When a disabled person or someone with visibly reduced mobility enters a pedestrian crossing with a special sign, should you anticipate having to stop your vehicle?

The question is about approaching a pedestrian crossing onto which a person with a disability using a special sign, or a person with visibly reduced mobility, is stepping. You must take into account that you will have to stop the vehicle. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act states that when a person with a disability using a special sign, or a person with visibly reduced mobility, is crossing the roadway, the driver is obliged to stop the vehicle to allow them to cross. This rule goes further than an ordinary duty to give way: you give way to every pedestrian on the crossing or stepping onto it, which means that you do not force them to stop, slow down or walk faster, and you stop when necessary, but for a person with a white cane, on crutches, in a wheelchair or clearly having difficulty walking, the Act directly requires you to stop, always. Since you can see that such a person is stepping onto the crossing, you plan your braking in advance - gently, signalling to the drivers behind you - and wait until they have left the roadway, even if it takes a long time. Regardless of this, when approaching a pedestrian crossing you must exercise particular caution and reduce your speed.

Legal basis: Art. 26 para. 7 and para. 1 and Art. 2 point 23 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)