When can you return to the right lane after you complete the overtaking manoeuvre on a one-way road with two lanes?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. After you've made sure that this will not force the driver of the overtaken car to brake or change its trajectory of driving.
Explanation
In the photo you are driving in the left-hand lane of a dual carriageway outside a town and going past a dark car that is travelling in the right-hand lane. After overtaking, you may return to the right-hand lane only after making sure that this will not force the driver of the overtaken vehicle to brake or change their path - answer C. Seeing just the edge (A) or the lights (B) of the overtaken car in the exterior mirror does not guarantee a safe distance, because a convex exterior mirror shows the car smaller and further away than it really is, and this encourages you to move back too early.
The Road Traffic Act requires you to exercise particular caution when overtaking, and in particular to keep a safe distance from the vehicle being overtaken, and when changing lanes - to give way to a vehicle travelling in that lane; pulling in just in front of the bonnet of the overtaken car, forcing its driver to brake, breaks this obligation. A practical rule: you return to the right-hand lane when you can see the whole overtaken car in the interior mirror, with your indicator on and without a sharp turn. On a motorway, the distance should be at least half your speed in metres.
Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 2 and Art. 22 para. 4 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)