Rule 165: You MUST NOT overtake if you would have to cross or straddle double…
You MUST NOT overtake
if you would have to cross or straddle double white lines with a solid line nearest to you (but see Rule 129)
if you would have to enter an area designed to divide traffic, if it is surrounded by a solid white line
the nearest vehicle to a pedestrian crossing, especially when it has stopped to let pedestrians cross
if you would have to enter a lane reserved for buses, trams or cycles during its hours of operation
after a ‘No Overtaking’ sign and until you pass a sign cancelling the restriction.
In the Highway Code, MUST and MUST NOT identify legal requirements. Advice using should, should not, do or do not can still be used as evidence in court proceedings under the Traffic Acts to establish liability. The introduction explains this distinction.
The rules either side
The Code reads in order, and each of these names the rule it goes to rather than saying only ‘next’.