Royal Decree 518/2026, which will come into force on October 1, has given rise to a lot of analysis, as it introduces sensitive changes in certain obligations such as the minimum equipment for motorcyclists, and also grants some rights such as the possibility of driving on the shoulder on certain occasions.
But there is more, because with the start of the month of October and the implementation of all these changes, extra attention will have to be paid when overtaking certain road users. And after the modification of section 4 of article 85, a new condition is added that will affect us when passing pedestrians, animals, animal-drawn vehicles, mopeds and personal mobility vehicles.
The BOE includes the new wording in its entirety in this way:
«4. When overtaking pedestrians, animals, animal-drawn vehicles, mopeds, personal mobility vehicles, cyclists or a group of cyclists, the overtaking driver must take special care with the maneuver, in order to avoid creating any dangerous situation for them.
The driver of a vehicle who intends to overtake in the cases provided for in the previous paragraph must do so by occupying part or all of the adjacent or opposite lane, if applicable, of the road and maintaining a safety width of at least 1.5 meters, except when the road has more than one lane in each direction, in which case a complete lane change will be mandatory.
It is prohibited to overtake, endangering or hindering those traveling in the opposite direction, even if they are traveling on the shoulder.
Furthermore, if the overtaking is carried out outside of a town, before starting the maneuver, and throughout its execution, the overtaking driver must reduce the speed with respect to the existing limit on the road by at least 20 km/h, in order to guarantee that the forward users do not see their stability and safety compromised.
When bicycle drivers circulate in groups, they will be considered as a single mobile unit.
From October 1 you will have to reduce, at least, 20 km/h before overtaking
This point of the reform, which had been largely overlooked, represents a substantial change in how to deal with overtaking beyond leaving the 1.5 meters of minimum lateral distance. This distance does not appear on the change, so it remains mandatory. What’s more, it will still be mandatory to change lanes and leave more than those 1.5 meters when we have several lanes in our direction. On roads with only one lane in each direction, part or all of the opposite lane may continue to be occupied as long as the maneuver can be carried out safely.
But the key will be the speed at which the overtaking is carried out as long as it is outside of town, because you have to travel 20 kilometers per hour slower than the limit of the road. Be careful, we are not talking about going slower than the vulnerable user because, obviously, we could not overtake him or lower our speed by 20 kilometers. It is about lowering, at least, by those 20 kilometers per hour the speed above the maximum established at that point.
That is, on a road limited to 90 km/h, overtaking must be done at a maximum of 70 km/h. If the limit is 80 km/h, it will have to be reduced to at least 60 km/h, and in a section of 70 km/h, speeds cannot exceed 50 km/h while the maneuver is being executed. Furthermore, this reduction must occur before starting the overtaking and be maintained throughout its execution, so it is not enough to lift the accelerator only when we are passing next to the cyclist.
