Pass on the left! How to overtake on twisty roads

The Philippines is a majestic nation with a multitude of beautiful views and places.

Generally, the best way to visit all of these is to fly since we are an archipelagic country. When you land, however, many places are still only accessible by road.

And because we’d rather go around and over mountains than dig through or under them, the Philippines has been blessed (or cursed, if you ask the easily nauseated) with a vast network of twisty mountain and coastal roads.

Unfortunately, the Philippines does not have the greatest reputation for driving, which makes most of these roads quite hazardous if you’re unprepared.

Driving on a winding road is pretty straightforward in the light. Stick to the speed limits, give pedestrians and other motorists a wide berth and stay in your lane.

But what do you do when someone slower is in front of you? How do you overtake them?

Don't rush it

While unavoidable, overtaking on a winding mountain or coastal road must be done with absolute caution.

The first piece of useful information comes in the form of road markings.

Generally, these markings give an accurate assumption of what’s ahead – for example, double yellow means no passing because there is potential for a head-on crash to happen in the area.

Another thing to remember would be that you should keep your line of sight in mind when overtaking.

That means that you shouldn’t overtake if you can’t see past the car in front of you, especially in corners.

Floor it!

Another thing that some people seem to underestimate is the value of engine speed, measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).

Keeping the engine RPM in the right part of the powerband comes in handy during overtaking maneuvers on twisty roads to give you quicker acceleration to complete the maneuver quickly.

Where do you find the powerband? It varies from vehicle to vehicle, but the rule of thumb is 3000 RPM and above for gasoline vehicles and 1500 RPM and above for turbodiesels.

It's not a lot to work with, but it's enough for overtaking most slow vehicles. And once you see your chance, floor the throttle and execute the pass.

Use engine braking

Lastly, go easy on your brakes.

This isn’t exactly for overtaking, but when driving on a twisty mountain road, you’ll get a lot of uphill and downhill sections. Relying too much on your brakes can cause fade, which severely diminishes their performance.

If you need to slow down, it would be better to use engine braking, which involves using a lower gear to keep the RPM up.

One last reminder would be to keep safe at all times. While it may seem tempting to go for the gap thinking “I can make it!”, if the overtake is sketchy, abort.

It’s not worth risking your car, the oncoming car and all your lives to save a few minutes worth of driving. You can't enjoy majestic views if you're dead.