From Ukraine to Poland: what is different on the road

Para. 16.12 (since 2017): you give way to the right at junctions of equal roads 'except at junctions with circular traffic'; at uncontrolled junctions with circular traffic marked with sign 4.10, priority belongs to vehicles already on the ring. No separate give-way sign is needed for this — sign 4.10, which marks a roundabout, is enough. The tram's priority at uncontrolled junctions also does not apply on roundabouts. If the roundabout has traffic lights, follow the signals.

Signs regulation § 36(1): sign C-12 on its own only tells you to drive round the island in the arrows' direction. § 36(2): priority for traffic on the ring comes from C-12 and A-7 together. Without A-7 the general rule of art. 25(1) applies — give way to the right. So look for both signs at every entry. Overtaking at an uncontrolled junction is banned; on a roundabout or a signal-controlled junction it is allowed (art. 24(7) item 3).

Para. 8.7.3(e): a red signal prohibits movement. A green arrow in an extra section lit together with amber or red allows movement in the arrow's direction provided you give way to traffic from other directions. A green arrow on a plate beside the red signal (vertical traffic light) allows the turn from the rightmost lane (on a one-way road also a left turn from the leftmost lane), giving way to those moving on a green signal. Para. 16.9: on the green arrow take the outermost lane and give way to vehicles and pedestrians from other directions. An unlit extra section means you may not go in its arrow's direction (para. 8.7.3(z)).

Fine: 30 NMDH units. Running a red light: fine of 30 NMDH units (Code of Administrative Offences art. 122(2)).

Signs regulation § 96(1): red together with the S-2 green arrow allows turning in the arrow's direction into the nearest carriageway. § 96(3): the turn is allowed 'provided the driver stops before the signal' and does not obstruct others — a full stop is mandatory even when no one is around. A left arrow also allows a U-turn from the leftmost lane unless sign B-23 forbids it (§ 96(2)).

Fine: 500 PLN. Disobeying traffic lights, including turning on the arrow without stopping — 500 zł (fines table, item 296).

Para. 18.1: give way to pedestrians who could be obstructed or endangered. Para. 18.4: if a vehicle in an adjacent lane slows or stops before an uncontrolled crossing, slow down and stop if needed. Para. 18.2: at a signal-controlled crossing, on green give way to pedestrians still finishing their crossing. Para. 16.2: when turning right or left, give way to pedestrians crossing the road you are turning into. Para. 18.5: give way to people with a white cane anywhere. Para. 18.6: do not enter a crossing if traffic is backed up beyond it. Para. 18.9: near a stopped 'Children' bus with orange beacons or hazard lights on, slow down and stop if needed.

Fine: 20 NMDH units. Failing to give way to pedestrians at an uncontrolled crossing: fine of 20 NMDH units (Code of Administrative Offences art. 122(1)).

Art. 26(1) (since 1 June 2021): the driver must give way to a pedestrian 'on the crossing or entering it' (wchodzący). Art. 26(2): when turning, give way to pedestrians crossing the road you turn into. Art. 26(3): no overtaking on or just before a crossing (unless it is signal-controlled), and no passing a vehicle that has stopped for a pedestrian. Art. 26(7): stop to let disabled people and people with visibly limited mobility cross. Pedestrians, in turn, may not use a phone while crossing in a way that stops them watching the road (art. 14 item 8).

Fine: 1,500 PLN. Failing to give way to a pedestrian, overtaking on or before a crossing, passing a car that stopped for a pedestrian — 1,500 zł each; a repeat within 2 years — 3,000 (fines table, items 34, 35, 41, 42; Petty Offences Code art. 38 § 2).

Para. 12.6(g): 90 km/h on ordinary roads, 110 km/h on roads with separate carriageways divided by a central reservation. Para. 12.6(a): car towing a trailer — 80 km/h maximum. Para. 12.6(b): less than 2 years' experience — 70 km/h on all out-of-town roads. The same limits apply on roads through settlements marked with the blue sign 5.51.

Fine: 20–100 NMDH units. Over the limit by more than 20 km/h: 20 NMDH units; by more than 50 km/h: 100 (Code of Administrative Offences art. 122(1) and (4)).

Art. 20(3) item 1: motorway — 140; dual-carriageway expressway — 120; single-carriageway expressway, and dual carriageway with at least two lanes each way — 100; all other roads — 90. So a road with a central reservation but one lane each way is 90. Art. 20(3) item 2: cars with a trailer and vehicles over 3.5 t — 80 on motorways, expressways and 2+2 roads, 70 elsewhere. The law sets no separate speed limits for novices.

Fine: 50–2,500 PLN. From 50 to 2,500 zł depending on the excess; from 31 km/h over, a repeat within 2 years doubles the fine (fines table, items 72–81). Since 3 March 2026, more than 50 km/h over on a single-carriageway two-way road outside a built-up area means the licence is taken for 3 months.

Para. 12.6(g): 130 km/h on a road marked with sign 5.1 'Motorway'. Para. 12.6(a): with a trailer — 80 km/h. Para. 12.6(b): less than 2 years' experience — 70 km/h on all roads outside built-up areas, motorways included.

Art. 20(3): 140 km/h on a motorway (sign D-9); with a trailer or over 3.5 t — 80; buses that meet extra technical conditions — 100 on motorways and expressways (art. 20(4)). A minimum speed is set only by sign C-14; only vehicles able to do at least 40 km/h may use a motorway (art. 2 item 3). Art. 19(3a) (since 1 June 2021): on motorways and expressways the gap to the car ahead, in metres, must be at least half your speed in km/h (70 m at 140), except while overtaking. Apart from trams and vehicles turning left (art. 24(4)–(5)), passing on the right is allowed only on a one-way carriageway marked into lanes, or on a two-way road with at least two lanes each way in built-up areas or three outside them (art. 24(10)).

Fine: 50–2,500 PLN. Speeding — 50 to 2,500 zł; too short a gap on a motorway or expressway — 300–500 zł (fines table, items 72–81, 153).

Para. 3.2: drivers who could obstruct a vehicle with a blue beacon and/or siren must give way to it; if red or blue-and-red beacons are on (escorted convoy), stop at the right edge of the carriageway or on the right shoulder (on a dual carriageway — drivers going the same way). The rules do not say how to make room in a jam (between which lanes). Para. 3.5: when passing a stationary vehicle with a blue beacon on or beside the road, slow to 40 km/h.

Fine: 40 NMDH units. Failing to give way to an emergency vehicle with its signals on: fine of 40 NMDH units (Code of Administrative Offences art. 122(3)).

Art. 9(2): in heavy traffic on a road with two lanes in one direction, the left lane moves as far left and the right lane as far right as possible; with more lanes, the leftmost moves left and the rest move right. It applies on any road with such lanes, not only motorways. The law ties the duty to heavy traffic that hampers emergency vehicles, not to the lights and sirens that art. 9(1) is about. Art. 9(3): using the corridor is banned. Art. 9(1): give way to an emergency vehicle with its signals on, stopping if necessary.

Fine: Driving in the emergency corridor — 500 to 2,500 zł (fines table, item 55). Failing to clear it has no row in the fines table: up to 3,000 zł (Petty Offences Code art. 97), on the spot or by a court.

Para. 1.7: drivers must be especially careful around cyclists. Para. 13.3: keep a safe lateral gap when overtaking, passing or going around. Para. 16.2: when turning right or left, give way to cyclists going straight in the same direction. Sign 4.23 'Road for shared use by cars and cyclists' marks local streets for mixed traffic; the rules attach no special speed limit or overtaking ban to it. Cycle lanes on the carriageway are marked with sign 5.88 and road markings; cyclists may use bus lanes (signs 5.8, 5.11; para. 17.1).

Art. 24(2): lateral gap when overtaking — at least 1 m. Art. 27(1)–(3): give way to cyclists on a cycle crossing, and when turning to those going straight along the road, cycle lane or cycle path you are turning off. Art. 27(4): no overtaking on or just before a cycle crossing unless it is signal-controlled. Polish law has no 'cycle streets' with rules of their own.

Fine: 300 PLN. A gap under 1 m — 300 zł; overtaking on or before a cycle crossing — 1,000 zł, 2,000 for a repeat (fines table, items 91, 98).

Traffic Rules para. 2.1(g): the driver must carry a valid compulsory motor third-party liability policy (recorded in the central insurance database) or a Green Card certificate issued by a foreign insurer under the international Green Card system, electronic or paper. Show it to police on request (para. 2.4(a)).

Compulsory Insurance Act art. 29(1) item 3: the keeper of a car registered outside the Multilateral Agreement states who has no valid Green Card must buy frontier insurance before crossing the border; art. 89: without it the car is not let across. Road Traffic Act art. 38(2): the driver of a foreign car must carry the registration document and proof of insurance; art. 130a(1) item 2: if the car is registered outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland and the document is not shown, it is removed. Within the EU/EEA, insurance checks at the border are banned by Directive 2009/103/EC (art. 4). The full list of Multilateral Agreement states is kept by the Council of Bureaux; Poland's bureau is PBUK.

Traffic Rules para. 9.8 (as amended by Cabinet resolution No. 1105 of 20.10.2023): all motor vehicles outside built-up areas must have daytime running lights on, or dipped headlights if they have no DRLs. The current text sets no seasonal period. In town, dipped headlights by day are required only in specific cases: in a convoy, in tunnels, when towing, for buses carrying organised groups of children, heavy or dangerous loads, etc. (para. 9.8(a)–(d)).

Art. 51(1): dipped headlights while driving in normal visibility. Art. 51(2): from dawn to dusk they may be replaced by daytime running lights. Art. 51(7): lights must also be on when stopped in a traffic jam; you may switch them off if you stand for more than a minute with cars ahead of and behind you.

Fine: 100–300 PLN. No lights by day — 100 zł; from dusk to dawn — 300 zł (fines table, items 183, 182).