle requests to overtake, the driver of the vehicle in front must observe the road ahead. If safe conditions permit, they must reduce speed, signal a right turn to inform the driver of the vehicle behind that they are overtaking, and move close to the right side of the road until the vehicle behind has passed. They must not obstruct the overtaking vehicle.
In case of obstacles or unsafe conditions, the driver of the vehicle in front shall signal a left turn to inform the driver of the vehicle behind that overtaking is not permitted.
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Therefore, according to the provisions of the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, in cases where the vehicle in front signals a left turn and it is not possible to overtake on the left, the driver of the vehicle behind must...Overtaking on the right is permitted, provided traffic safety is ensured.
