## 4 Discussion  
The results obtained and presented in this study are rather worrying. The following alternative hypotheses were accepted:  
**Hypothesis 1 (H1). ** _There are statistically significant differences in the lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle depending on the e-bicycle speed._  
**Hypothesis 2 (H2). ** _There are statistically significant differences in the lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle depending on the e-bicyclist's use of the protective helmet and reflective west._ \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline  & **df** & **F** & **_p_ & **Partial Eta\({}^{2}\)** \\ \hline E-bicycle speed & 2 & 1.044 & 0.352 & 0.002 \\ \hline Protective equipment & 3 & 1.859 & 0.135 & 0.005 \\ \hline Vehicle category & 6 & 15.118 & 0.000 & 0.073 \\ \hline E-bicycle speed \({}^{\star}\) Protective equipment & 6 & 2.752 & 0.012 & 0.014 \\ \hline E-bicycle speed \({}^{\star}\) Vehicle category & 12 & 2.021 & 0.020 & 0.020 \\ \hline Protective equipment \({}^{\star}\) Vehicle category & 18 & 1.066 & 0.382 & 0.016 \\ \hline E-bicycle speed \({}^{\star}\) Protective equipment \({}^{\star}\) Vehicle category & 20 & 0.986 & 0.476 & 0.017 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{\star}\) combination of factors.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Results of the impact of protective equipment, e-bicycle speed, and vehicle category on the lateral distance when overtaking an e-bicycle, based on the three-way ANOVA. **Hypothesis 3 (H3). **_There are statistically significant differences in the lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle depending on the e-bicyclist's use of the protective helmet._  
**Hypothesis 5 (H5). **_There are statistically significant differences in the lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle depending on the category of the vehicle overtaking the e-bicycle._  
On the other hand, the following alternative hypothesis was rejected:  
**Hypothesis 4 (H4)**. _There are statistically significant differences in the lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle depending on the e-bicyclist's use of the reflective vest._  
According to research by [PERSON] et al., the lateral clearance distance of a motorized vehicle while overtaking a cyclist is a key indicator of safety [24]. The results state that the faster speed of e-bicycles results in the shorter lateral distance of the vehicles overtaking them. They lead to the conclusion that the probability of traffic collision occurrence is higher if the lateral distance when overtaking an e-bicycle is shorter. If a traffic collision involving an e-bicycle and a motor vehicle occurs at faster speeds, the injuries of the e-bicyclist will be more serious, as confirmed in the study by [PERSON] et al. [5]. The stated results show that the increase of technical and operational characteristics of (electric) bicycles, i.e., increase in the e-bicycle speed, encourages motor vehicle drivers to regard e-bicycles as their equivalents in traffic and not perceive them as vulnerable road users. Moreover, the increase in the e-bicycle speed reduces the difference between the speeds of the motor vehicle and e-bicycle, so the motor vehicle driver requires more time and space for overtaking the e-bicycle. This might be one of the causes of the reduced lateral distance between the e-bicycle and the overtaking vehicle due to the increased e-bicycle speed. In a study conducted by [PERSON] et al., the research results show that drivers of motor vehicles adjust their overtaking manoeuvre when overtaking cyclists carrying a child in the bicycle seat keeping larger and, therefore, safer lateral distances [24]. In addition, the results of the study show that motor vehicle drivers overtake e-bicycles at shorter lateral distances if e-bicyclists wear protective helmets, in comparison with the situations when e-bicyclists do not use helmets. These results are in concordance with the findings of [PERSON] [35; 36] regarding bicyclists.