Zipper riding and the corridor of life
The slider rule applies when two conditions are met:
- a significant reduction in speed on the road caused by e.g. a traffic jam,
- impossibility to continue in a lane due to an obstacle in this lane or its disappearance.
In such a situation, the driver of a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is obliged to immediately before the place where the obstacle occurs or the place where the lane disappears:
- on a road with more than one lane, allow one vehicle or a set of vehicles to change lane to an adjacent lane where it is possible to continue driving,
- on a roadway with more than two lanes, when it is not possible to continue driving in two lanes, allow one vehicle or one combination of vehicles on the right side to change lane, and then one vehicle or one combination of vehicles on the left side.
Corridor of Life
According to road traffic regulations, road users and other persons on the road are obliged to facilitate the passage of an emergency vehicle by immediately removing themselves from the road and, if necessary, stopping.
In conditions of increased traffic intensity, which impedes the free passage of an emergency vehicle, drivers are obliged to comply with detailed regulations regarding the formation of life corridors:
- on a road with two lanes in the same direction, the driver of a vehicle moving in the left lane is obliged to move out of the path of the emergency vehicle by driving as close as possible to the left edge of the lane, and the driver of a vehicle moving in the right lane is obliged to move away from the path of the emergency vehicle by driving as close as possible to the right edge of the lane,
- on a road with more than two lanes in the same direction, the driver of the vehicle moving in the leftmost lane is obliged to remove himself from the path of the emergency vehicle by driving as close as possible to the left edge of the lane, and the drivers of vehicles moving in the remaining lanes are are obliged to move out of the path of the emergency vehicle by driving as close as possible to the right edge of the traffic lanes.
Importantly, the corridors of life, apart from emergency vehicles, can only be used by road managers or roadside assistance vehicles taking part in a rescue operation. Otherwise, their use is prohibited, and vehicle drivers may continue driving in the previously occupied lane after emergency vehicles have passed.
