When overtaking a cyclist, are you obliged to observe a distance of no less than one metre?

In the video you are driving through a village on a road without marked lanes; ahead of you, in the right-hand part of the roadway, there is a cyclist. When overtaking him, you have to keep a distance of not less than one metre. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act states that a driver must exercise particular caution when overtaking, and in particular keep a safe distance from the vehicle or road user being overtaken, and when overtaking a bicycle, a cycle cart, a moped, a motorcycle, an electric scooter, a personal transport device (UTO), a person moving with a mobility aid or a column of pedestrians, this distance must not be less than 1 m. A bicycle is first on this list, and one metre is the legal minimum, not a recommendation - and it applies everywhere, also on a quiet village road. This means the lateral clearance between the widest point of your car and the cyclist; on a roadway of normal width, this usually means driving onto the left half of the road, so before the manoeuvre you make sure that nothing is coming from the opposite direction. The cyclist may swerve to the left at any moment to avoid a pothole or a puddle - that is why the margin should be larger, not smaller, than the rule requires.

Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)