In this situation, if you do not see other road users, are you absolved of the obligation to exercise extra caution?
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Correct answer
NO
Explanation
The question is about a situation in which you do not see any other road users. You are not released from the duty to exercise particular caution. The answer is: no.
The Road Traffic Act links the duty of particular caution to specific places and manoeuvres - approaching a junction, a pedestrian crossing or a level crossing, overtaking, reversing, joining traffic (włączanie się do ruchu) - and not to whether you can see anyone at the moment. According to the Act, particular caution means increasing attention and adapting behaviour to the changing conditions and situations on the road, to a degree that allows a sufficiently quick reaction; its whole point is to be ready for a road user who has not appeared yet. An empty road can be misleading: a pedestrian steps out from behind a parked car, a cyclist comes from around a bend, a car comes from behind a building at a junction. A driver who "did not see anyone" is not free from responsibility if he could and should have foreseen that someone might appear. That is why in places that require particular caution you slow down and watch your surroundings, no matter how empty the road looks.
Legal basis: Art. 2 point 22 and Art. 3 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)