Considerate to the point of trouble: Letting cars out of the connecting lane is an offence, often dangerous. You can also lose your driver’s license – Garáž.cz

Being considerate on the roads is a noble quality that makes those who take consideration for other road users seriously into everyday superheroes without a hood. But nothing should be exaggerated or even taken to an extreme. Especially when behind the wheel, the saying “everything in moderation” still applies.

You know the typical situation when you are driving outside the municipality on a multi-lane road in the right lane (that is, the way it should be) and suddenly another driver appears in the connection lane to your right. A gentleman’s solution on your part is to either subtract (if you don’t endanger the person behind you) or add (if the regulations allow) – this is so that the driver in question can line up. The regulatory solution is to continue driving in the right lane at a steady pace, but be aware of the approaching driver and be ready to react to his maneuver.

The driver in question in the trailer must then correctly evaluate the situation and either move sufficiently ahead of you (it is not about overtaking) or behind you. Such a driver must not endanger you during the connection maneuver, but can limit you (this is not prohibited by law). So, translated into colloquial Czech: when crossing from the connecting lane, the driver in the continuous lane must not be in danger, but he can slow down his driving.

However, what to do if the alignment maneuver just doesn’t work out? Stopping and standing in the connecting or turning lane is prohibited by law (except for breakdowns, accidents), so under certain conditions it is recommended to continue connecting behind the connecting lane, i.e. in the stopping lane (if present).

But then you have to be sure that the lane is wide enough, paved, there is no obstacle. Also, keep in mind that this is a violation and only a last resort, not a daily routine.

All this is legislation and theory, however, practice often looks a little different, and truckers are often at fault. Driver cohesion is nice and appropriate, but safety must always be a priority.

The practice is quite often such that as soon as a vehicle enters the connecting lane, drivers driving outside the municipality on a multi-lane road on the right choose to swerve into the next left lane as a solution. But that’s when violations of regulations come first. They report the following.

“Outside the village, on a road with two or more lanes marked on the road in one direction of travel driving in the right lane. You may drive in the other lanes if it is necessary to go around, overtake, turn or turn.”

Therefore, if in such a case you respectfully give way to the driver in question joining outside the municipality (giving way is not overtaking or going around), you are breaking the traffic law. And he adds:

“A driver is only allowed to move from one lane to another if if it does not endanger and if it does not limit a driver driving in the lane into which he is passing; at the same time, they must give a signal to change the direction of travel.”

And exactly here comes the moment when you have to engage not only common sense, but also a correct estimate and a look in the rearview mirror. In other words, if you are alone on a multi-lane road outside the village, this release is permissible from a gentleman’s point of view (not from the point of view of the law).

If there is light traffic and you are not restricting or endangering anyone by crossing into the side lane in order to let the oncoming driver pass, then so be it, out of consideration, let’s do it, but not from the point of view of legislation.

The real problem in such a situation is if someone is driving behind you in the left lane (e.g. overtaking) and you so-called send it to them from the right to make room for the driver who is joining. Then you commit not only a misdemeanor (see the citation of the law above), but also a dangerous act. Just look at an exemplary short video clip depicting a typical traffic situation in our country.

And be careful, it also depends on which car you are sitting in, because you can lose your driver’s license for such a big number (similar to the one in the video). If the police patrol/administrative body/court evaluates that it was overtakingwe have another legislative point.

“A driver who deviates from his direction of travel when overtaking must signal a change of direction and must not endanger the driver behind him.’

In addition, if you are driving a truck over 3.5 tons or a vehicle over 7 meters long on the highway, you can be banned from driving for simply restricting other drivers when overtaking.

“The driver of a lorry with a total weight exceeding 3.5 and the driver of a vehicle set whose total length exceeds 7 m may not overtake another vehicle unless he has sufficient speed to overtake it, so that he would limit the movement of other vehicles with his significantly lower driving speed.”

If, in a situation similar to the one in the video, as a driver of a truck over 3.5 t / vehicle over 7 m on the highway, a police patrol with a camera catches you, you can then get into a legislative carousel (it was/wasn’t overtaking/endangerment/restriction) , which in the best case ends with a fine, in the worst with papers in the dry cleaners.

In any case, we thank all drivers for their consideration, but at the same time we warn you not to overdo it. Such unreasonable Samaritanism can lead not only to a violation of the regulations and a fine, but also to a far greater misfortune, where they squeal sheets, thus extinguishing lives.