In this situation, before you start overtaking, are you obliged to make sure that the driver behind you has not started the same manoeuvre?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
YES
Explanation
In the video you are driving in the right lane of a high-speed road behind a white lorry, and you intend to overtake it by moving into the left lane. Before you start, you are obliged to make sure that the driver behind you has not already started overtaking. The answer is: yes.
The Road Traffic Act requires a driver, before overtaking, to make sure in particular that they have adequate visibility and enough space for the manoeuvre, that the driver behind them has not started overtaking, and that the driver in front of them in the same lane has not signalled an intention to overtake, change direction or change lanes. A driver who is already in the left lane and catching up with you has right of way - pulling out in front of them means failing to give way, and it is a common cause of accidents on high-speed roads. You look in the interior mirror, the left exterior mirror and over your shoulder into the blind spot, switch on the indicator, and only then do you change lanes.
Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 1 point 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)