In what way should you observe your surroundings while driving on a motorway?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. Look to the front and from time to time monitor the road behind the vehicle using the side mirrors.
Explanation
On a motorway, traffic moves fast, and the differences in speed between vehicles can be large. So you look far ahead, but regularly, every few seconds, you check the situation behind the vehicle in the rear-view mirrors - answer C. This way, you know whether someone is catching up with you quickly before you start changing lanes.
Answer A is wrong, because a driver who looks only ahead will not notice a vehicle that is overtaking and may cut in front of it. Answer B goes too far the other way: most dangers are in front, so that is where your main attention goes. The Road Traffic Act requires you, before changing lanes, to give way to a vehicle already travelling in that lane, and before overtaking, to make sure that nobody behind you has started overtaking - this is impossible without looking in the mirrors.
Legal basis: Art. 22 para. 4 and Art. 24 para. 1 point 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)