While exercising extreme caution, is it permissible to slowly drive past a person in a wheelchair who is entering a pedestrian crossing?
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Correct answer
NO
Explanation
In the picture a person in a wheelchair is entering a pedestrian crossing from the pavement. Even if you exercise particular caution, you are not allowed to drive slowly past in front of them. The answer is: no.
The Road Traffic Act states that when a person with a disability using a special sign, or a person with visibly limited mobility, is crossing the roadway, the driver is obliged to stop the vehicle to allow them to cross. A person in a wheelchair visibly has limited mobility, and by entering the crossing they are a pedestrian entering it, who has right of way over a vehicle. The rule leaves no choice: it requires stopping, not "careful driving past" - driving slowly in front of the wheelchair would force the person to stop, so it would be failing to give way. A wheelchair starts moving more slowly than a pedestrian, needs more time to get over the kerb and across the width of the roadway, and the person in it sits low and sees approaching cars less well. So you stop before the crossing, wait until the wheelchair reaches the other pavement, and only then do you move off.
Legal basis: Art. 26 para. 7 and para. 1 and Art. 13 para. 1a of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)