Observation of Polish drivers, by and English anthropologist.

Two years ago, for example, my fiancé Henry took me to visit some friends in Poland. As we were driving in an English car, he relied on me, the passenger, to tell him when it was safe to overtake. Within twenty minutes of crossing the Polish border, I started to say ‘Yes, go now, it’s safe,’ even when there were vehicles coming towards us on a two-lane road.
After he had hastily applied the brakes and aborted a planned overtake at the last minute, he clearly began to have doubts about my judgement. ‘What are you doing? That wasn’t safe at all! Didn’t you see that big lorry?’ ‘Oh yes,’ I replied, ‘but the rules are different here in Poland. There’s obviously a tacit understanding that a wide two-lane road is really three lanes, so if you overtake, the driver in the front and the one coming towards you will move to the side to give you room.’
Henry asked politely how I could possibly be sure of this, given that I had never been to Poland before and had been in the country less than half an hour. My response, that I had been watching the Polish drivers and they all clearly followed this rule, was greeted with perhaps understandable scepticism. Adding ‘Trust me, I’m an anthropologist’ probably didn’t help much either, and it was some time before he could be persuaded to test my theory. When he did, the vehicles duly parted like the Red Sea to create a ‘third lane’ for us, and our Polish host later confirmed that there was indeed a sort of unofficial code of etiquette that required this.
My sense of triumph was somewhat diluted, though, by our host’s sister, who pointed out that her countrymen were also noted for their reckless and dangerous driving. Had I been a bit more observant, it seemed, I might have noticed the crosses, with flowers around the base, dotted along the roadsides – tributes placed by bereaved relatives to mark the spots w at which people had been killed in road accidents.

You better hope the driver moves over.

and when he doesn't u get the cross at the side of the road.

You better hope the driver moves over.

They always do...if they see you coming....

I still don't think I could drive into oncoming traffic like that, trusting on the good faith of other drivers. I wouldn't try to pass...at first. If I saw other people doing it and the drivers always moving over, I might get the nerve to try it then.

Heh, so we have here suicide anthropologist;) Overtaking like that is the simplest way to get killed. It is also forbidden by law:) You can't overtake when there's incoming vehicle on the 2nd lane. NEVER.

After he had hastily applied the brakes and aborted a planned overtake at the last minute, he clearly began to have doubts about my judgement. ‘What are you doing? That wasn’t safe at all! Didn’t you see that big lorry?’ ‘Oh yes,’ I replied, ‘but the rules are different here in Poland. There’s obviously a tacit understanding that a wide two-lane road is really three lanes, so if you overtake, the driver in the front and the one coming towards you will move to the side to give you room.’
Henry asked politely how I could possibly be sure of this, given that I had never been to Poland before and had been in the country less than half an hour. My response, that I had been watching the Polish drivers and they all clearly followed this rule, was greeted with perhaps understandable scepticism. Adding ‘Trust me, I’m an anthropologist’ probably didn’t help much either, and it was some time before he could be persuaded to test my theory. When he did, the vehicles duly parted like the Red Sea to create a ‘third lane’ for us, and our Polish host later confirmed that there was indeed a sort of unofficial code of etiquette that required this.

There's some fast reflexes, Pawian, lol. It's something one doesn't see everyday.

You can't overtake when there's incoming vehicle on the 2nd lane. NEVER.

The Polish drivers do not appear to know this....

The most common cause of accidents in Poland from my observations are cars overtaking from three or four behind the slow vehicle then having car one or two pulling out also to overtake thus colliding with the car from behind already committed. If you ever wondered how so many accidents can happen on straight roads that's a classic example.

This is why I try driving through either 4-lanes or -- caution -- ternary roads, where hardly any traffic exists.

Antek_Stalich: This is why I try driving through either 4-lanes or -- caution -- ternary roads, where hardly any traffic exists.
That's really good advice. Avoid roads with cars on them ;)

Really, why not? This morning, the only vehicles I met on the road were delivery vans. Not much trouble. The only slowdown was on the last segment, the remaining part of the Eight from Walichnowy to Wrocław, when everything slowed down, as always on primary road.

prefer driving roads with little traffic, myself. Less to worry about that way.

I prefer to have some asphalt on the road, Pawian, heh.

How about a little bit of off road adventure?

Only with a 4 X 4 that won't get torn up.

Why do you say 4x4? Shouldn`t it be 2x2?