In this situation, are you obliged to keep a safe distance from the horse-drawn vehicle you are driving past?

In the video, you are driving on a narrow road through a forest, and a horse-drawn vehicle - a cart pulled by a horse - is coming from the opposite direction. You are obliged to keep a safe distance from the horse-drawn vehicle you are passing. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act requires a driver, when passing an oncoming vehicle, to keep a safe distance from the vehicle or road user being passed and, if necessary, to move to the right and reduce speed or stop. A horse-drawn vehicle is a vehicle within the meaning of the Act, so the rule applies to it in full, and in practice it requires particular attention: the horse may be frightened by the noise of the engine, the horn or a rush of air and jerk the cart sideways into your lane. That is why, when passing a horse-drawn vehicle, the distance should be larger than with a car, and your speed lower - on a narrow forest road you move to the right-hand edge, slow down to a few dozen km/h, do not use the horn and do not flash your lights. If the road is too narrow to pass each other safely, you stop and let the horse-drawn vehicle go by, because it is easier for you to stop a car than for the driver of the cart to stop a horse. Horse-drawn vehicles are found on country and forest roads, often without lights, so at dusk you slow down even more.

Legal basis: Art. 23 para. 1 point 1 and Art. 2 point 26 and 31 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)