In this situation, is the driver of vehicle 1 obliged to move away from the passage for the emergency vehicle?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
YES
Explanation
In the video, in an animation viewed from above, there is a roadway with three lanes in one direction, joined by an extra lane from the left; the white car no. 1 is driving in the middle lane, and from behind, along the line between the left and middle lanes, a red fire engine with its blue lights and siren on is approaching. The driver of vehicle no. 1 is required to move out of the way of the emergency vehicle. The answer is: yes.
The Road Traffic Act requires every road user to make it easier for an emergency vehicle to pass, in particular by moving out of its way immediately and, if necessary, stopping. An emergency vehicle is one that uses flashing blue lights and sound signals of varying tone at the same time. The fire engine is heading straight for vehicle no. 1, partly in its lane, so the driver of no. 1 must react immediately: check in the mirror which way the fire engine is going and pull over so as to leave it a clear path. The Act also suggests the direction: on a roadway with more than two lanes in a traffic jam, vehicles in lanes other than the far left one move out of the way to the right - and it is sensible to do the same here, because the fire engine is coming from the left.
Legal basis: Art. 9 para. 1 and para. 2 point 2 and Art. 2 point 38 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)