You are driving a public transport bus in the built-up area. Should you make sure that emerging from the lay-by will not pose a threat to road safety?

In the video you can see from the bus cab how you drive into a lay-by at a stop on the right side of a single-carriageway road and stop at the platform - after waiting there, you will drive out of it onto the roadway. When driving a public transport bus in a built-up area, you must make sure that leaving the lay-by will not cause danger - the answer is YES.

The Road Traffic Act requires drivers in a built-up area to reduce speed, and if necessary stop, to allow a bus to join traffic (włączanie się do ruchu) from a marked stop, if the bus signals with its indicator the intention to move onto the roadway. However, the same provision adds that the bus driver may move onto the roadway or the next lane only after making sure that this will not endanger road safety. So your priority is not absolute: you switch on the indicator, look in the mirror and move off only when the approaching driver really lets you go. Not everyone will manage to react in time, and a long bus needs time to get completely into the lane.

Legal basis: Art. 18 para. 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)