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Highway Code · Rule 163

Highway Code Rule 163

Using the road (159 to 203). Advisory guidance you are expected to follow.

  • Using the road
  • Advisory rule
  • OGL v3.0

What the rule says

Advisory

Rule 163 (Overtaking (rules 162 to 169)) Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

  • not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake
  • use your mirrors, signal when it is safe to do so, take a quick sideways glance if necessary into the blind spot area and then start to move out
  • not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle
  • move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in
  • take extra care at night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance
  • give way to oncoming vehicles before passing parked vehicles or other obstructions on your side of the road
  • only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so
  • stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left. Cyclists may pass slower moving or stationary traffic on their right or left and should proceed with caution as the driver may not be able to see you. Be careful about doing so, particularly on the approach to junctions, and especially when deciding whether it is safe to pass lorries or other large vehicles.
  • give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders and horse drawn vehicles at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211 to 215). As a guide:
  • leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists at speeds of up to 30mph, and give them more space when overtaking at higher speeds
  • pass horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles at speeds under 10 mph and allow at least 2 metres of space
  • allow at least 2 metres of space and keep to a low speed when passing a pedestrian who is walking in the road (for example, where there is no pavement)
  • take extra care and give more space when overtaking motorcyclists, cyclists, horse riders, horse drawn vehicles and pedestrians in bad weather (including high winds) and at night
  • you should wait behind the motorcyclist, cyclist, horse rider, horse drawn vehicle or pedestrian and not overtake if it is unsafe or not possible to meet these clearances. Remember: Mirrors – Signal – Manoeuvre Rule 163: Give vulnerable road users at least as much space as you would a car

Rule text reproduced verbatim from the official Highway Code (Crown copyright) under the Open Government Licence v3.0, see the attribution at the foot of this page.

In plain English

Stripped of the formal wording, Rule 163 comes down to one idea: rule 163 (Overtaking (rules 162 to 169)) Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. It is advice rather than law, but examiners and the courts still treat it as the expected standard of safe driving.

It belongs to the using the road part of the Code, the habits a confident, considerate driver builds until they are automatic. The aim is not to memorise the sentence word for word, but to understand the hazard it protects you from, so you apply it without having to think when it counts.

If you are learning, treat this rule as one piece of a connected set rather than an isolated fact. The related rules below sit in the same section and reinforce each other, reading them together is how the using the road part of the Code starts to feel like common sense rather than a list to revise.

Because this is advisory rather than legal, no one will fine you for the rule alone, but ignoring it can still count against you in a careless-driving case, and it will cost you faults on the test. Either way, the safe move is to build the habit early, while a driving instructor can correct it, rather than relearning it under test pressure. That is exactly what the practice routes and coaching in the DriveRoutes app are designed to help with, turning the rules below into the way you naturally drive.

Why rule 163 matters on the road

Most collisions happen at junctions, on bends and during overtakes, exactly the situations this part of the Code governs. Following it makes your intentions predictable to everyone around you, which is the single biggest factor in avoiding the conflicts that lead to crashes.

Common faults examiners record

In the using the road part of the Code, the faults most often written on the marking sheet tend to be the same handful. Knowing them in advance is the quickest way to drive them out of your own habits:

  • Poor lane discipline, drifting wide on approach or sitting in the wrong lane through a junction.
  • Late or missing observation before changing position, especially the blind-spot check.
  • Hesitation at junctions that holds up traffic, or the opposite, moving off without a safe gap.

On the day

Picture a busy junction on your test route. Applying Rule 163 looks like this: you check your mirrors early, decide your position and signal in good time, settle into the correct lane well before the line, and make a final effective observation before you commit. Done smoothly, the examiner sees a planned, unhurried manoeuvre rather than a last-second reaction.

Quick checklist

  • Mirrors first, then signal, then manoeuvre, every time.
  • Decide your lane and position early, not at the line.
  • Make a final effective observation before you commit.

More from Using the road

Related Highway Code rules

Rule 163, your questions

Rule 163 (Overtaking (rules 162 to 169)) Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. It is advisory guidance rather than law, but you are still expected to follow it and an examiner can mark a fault if you do not.

DriveRoutes is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).