Are you allowed in this situation to overtake the preceding vehicle at the intersection?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
YES
Explanation
In the photo you are approaching a junction with traffic lights in a city behind a white van; the traffic lights show green, and signs F-10 show the directions for the lanes. At this junction you are allowed to overtake the vehicle in front, because traffic there is controlled. The answer is: yes.
The Road Traffic Act prohibits overtaking a power-driven vehicle travelling on the roadway at a junction, except at a roundabout or a junction where traffic is controlled. Traffic lights separate the streams of vehicles: when you have green, the crossing directions are waiting at red, so there is no risk that someone will drive in from the side while you are overtaking. However, overtaking must meet the usual conditions: you have a clear lane on the left and enough space, the van is not signalling a left turn, nobody is overtaking you, and there is no solid line between the lanes. You also watch out for pedestrians, because the only exception to the ban on overtaking at a pedestrian crossing is a crossing where traffic is controlled, and for trams if tracks run across the junction.
Legal basis: Art. 24 para. 7 point 3 and para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)