SHOCKING footage has captured the moment a driver took eight seconds to overtake a learner on a 20mph road – almost causing a head-on collision.
In the footage, the blue Fiat starts to pass the learner on a quiet residential street, but approaches a speed bump, and has to slow back down to 20mph.
The two cars then drive side-by-side for several seconds, before the Fiat eventually pulls ahead, before narrowly avoiding another vehicle coming in the opposite direction.
Alan Jones, the instructor of the young driver shared the footage as an example of the kind of thing learner drivers experience on a daily basis.
He says that he has been able to create a whole YouTube channel based on dash cam footage he has collected of drivers driving badly near his instructor car.
And he has warned road users not to “see red” and think they have to overtake a learner when they see one.
Alan said of the footage, recorded last Wednesday: “Drivers see an L and it’s like red to a bull.
“They seem angry and lose their patience, but on seeing a learner give them space, if it’s safe and necessary fine to overtake but if we’re doing what we are supposed to then keep your distance.
“I see incidents like this all the time. I’ve got a YouTube channel too but I’ve not uploaded to it for a while as became normal to me.”
After Alan shared the footage, which was recorded in Dudley, West Midlands, many fellow driving instructors rushed to share their similar experiences.
Kirsty Green wrote: “As a fellow Driving Instructor, I feel your pain. It happens to me a lot! I think other drivers see the learner sign and for some reason think that we are going to be driving extra slowly everywhere and therefore overtaking is needed!
“I had a similar situation on a national speed limit road a few months back.
“The overtaking vehicle didn’t have enough power and hadn’t taken into account the massive truck coming the other way. We had to slow down to allow the overtaking vehicle in front of us to avoid a head on collision at 50/60mph!”
Tugwell Gibson added: “Never advise my learners to use P plates. Might as well walk into a pub with a sign saying ‘mug me I’m a victim around your neck.’!
Whilst Paul Summerton simply wrote: “Yet another prat.”
Road safety charity Brake have previously highlighted the dangers of overtaking on single carriageway roads.
A spokesman for the charity said back in February: “Overtaking on single carriageway roads is one of the most dangerous and usually unnecessary manoeuvres a driver can perform, often forcing other drivers to swerve, pull over or brake to avoid a collision.”
