Overtaking a vehicle that has flashing lights
In general, we can say this: there are very few situations when a motorist actually has to overtake special vehicles. Therefore, the driver himself, when faced with circumstances, cannot remember what he needs to do. Citizens believe that it is better to play it safe and not overtake these types of cars at all. Although in practice there may be different situations that allow overtaking.
What can cars with flashing lights do?
If you study the current traffic regulations, they say the following: the driver cannot overtake those vehicles that have special patterns with flashing lights on the surface. In this case, the color of such beacons is blue or red, and the car moves with the sound signal on.
Based on this norm, you might think that any overtaking of such a vehicle is prohibited. But it is not so.
Several conditions must be met simultaneously, including:
- the machine itself must have special color schemes. Alternatively, everyone will recognize the color of the ambulance.
- The vehicle is required to drive only with the sound signal on.
- movement must be carried out with the flashing signals turned on.
All specified conditions must be met simultaneously.
If any of them are not observed, then the norm regarding overtaking does not apply. This is important for every driver to know. Background information : the car can move simultaneously, including blue and red beacons. This means that the motorist does not have the right to overtake both this type of transport and other types of vehicles that are accompanied by special vehicles.
If the flashers are on
According to paragraph 3.2 of the traffic rules, overtaking is prohibited if the car has a special color scheme applied and it is moving while flashing lights and sound signals are turned on.
Only if all three conditions are met simultaneously (circuit, beacons, signal) is it prohibited to overtake. But at the same time, advance can be performed on the left or right without problems.
If both the red and blue beacons are turned on at the same time during the signal, then it is prohibited to overtake not only the car itself, but the vehicles that it accompanies.
Situations in which it is possible to overtake a vehicle with a signal
Overtaking can be carried out if at least one of the previously mentioned conditions is not met. True, there are some nuances here too.
Situation 1. An official’s car is driving along the highway, which has a lit beacon and a sound signal. Is overtaking possible?
Yes, since the third condition about the applied special color scheme is not met.
Situation 2. The movement is carried out by a patrol car, which has turned on a flashing signal. But the movement is carried out without a special signal turned on. Is overtaking allowed?
According to the law, purely theoretically, yes, such actions are allowed. In practice, if the patrol police officers want, they can challenge your actions. And the problem arises: how can you prove your innocence, because the sound is not always audible on the DVR.
Therefore, it is better to take into account many factors, including the rational need for overtaking. The policeman is also a person, and if he is out of sorts, then after overtaking he can simply turn on the sound signal and prove your guilt to you. Try to refute this fact.
Responsibility for overtaking
If we consider this case exclusively, then in the traffic rules and in the Code of Administrative Offenses there is no special responsibility for overtaking. But Article 12.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses can be applied separately here. According to this article, the driver may be subject to administrative liability in the form of a monetary penalty. Amount – 5 thousand rubles. Your license may also be confiscated for up to six months.
The subject can be stopped again for the same violation (an act that is committed a second time within a year is considered repeated). And then the measure of responsibility increases - the subject remains without rights for a period of up to 12 months. True, if such a situation is recorded not by an inspector, but by a video camera, then the punishment will only be carried out in the form of a monetary penalty - 5,000 rubles.
Penalties
For all trips into oncoming traffic that violate the Rules, punishment orders may be issued under the Code of Administrative Offenses, Art. 12.15 h. 4. Overtaking is included in the list of such departures, but violations of such lane changes are punishable by law.
There are two types of penalties:
- Fine 5 thousand rubles. This is a more lenient punishment, used if there are no similar violations and aggravating circumstances.
- Deprivation of rights for a period of 4 to 6 months. This is a more serious measure used in cases where there are no mitigating, but aggravating circumstances, or there are similar violations in the coming year.
My car caught up with the traffic police, what should I do: overtake or not?
Probably everyone has been in a situation where a traffic police car is moving ahead. Some people think that the best way out of this situation is to follow the patrol officers, because they will always find the reason for the stop. But this is not entirely the right approach. If, for example, the DPS is moving at a low speed, and you have range for overtaking, then feel free to do it. In the traffic rules there is no responsibility for such an act, because you eat within the limits of what is permitted.
The second situation: you realize that you are driving along with a patrol car at the maximum speed that is allowed in this area. Ideally, you should not exceed the speed limit and thereby overtake traffic police. In practice, there may be different situations. And you can overtake. After all, if you carefully study the legislation of the Russian Federation, there is not a single word anywhere about punishment for speeding up to 20 km/h.
Therefore, you can overtake a traffic police vehicle, but only within the speed limit on the highway + no more than 20 km/h. And don’t think that no one can accurately determine the speed of your movement. Modern cars are equipped with radars that do this with ease.
Does a motorist have the right to overtake a traffic police convoy?
Despite the fact that all motorists study traffic rules at the first stage of their development, they still do not know some of the nuances.
For example, the question arose: is it possible to overtake a traffic police convoy and do they have the right to regard such a gesture as a violation of the law? You will learn about all this in the article.
This is the situation, imagine, you are driving along the road and suddenly on your way you encounter just a huge column of cars, which are accompanied by police officers. Here the car owner immediately finds himself in an awkward situation, because everyone can be in a hurry and everyone has cases that cannot be delayed. Is it possible to overtake this column?
Situations in which the traffic police can accompany the convoy: 1. Escort of the highest officials of the Russian Federation. 2. Accompanying groups of children. 3. Transportation of dangerous, large-sized cargo. 4. Movement of equipment that is intended to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters, as well as to combat emergencies.
Overtaking an organized convoy is prohibited under the following conditions: 1. When the number of moving vehicles is more than three. 2. At the moment when you see that the car that is accompanying the convoy has its beacons turned on, and the vehicle also has a special color. 3. Cars in the column have running lights or low beam headlights on. 4. Cars in the column move in one lane. 5. Traffic police vehicles have their sound signals turned on.
I would like to answer the question right away; the entire list is compiled taking into account traffic regulations. That is, under the conditions listed above, you do not have the right to overtake a traffic convoy. But in other cases, when there are no signs, the motorist has the right to overtake the formed column. Motorists are also allowed to advance if the driver does not deliberately enter the oncoming lane.
Remember that if you don't see any signs, the column is not considered disorganized. Again, there are questions about the law here, because despite the fact that overtaking a convoy is prohibited, there is no clear formulation of the punishment for this violation. In practice, such a violation is equivalent to driving into the oncoming lane.
Important! For incorrect or prohibited overtaking of a convoy, you may not only be given a fine, but also simply have your driver’s license confiscated. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, it is better to let the convoy pass and not play with the law; it’s a different matter if you urgently need to speed up and overcome the obstacle that has formed. Read the article about the most popular traffic violations.
Responsibility for exceeding the permissible speed when overtaking traffic police
Whether a fine will be issued for overtaking depends on the situation. If during a maneuver the driver actually exceeded the speed, then the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses will be applied to him and a monetary penalty will be issued for the primary violation. If there was no speeding when overtaking, then no one has the right to punish in any way.
It also all depends on which traffic police car you overtook. You can even be guided by a visual sign: new cars are equipped with radars, there are many of them in the capital and metropolises, but there are still older cars plying on regional highways. Therefore, when overtaking such a vehicle, the inspector will not even be physically able to measure the speed. It is necessary to prove that the excess exceeded the permissible error of 20 km/h.
But be prepared to prove that you are right when you stop. They may search you and ask you to show documents. After all, they also need to somehow justify the very fact of stopping.
What is the danger of overtaking a traffic police car?
But the law is the law, and practice is practice. And, unfortunately, inspectors also sometimes want to make money in a not very honest way. And there are even special scams where inexperienced drivers can get into money. Of course, no one talks about gross and obvious violations, when everything is already clear. But we’ll talk about some tricks further.
DVR
If your car does not have a DVR, then advice: it is better not to overtake a traffic police car. Indeed, in practice, the inspector is always right according to the law. And therefore, his words and your verbal evidence can be assessed differently. The inspector can simply stop you, say that you crossed the solid line after overtaking, and issue a decision against you. It is difficult to prove the opposite situation.
You should also not rely on the opinion of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which considers such a situation unacceptable. An explanation has already been given, which said: the presumption of innocence of the driver should be used, and not the initial categorical rightness of the inspector. But so far practice works differently.
Police trap
Another trick is turning on signals and beacons at the moment when the driver has already started overtaking. The inspector already understands that the maneuver has begun and cannot be avoided, and purposefully turns on the siren.
The faster the traffic police officers get their bearings, the less chance the driver has. Although this situation is not fair, in almost most cases it is punishable by a fine. But since the initial goal of the traffic police in this case is not to fill the budget, the amount of the monetary penalty may be less than 5,000 rubles.
You can prove your innocence only if you have a DVR that also records sound.
Other situations
Of course, the inspector knows the traffic rules better than the driver knows them. Or rather, not so: the inspector knows better what can be punished for. Therefore, it is better for the drivers themselves to thoroughly study the rules than to pay fines and be without a license.
In what other situations should you not overtake cars with beacons:
- the police car turned on its left turn signal;
- when overtaking, your car will interfere with another vehicle;
- if you understand that a special vehicle is also trying to overtake another vehicle;
- overtaking is prohibited in the pedestrian lane;
- there is a car behind you that is currently trying to overtake another vehicle;
- overtaking is not possible according to traffic regulations in tunnels or before a railway crossing, on a bridge.
If you follow these simple recommendations and overtake official vehicles only when necessary, and have a DVR, then there will be no problems. Moreover, there is not even a punishment for such an act.
Is it possible to overtake a government motorcade?
There are other situations when cars with blue-red flashing lights and sirens on prevent overtaking. Often the traffic police accompanies government officials and other government officials. Such motorcades also cannot be overtaken under penalty of deprivation of rights. After all, this maneuver can create dangerous situations and impede the movement of the motorcade.
Question answer
What is known about the presidential limousine of the “Cortege” project? However, in accordance with Art. 1 of the Traffic Regulations, overtaking is considered an advanced maneuver, which is associated with entering the lane of oncoming traffic. If a motorcade or column of transport is traveling along a road with several lanes in one direction, then you can get ahead of them in the adjacent lane. True, embedding into a tuple is prohibited.
Meanwhile, if the blue and red flashing lights of special vehicles are turned off, then you can not only get ahead of them, but also overtake them on two-lane narrow roads. Moreover, it is also not prohibited by the rules to overtake a traffic police vehicle accompanying a convoy or motorcade without its flashing lights on. In this case, the convoy and motorcade lose their legal status and turn into ordinary traffic participants who do not have priority on the road and are subject to the general provisions of traffic rules. The main thing is that overtaking is done in a permitted place and without exceeding the speed limit.
