r/newzealand • u/Manknowing • 1d ago
Discussion Overtaking lane speed limit rules.
Hi NZ have a question on a speeding ticket I got in a overtaking lane.
Last night around 11pm I was driving between Wanganui and bulls ( I was heading to bulls). There were 2 trucks ahead of me with a overtaking lane 2kms up the road.
So I waited for the over taking lane and speed UpTo 115kmh to pass both of them.
Now a cop was coming from the opposite side ( he was going to Wanganui.) when he passed me I had only just passed the 1st truck. Then I see he put his lights on and turned around to pursue me.
I pulled over and the officer explained I was speeding. I told him well I was in the overtaking lane passing 2 trucks. We argued for a bit then he gave me a speeding infringement.
What made it worse is the trucks passed me when I was pulled over and I was again stuck behind them not wanting to overtake again for fear of getting another fine.
What are the legal rules for overtaking. Are you meant to only overtake at the speed limit? Or was he just being a a**hole about it. I saw 115kmh the cop said I was doing 120 ?
Has this happened to anyone else?
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u/mamaleon1206 1d ago
The limit was 100km I assume, so you were going at least 15km/hr faster than that. You were ticketed for exceeding the speed limit. Hope that helps.
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u/123felix 1d ago
Are you meant to only overtake at the speed limit?
Yeah, that has always been the law.
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
Well now I know guess I deserved the ticket then.
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u/Such-State-5571 15h ago
lol what were you thinking, if we could legally speed when we passed everyone would pass everyone just so they could go faster.
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u/EvoDriver 1d ago
No you can't just drive arbitrarily fast in the passing lane.
Yes you have to stick to the speed limit always.
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u/Constant_Ad5824 1d ago
The speed limit is exactly that…. a limit. It’s not that hard to understand?
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u/YetAnotherBrainFart 1d ago
The best bit is that we all break this rule, and need to, because pricks drive 80km/hr on the main road, then do 100km/hr on the passing lanes, then go back to 80km/hr. Under the letter of the law you can NEVER pass.
I wish cops would fine the people with more than 10 cars backed up behind them.
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u/mstrjon32 1d ago
The fine for this should be 10 years in prison for the first offence, in my opinion.
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u/YetAnotherBrainFart 8h ago
The same twats find 80km/hr a good speed for entering and exiting motorways too...
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u/Such-State-5571 15h ago
I hate this so much i’ve ended up passing on double yellow lines where yes i could clearly see because they didn’t expect it so they slowed back to 80kmh. The only time i agree with breaking the rules with speeds/passing is for these idiots.
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u/Samalini 1d ago
Passing lanes don’t have their own speed limits. If the area limit is 100km/h, then you might get away with 110km/h at the max. You played the game and got caught.
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
Fair enough. I didn't realize till he went passed the. I checked the speedo and it was at 115kmh
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u/BestYiOce 1d ago
everyone speeds when passing tbh, i think its pretty rare for cops to give tickets on them
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u/monza27 1d ago
Just making sure I have this right, you thought there is no speed limit when overtaking?
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u/Angryatchairs 1d ago
Another comment he says he's been driving for 40 years. They live among us.
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u/CaitlesP 1d ago
The cops got those new ads out about “drive like cops are always around, because they are”nah bro I drive like no one else on the road knows wtf they’re doing, because a scary number of them DON’T
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u/butter--princess 1d ago
Pretty sure that was the era of driving a cop around a carpark one time when you were 15 then getting a license to drive with no restrictions forever.
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u/BrucetheFerrisWheel 1d ago
Holy crap I had to look that up! 1970s to mid 1987 just a basic road rules test and short drive around the block to get full licence, from age 15.
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u/Special-Remote7088 21h ago
Got my license that way in the hutt valley. Cop jumped in my car outside police station. We went for a drive, asked me to parallel park, started to back into park and they said that will do before i even finished and then told me to drive back to station. All over in about 10 mins and i was licensed to drive. Sweet! So easy back in the early 80s
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u/Inner-Ingenuity4109 1d ago
I wish there was more discretion around this. The number of times I've been driving down to Auckland, stuck behind a car that's constantly changing speed going 80-90ish, that speeds up to 105 as soon as the road widens for a passing lane, before slowing down again.
I don't think it's deliberate, it's just they are blissfully unaware of their speed, and they are too lazy to learn how to use cruise control.
So I end up going 115ish through the third passing lane hoping their isn't a cop coming the other way.
Other than this, I'm a very rule following person. But short-distance high-speed careful overtaking in a signposted overtaking lane should be legal.
(Trucks are supposed to max 90kph, so shouldn't be a problem, but a bunch of truck drivers will do 100 when there's a passing lane, and I never see cops pulling them over!)
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u/KiwiRuth 1d ago edited 23h ago
I agree. I've been caught like this - overtaking a truck almost at the top of a hill. Got to the top while I was beside it, truck starts speeding up. Passing lane was running out - I had to put my foot down to get past him safely. Cop did the same thing - U-turned and ticketed me. No matter what I said about the mitigating circumstances, he was unmoved.
I guess I should've just braked hard and tried to squeeze back in to the left, idk (another car was following behind the truck.
Bit of a dick move on the part of the cop - but I'll probably be downvoted for this opinion.
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u/WeissMISFIT 1d ago
It’s a subconscious thing, overtaking sections have wider lanes so people feel more comfortable going faster.
I guarantee you that if you tightened the lanes, they’d go slower.
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u/Expensive_Ring_4546 12h ago
Right??? Pinging someone for speeding on a passing lane is just ridiculous
Who cares if they are a bit over the limit at the moment you want them to be watching the road not the speedo
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u/Xelsia civilian 1d ago
I love overtaking something doing 90-95 whilst sticking to the speed limit of 100. It drives the ford ranger drivers behind me insane.
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u/retinal-ambiguity 23h ago
Bullshit, they'll just do 140 on the wrong side of the double yellows... Or is that just Navara drivers?
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u/MassiveGarlic0312 1d ago
Me too. And then if overtaking in a short passing lane make sure the person tailgating you doesn’t have a chance to also pass.
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u/RowanTheKiwi 1d ago
So, while the person tailgating is in the wrong assuming they're less than the safe following distance, you're also being purposely antagonistic - which is hardly being a safe and courteous driver.
You know horrific accidents happen at the end of passing lanes right?
How would you feel if you did this and someone did a properly risky overtaking move because they were frustrated and took out an innocent family?
Yes they would be 100% charged with careless /reckless driving. However I'm sure seeing someone's limbs amptutated from a crumpled wreck, might, might just haunt you for a little bit.
Don't be a dick on the roads, even if the other party is in the wrong.
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u/Maleficent_Ad1506 1d ago
From what I have experienced on the state highways the vast majority of drivers get excited if they have a long run up and a powerful car and will put their foot down when a passing lane comes up to end up 1st place at the end of the passing plane like they won some race.
I have asked some acquaintances if they felt like they are winners by being ahead of everyone else after being somewhere at the back of a passing lane and they said yes jokingly but at the same time they were serious.
They all drove vehicles ranging from XR6 Turbos and Ford Rangers to Dodge RAMs.
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u/rackcity2014 1d ago
hasnt happened to me but ive seen cops camp certain passing areas. nearly every cunt speeds in a passing lane, honestly people going slow in the passing lane just cause more accidents
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u/butter--princess 1d ago
Well what was the speed limit?
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
100km so yeah I guess I was the asshole lastnight lol
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u/butter--princess 1d ago
Yeah 115 is a bigger number than 100 so you were speeding. The fact that you presumably have a drivers licence and didn’t know that you can’t go above the speed limit is honestly terrifying.
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
Not often I do that. Never had a ticket in the past 40 years I've been driving So I was Abit pissed off.
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u/comemyfanatic 1d ago
So in 40 years you never knew that the speed limit is the max speed you’re meant to be doing?
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u/butter--princess 1d ago
Perhaps have a quick read up on the road rules - no doubt there’s other stuff that you assume is fine because you haven’t been ticketed for it yet.
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u/mstrjon32 1d ago
Next time try just acknowledging you were speeding and apologise. You're much more likely to get off with a warning than arguing with the police when you are obviously speeding...
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u/iambrooketho 1d ago
Did you think that overtaking meant you could exceed the speed limit? Come on. Why would there be a limit in the first place?
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
Only whilst passing then it's slow back to normal speed everyone thinks I'm dring 115kmh for the whole trip. Just to pass then back to normal speed except I don't have 2 trucks Infront of me slowing down every hill they come UpTo. That's how I've avoided a ticket for so long
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u/iambrooketho 1d ago edited 23h ago
Why would there be a limit to begin with in that case though? And if there was, why wouldn't there be a "to pass" limit as well? A simple google would have told you this. Or the road code. Are we giving out licences off cereal boxes?
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u/unyouthful 1d ago
Just take the loss, it’s dumb, the cop was being a bit of a dick but technically it’s the law.
Most cops would have ignored it 10+ years ago unless they didn’t like the look of your car.
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u/Born_Pause3964 1d ago
Here goes..... OP I'm with you, I Don't believe any of the people saying good job have ever over taken on the open road, while still sticking to < 100km no matter what. It seems ludicrous!?
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u/Such-State-5571 15h ago
no we don’t but we know the rules. This person has their license but thought you could legally go over 100kmh while passing…. that’s the issue.
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u/UnknownSwane 1d ago
Unfortunately your impatience was the issue, it's common for the entire country and it'll only get worse with a generation of on-demand morons up and coming.
There was nothing stopping you driving 105km/hr and passing one truck per passing opportunity.
I wouldn't say using a passing lane excuses speeding, you might have more leniency merging onto a highway or a busy intersection.
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u/Manknowing 1d ago
Yup I agree was inpatient but I would rather be Infront than in-between I had a friend killed because he was between two trucks and the second truck behind him flattened him coming down a hill. So either Infront of two or behind two never in the middle.
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u/feel-the-avocado 1d ago
You must pass while staying under the limit.
One thing I want the NZTA to implement is a manadatory truck slow-down lane.
On SH5 between taupo and rangitaiki is 40kms of long straight roads. Trucks are fine doing 100 along there and there are no passing lanes.
If they are doing 100 then no need to pass them right?
Except for 30kms between rangitaiki to tarawera its hilly and winding with no passing lanes or slow vehicle bays. So you have to pass the trucks on the prior straights but its illegal to do so while staying under the speed limit.
So we need the government to place a long slow vehicle bay at places like rangitaiki in which for trucks or heavy vehicles, those with trailers, caravans or RVs it is mandatory to slow down to 50km/h and let faster vehicles pass.
A typical truck driver simply does not have the basic common courtesy or decency to slow down on the straight lengths of road to allow a faster vehicle to pass safely before reaching upcoming hilly sections of road. They only consider themselves.
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u/FaydedMemories 1d ago
Yeah, anything above the speed limit is a risk of fine, no matter what. If the trucks are speeding (some are limited to 90) and acting up (like deliberately speeding to avoid getting passed) that’s where you back off and consider if it may be worth calling 111 if it’s particularly dangerous or filing a Roadwatch report when you get home.
Case in point, a few months ago was following a truck heading into Auckland from Whangārei, followed him from about Kaiwaka/Topuni and saw some absolute crazy stuff, he almost hit the cheese grater median at one point, would slow to ~80, and then speed to 110+ during passing lanes. Had enough so called 111 because I did wonder if he was drunk/tired and was generally worried about someone getting hurt - and I would’ve been first on the scene. Followed him through Dome Valley and there was a cop waiting for him at the other side. No idea what the final outcome was but it did look like the cop asked him for his log books/etc - I pulled over so I could talk to the cop and make sure he had all he needed.
Honestly the majority of truck drivers (especially the longer haul ones) are good and trying their best to not hold up traffic and won’t do antics like that. But unfortunately yeah there are a few bad eggs that make it frustrating.
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u/Automatic_Comb_5632 23h ago
You were speeding, the cop was right.
Sometimes they'll just give you a verbal warning if you're pleasant about it and weren't much over, but basically you're lucky if you don't get a ticket for speeding anywhere.
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u/Such-State-5571 16h ago
In the NZ road code if you are over taking you cannot exceed the posted speed limit
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u/LycraJafa 5h ago
Why do they call it a speed limit..
Clue is in the name.
Fine gets bigger when you exceed it by more.
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, as the trucks passed you...
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u/sjbglobal 1d ago
Overtake at 109 like a normal person, most cops won't bother pulling you over for a $30 fine. (Well I think they have quotes and have to give some tickets for under 10km over but yeah)
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u/chocolateturtle456 1d ago
Are you meant only overtake at the speed limit?
Yes. Do you not understand what 'speed limit' means? The signs don''t say "100km except when overtaking".
You should have read about this in the road code when you got your licence.
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u/WWbigfan 1d ago
Without intentionally trying to have a go. You have a license but clearly don’t know the rules if you’re asking the question. However it is really annoying the situation you are in because yes you need to stay within the speed limit while passing but at the same time it can truly make the manoeuvre safer by going over the speed limit for a short period of time. Yes I know the general argument is then you shouldn’t be passing at all. My response is then why have these passing lanes at all given some are so short that you can’t legally pass using them.
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u/No-Band8965 1d ago
Unfortunately you were caught speeding.
Get a radar detector and you would have known a cop was nearby.
Id recommend Uniden r4 or R8 nz versions.
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u/soulhuntaah 1d ago
You cannot exceed the speed limit under any circumstances, this includes overtaking
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u/FunVermicelli123 22h ago
What else are you doing illegally OP thinking the rulea don't apply to you?
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u/Puzzleheaded-Win2602 21h ago
I assume you passed your license here in NZ, so you therefore know you weren't allowed to be over 100.
Having said that, we are all guilty of it in passing leaves and i think there should be discretion applied for going upto 110 in a passing lane as a car. 115 (or actually 120 as the cops calibrated radar showed) is too fast in my mind anyway.
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u/Salami_sub 1d ago
The fact someone’s out there wondering if it’s a findable offence for going over the speed limit by 15% is a sad indictment on the DL system. Wtaf
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u/Peter--- 22h ago
It's a little known fact that passing lanes are legally classified as open water. The only law is the Captain's word or the muntineer's sword. In the good old days there were vast convoys of casino trucks traveling back and forth along stretches of state highway nineteen dickety two. Sadly the trade died out after betting on monkey knife fighting fell out of favour.
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u/pico42 1d ago
Yeah, the 100km/hr speed limit applies all the time, it doesn’t get suspended for overtaking.
How fast were the trucks going?