If you’ve driven between Wikiup and Williams, on your way to Las Vegas, you’ll remember that every few miles this sometimes mountainous, two-lane road gives one side or the other a passing lane – giving the cars and trucks a chance to safely sort themselves out. As I’ve discovered on our road trips in Poland, its a little different here.
The road occasionally allows for passing, but drivers aren’t given an extra lane. This is how it works. If the line painted along the edge of the road is dashed rather than solid, this is an area in which passing is permitted. Drivers in both directions are expected to move to the right, driving on the shoulder of the road, to allow those wishing to pass to drive along the center of the road – essentially turning a two lane road into three lanes. You might have cars from both directions that wish to take the center of the road and pass, it’s first come – first served. Something for those non-passing drivers who have moved to the right to keep in mind is that it’s not uncommon to come upon a bicycle traveling on the shoulder of these roads. It does keep things interesting.
Sometimes in the U.S., drivers will be allowed to pass with only two lanes. The responsibility for insuring there’s enough room to pass safely is given to the driver doing the passing. In Poland, all of the drivers are responsible for making sure a driver passing can proceed safely. This means you’re not only expected to move to the right, but also to slow down if a car is passing you, or coming at you head-on and it looks like they might not make it. This is of course, the safe and humane thing to do. I’m not suggesting that one cause an accident to prove a point regarding right-of-way, but because there is the expectation of shared responsibility in passing here, drivers pass much more aggressively – into oncoming traffic or when there really isn’t enough room to make it around. Driving on a two-lane road takes a lot of concentration.
Another danger of two-lane roads is trucks breaking down and blocking the way. A lot of roads here are under construction – making improvements before Poland hosts the European football champions in 2012. More than once in my limited travels, I’ve seen a disabled truck in a construction zone back traffic up for miles.
We drove to Prague last Friday, and because of the trucks and passing, we went a bit out of our way, to make more of our trip on a four-lane highway. It’s makes things less stressful. Oh, and missing the speed cameras in the little villages along the smaller roads, that’s just an added benefit.
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Kasia
The passing in Poland is scary. And the big trucks make it even worse. I prefer to travel by train in Poland. Several years ago when we were in Poland, we took a family trip to the Stolowe Mountains. We were in two cars and I had to drive since my husband refuses to drive in Poland. It was very stressful, the two lane roads, the drive through downtown Wroclaw, etc. etc.
Melinda
This reminded me… I think there were parts of Texas back in the day where this form of passing was expected and the norm. It freaked me out!
Joanna
"Drivers in both directions are expected to move to the right, driving on the shoulder of the road, to allow those wishing to pass to drive along the center of the road – essentially turning a two lane road into three lanes."
It doesn't work like this. You don't have to move right. But it is polite to do it. And only the passing driver is responsible for insuring there'
gloria
Interesting. My husband and I just returned from a vacation in Poland. We were passengers on a driving trip and were quite terrified. This explains a lot. By the way, they did not finish their roads in time for the Eurocup.