When driving in an area without designated lanes for vehicles and pedestrians, where they share the same space, is the driver obliged to yield to pedestrians who are moving around the area?

In the photo you can see a square in front of a shop, where cars drive and park, and pedestrians walk between them - without a separate roadway or pavement. The driver of a vehicle must give way to pedestrians in such a square. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act states that a driver who drives across a footway (droga dla pieszych) is obliged to drive slowly and give way to pedestrians, and this rule applies accordingly when driving in a square where, because there is no separate roadway and footways, pedestrians and vehicles move on the same surface. Giving way means that you do not force a pedestrian to stop, slow down or walk faster - when someone is crossing the square in front of you, you stop and wait. The reason is obvious: in a car park pedestrians come out from behind cars, children run around, someone pushes a trolley and looks at a shopping list, and nobody expects a fast-moving car. That is why you drive slowly across the square, at walking pace, and you are ready to stop at any moment, and when reversing out of a parking space, you exercise particular caution.

Legal basis: Art. 26 para. 4 and 5 and Art. 2 point 23 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)