Road controls can be carried out in Poland by various services. These are primarily: Police, City Guard, General Inspectorate of Road Transport, Tax and Customs Service, Border Guard, Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, and the Forest Guard.
The police have the broadest powers in terms of traffic control. According to Article 129 of the Road Traffic Act, police officers have the right to, among other things:
- Legitimise the traffic participant and give them binding instructions on how to use the road or use the vehicle,
- to check the documents required in connection with the driving and use of the vehicle, and permission to drive an emergency vehicle (other than a nationally issued driver’s licence, a tram driving permit or a temporary driving licence). In the case of national, EU, or some country-issued documents, the police officer shall verify the data in the electronic network,
- in order to check documents for a car registered abroad (for cars registered in Poland, the police officer checks them in the system, it is not necessary to have them with you). These include a registration certificate, a third-party liability insurance document or a Green Card, and confirmation of the right to drive. The obligation to have an insurance document does not apply to vehicles insured in countries whose national bureaus are parties to the multilateral agreement – Green Card System
- check the permit for non-normative vehicles,
- requesting that the driver of the vehicle or any other person who is reasonably suspected of being in a position to drive the vehicle undergo a test to determine the content in their body of alcohol or an agent having a similar effect to alcohol,
- to check the technical condition, equipment, load, dimensions, weight or axle load of the vehicle on the road,
- to check the records of the automatic recording device for driving speed, driving time and stopping time, mandatory breaks and rest time,
- to withhold, in cases provided by law, documents stating the authorisation to drive or use the vehicle and the driver’s card in cases provided by law,
- to issue instructions:
- to a person who has caused an obstacle obstructing traffic or endangering its safety, or to a person responsible for road maintenance,
- to the controlled traffic participant – as to the manner of their behaviour,
- prevent:
- driving a vehicle by a person who is in a state of intoxication or in a state of drunkenness or a drug acting similarly to alcohol,
- use of a vehicle whose technical condition, load, weight or axle load endangers traffic safety or order, causes damage to the road or violates environmental protection requirements,
- use of a vehicle registered in a country that is not a member state, if the driver of the vehicle has not shown a document confirming the conclusion of a contract of compulsory third-party liability insurance of the vehicle owner or proof of payment of the premium for this insurance,
- driving by a person who does not have the required documents authorising them to drive or use the vehicle,
- use of control and measuring devices, in particular, to test the vehicle, determine its weight, axle load or speed, to determine violations of environmental protection requirements, and to determine the driver’s state of sobriety,
- use of recording equipment,
- remove or move the vehicle in the event of:
- leaving the vehicle in a place where it is prohibited and impedes traffic or otherwise endangers safety,
- failure of the driver to show a document confirming the conclusion of a contract of compulsory third-party liability insurance for the owner of the vehicle or proof of payment of the premium for this insurance, if the vehicle is registered in a country that is not a member state,
- exceeding the dimensions, permissible total weight or axle load specified in the traffic regulations, unless it is possible to divert the vehicle to a nearby road where the movement of such a vehicle is permitted,
- control of the carriage of dangerous goods by road and the requirements related to such carriage,
- to use sounding, signalling or lighting devices for issuing binding orders to a traffic participant,
- to request, in a justified case, an assessment of the health of the driver of the vehicle,
- to apply to the head of the district administration for the referral of a driver or a person holding a permit to drive a tram for a qualification test, if there are reasonable and serious objections to the qualifications of the person,
- piloting vehicles, with the exception of abnormal vehicles piloted in accordance with the law,
The provisions of items 5, 6 and 8 above shall not apply to the heads and foreign personnel of diplomatic representations, consular offices and special missions of foreign countries and international organisations who enjoy diplomatic or consular privileges and immunities under laws, agreements or universally recognised international customs or on the basis of reciprocity, and to other persons enjoying such privileges and immunities.
Legal basis:
Journal of Laws 1997 No. 98 item 602, The Road Traffic Act of June 20, 1997
Information current as of: .
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