What distance must you maintain when driving past?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
C. Safe.
Explanation
In the photo you are driving along a road through fields, and a silver car coming from the opposite direction is passing you. When passing an oncoming vehicle, you must keep a safe distance - answer C. The Road Traffic Act does not give it as a number, so "at least 1 metre" (A) and "at least 2 metres" (B) are made-up answers.
The Act requires the driver, when passing an oncoming vehicle, to keep a safe distance from the vehicle or road user being passed and, if necessary, to move to the right and reduce speed or stop. Passing an oncoming vehicle means driving past a vehicle coming from the opposite direction - the vehicles approach each other at the sum of their speeds, so a moment of inattention is enough for a head-on collision. You choose the distance to suit the situation: on a wide road it is enough to keep to your lane, on a narrow one you move to the right edge, and when you pass a lorry or a bus or when the road is icy, you also slow down. When the roadway is too narrow to pass each other safely, you stop at the right edge and let the oncoming vehicle through - there is no rule that "the bigger one has right of way", what matters is who can safely pull over.
Legal basis: Art. 23 para. 1 point 1 and Art. 2 point 26 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)