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Is it possible to overtake “in the opposite direction” on new asphalt without marked markings

  • June 1, 2023
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Summer is the season when road workers from all regions of the country arrange total asphalt replacements. During this work, there are periods when the horizontal markings have

Is it possible to overtake “in the opposite direction” on new asphalt without marked markings
Summer is the season when road workers from all regions of the country arrange total asphalt replacements. During this work, there are periods when the horizontal markings have already been torn off along with the old coating or have not yet been applied to fresh asphalt. Car traffic is not blocked. Will they deprive them of their “rights” to drive in an oncoming lane in such conditions?

If the solid center line of the marking is temporarily omitted, it appears that the prohibition to enter the oncoming lane has not disappeared, as it were, but no warning is issued. Experienced drivers and some traffic policemen recommend acting on the principle: you do not see the axial markings – by default, think that there is “fixed” and overtaking is prohibited. On the other hand, the driver, not seeing the missing line, is not obliged to guess what it should be here.

Strictly speaking, this matter is set out in paragraph 9.1 of the SDA. According to it, “the number of lanes for road vehicles is determined by the markings and (or) signs 5.15.1, 5.15.2, 5.15.7, 5.15.8, and if there are none, then by the drivers themselves, taking into account the width of the carriageway, the dimensions of the vehicle stocks and the necessary mutual distances.

So, according to this principle of the rules, if from the place where you are adjacent to the road on which you are driving, another highway or street, there are no signs prohibiting driving “into the oncoming lane” and there are no markings yet on fresh asphalt, the driver has the option to continue driving calmly in a lane reserved for oncoming traffic. It is possible that the traffic police officer, observing such behavior of the driver, has a desire to draw up a protocol about the offense – leaving “oncoming traffic” on him. Don’t get lost!

Carefully fix with your smartphone the absence of markings on the sidewalk, as well as your car, traffic police car and police officers who are trying to accuse you of a non-existent traffic violation. Do not forget to enter your disagreement with the fact of the violation in the protocol, indicate the missing formatting, and also record the presence of a video recording of the circumstances in which this document was drawn up. If these actions of yours don’t cool the military’s zeal for service, they will certainly help to prove innocence in court.

But not everything is always so clear. Asphalt is not only repaired on two-lane roads, but also on four-lane roads, for example. Often it is first changed on two lanes in one direction, and then the same fate befalls the second half of the roadway. At such times, a double solid line of axial markings may also be temporarily absent from the road. Which creates the temptation to go through the free “oncoming traffic”, ahead of the main stream in its half of the road.

You must not do this, because according to Article 9.2. SDA “on two-way roads with four or more lanes, it is prohibited to enter a lane designated for oncoming traffic for overtaking or diversion.” That is, in this case, the “oncoming car” without options is “written out” for you. Of course, you can try to excuse yourself by saying that in the absence of markings on fresh asphalt you thought that there was not a four-lane road ahead, but a two-lane road. But given the overall width of the roadway, this argument is unlikely to convince the inspector of the traffic police or the judge.

Autoview’s photo

If the solid center line of the marking is temporarily omitted, it appears that the prohibition to enter the oncoming lane has not disappeared, as it were, but no warning is issued. Experienced drivers and some traffic policemen recommend acting on the principle: you do not see the axial markings – by default, think that there is “fixed” and overtaking is prohibited. On the other hand, the driver, not seeing the missing line, is not obliged to guess what it should be here.

Strictly speaking, this matter is set out in paragraph 9.1 of the SDA. According to it, “the number of lanes for road vehicles is determined by the markings and (or) signs 5.15.1, 5.15.2, 5.15.7, 5.15.8, and if there are none, then by the drivers themselves, taking into account the width of the carriageway, the dimensions of the vehicle stocks and the necessary mutual distances.

So, according to this principle of the rules, if from the place where you are adjacent to the road on which you are driving, another highway or street, there are no signs prohibiting driving “into the oncoming lane” and there are no markings yet on fresh asphalt, the driver has the option to continue driving calmly in a lane reserved for oncoming traffic. It is possible that the traffic police officer, observing such behavior of the driver, has a desire to draw up a protocol about the offense – leaving “oncoming traffic” on him. Don’t get lost!

Carefully fix with your smartphone the absence of markings on the sidewalk, as well as your car, traffic police car and police officers who are trying to accuse you of a non-existent traffic violation. Do not forget to enter your disagreement with the fact of the violation in the protocol, indicate the missing formatting, and also record the presence of a video recording of the circumstances in which this document was drawn up. If these actions of yours don’t cool the military’s zeal for service, they will certainly help to prove innocence in court.

But not everything is always so clear. Asphalt is not only repaired on two-lane roads, but also on four-lane roads, for example. Often it is first changed on two lanes in one direction, and then the same fate befalls the second half of the roadway. At such times, a double solid line of axial markings may also be temporarily absent from the road. Which creates the temptation to go through the free “oncoming traffic”, ahead of the main stream in its half of the road.

You must not do this, because according to Article 9.2. SDA “on two-way roads with four or more lanes, it is prohibited to enter a lane designated for oncoming traffic for overtaking or diversion.” That is, in this case, the “oncoming car” without options is “written out” for you. Of course, you can try to excuse yourself by saying that in the absence of markings on fresh asphalt you thought that there was not a four-lane road ahead, but a two-lane road. But given the overall width of the roadway, this argument is unlikely to convince the inspector of the traffic police or the judge.

Source: Avto Vzglyad

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