In conditions of a significant reduction in speed on the roadway, will the driver of vehicle 3 drive ahead of vehicle 2?

In the picture there is a roadway with two lanes in one direction, and the right lane ends; at the narrowing, the red vehicle no. 2 is moving over from the right lane, and in the left lane there is the brown no. 3, with the green no. 1 in front of it. When there is a significant reduction in speed on the roadway, the driver of vehicle no. 3 does not drive ahead of vehicle no. 2. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act states that when there is a significant reduction in speed on a roadway with more than one lane in the same direction, and it is not possible to continue in a lane because of an obstacle or because the lane ends, the driver in the neighbouring lane must, directly before the point where the lane ends, allow one vehicle from that lane to move into the neighbouring lane. The rule does not depend on which lane ends: here the right one disappears, so it is the drivers in the left lane who let in one vehicle at a time from the right. After no. 1 has gone through, it is the turn of no. 2 from the ending lane, and no. 3 waits and follows it. The zipper merge (jazda na suwak) works only in a traffic jam.

Legal basis: Art. 22 para. 4a of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)