If you drive a bus on urban roads and need to overtake a taxi that is stopped in the lane, with no breakdown or accident, what safe lateral distance must you keep from it?

Question

DentroTest · Accepted Answer

To overtake a stopped taxi, Article 85(1) of the General Traffic Regulations requires leaving "sufficient lateral distance" to do so safely, without setting a figure. Since 1 October 2026 (Royal Decree 518/2026), the margin proportional to the speed and the width of the roadway that used to appear in Article 85(4) no longer exists. The 1.5 meters of that article apply only to pedestrians, animals, animal-drawn vehicles, mopeds, personal mobility vehicles and cyclists, and on any road, not only outside built-up areas. The 1.5 meters of Article 88(1) do not apply either, as they are for vehicles immobilized by breakdown, accident, emergency or assistance service, road maintenance or traffic control. That is why neither a fixed minimum of 1.50 meters nor one of 2 meters because the bus is large is valid.

If you drive a bus on urban roads and need to overtake a taxi that is stopped in the lane, with no breakdown or accident, what safe lateral distance must you keep from it?

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