Is a lateral distance of 0.5 meters enough when overtaking an electric scooter?

In the photo, you are driving along a residential street behind a person on an electric scooter, who is riding on the right-hand side of the roadway. When overtaking an electric scooter, a lateral clearance of 0.5 m is not enough. The answer is: no.

The Road Traffic Act states that when overtaking, the driver of a vehicle is obliged to exercise particular caution, and in particular to keep a safe distance from the vehicle or road user being overtaken, and when overtaking a bicycle, a cargo cycle (wózek rowerowy), a moped, a motorcycle, an electric scooter, a personal transport device, a person using a mobility aid or a column of pedestrians, this distance may not be less than 1 m. Half a metre is half the statutory minimum, and therefore a petty offence - and a real danger: the scooter rider stands high up on small wheels, and any bump, drain grate or edge of a patch in the asphalt can push them sideways, while the rush of air from a passing car makes them wobble even more. A metre is the minimum on a quiet street; at higher speeds and on a narrow roadway you leave more, and if something is coming from the opposite direction and you cannot keep a metre, you wait behind the scooter.

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