In the presented situation, can the yellow road assistance vehicle taking part in the rescue operation drive on the passage for emergency vehicles?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
YES
Explanation
In the video, filmed from above, there is a three-lane roadway in a traffic jam; the vehicles have formed an emergency corridor between the far left lane and the middle lane, and a yellow roadside assistance vehicle taking part in a rescue operation is driving along the corridor, right behind a fire engine. It may use the passage for the emergency vehicle (with flashing blue lights and a siren). The answer is: yes.
The Road Traffic Act prohibits the driver of a vehicle other than an emergency vehicle from using the passage formed by vehicles pulling over to the edges of the lanes, but it states clearly that this ban does not apply to vehicles of road authorities or roadside assistance taking part in a rescue operation. The yellow recovery truck going to the scene of an accident to remove the crashed vehicles and restore traffic is part of the rescue operation: without it the services cannot finish their work, and the traffic jam will not clear. Roadside assistance is not an emergency vehicle - it has no blue lights or siren and may not break other rules - but it is allowed to drive along the emergency corridor. For you this means that after the fire service has passed, you keep your position at the edge of the lane for a little longer before you return to your lane.
Legal basis: Art. 9 para. 3 and 4 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)