When overtaking an electric scooter, are you obliged to observe a distance of no less than 1 m?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
YES
Explanation
In the video you are driving in town along a street with parked cars on the right; ahead of you there is a person on an electric scooter wearing a high-visibility vest. When overtaking this person, you have to keep a distance of not less than 1 m. 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. An electric scooter is directly included in this list, so one metre is the legal minimum. This means the lateral clearance; the scooter rider stands high, has small wheels and may lose balance on any uneven surface, and the cars parked on the right force the rider to keep closer to the middle. So you overtake with a large margin, and if something is coming from the opposite direction and you cannot keep one metre, you wait behind the scooter.
Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)