In this scenario, is it prohibited to overtake at an intersection with traffic lights?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
NO
Explanation
In the video, you are driving in town on a roadway with two lanes in your direction and approaching a junction with traffic lights showing green; in the left lane there is a white car, in the right lane a red minibus. At this junction, overtaking is not prohibited. The answer is: no.
The Road Traffic Act prohibits overtaking a power-driven vehicle travelling on the roadway at a junction, except at a roundabout or at a junction where traffic is controlled - and a junction with working traffic lights is exactly a junction with controlled traffic. The ban at an ordinary junction exists because the vehicle in front of you may suddenly turn left, and someone may come in from the side; with traffic lights, crossing traffic is stopped by a red light, and turning directions usually have separate lanes and arrows, so the risk is lower. However, overtaking at a junction with traffic lights must meet the general conditions: visibility, space, and no signal of a lane change from the vehicle being overtaken; and a pedestrian crossing at such a junction, being a crossing with controlled traffic, is also not covered by the overtaking ban.
Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 7 point 3 and para. 1 and Art. 26 para. 3 point 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)