One can talk about the quality of roads in Poland for a long time - they are among the best in the world, since there are no old roads here. Any flaws are immediately repaired or redone. The total length of Polish motorways is 3160 km. Until 2023, the state program for the Construction of National Roads will operate here. The total cost of the work exceeds PLN 26 billion. Those who will cross the Polish border should be aware that the designation "A" - autobahns, "S" - highways.
The construction of a high-quality, perfectly level road with clear signs is not cheap for the Polish state. Because of this, you have to pay to travel on some autobahns and expressways. When calculating the cost, it takes into account how much the driver has traveled on the toll road and what type of transport he has.
Guests of the country and local residents can pay for toll roads in several ways:
- There are special checkpoints at the exit and entrance from the paid section of the route, where you can pay. There are special workers here who, after making the payment, raise the barrier for further movement of the driver. You can pay for the service in Polish zlotys, dollars and euros. The option to pay by credit card is not available everywhere.
- Pay not through the cashier, but through special machines that are located at the entrance to the toll road. At the beginning of the autobahn, after the ticket is issued, the barrier rises automatically. At the end of the toll road, you must show your ticket and pay for the use of the road.
The rules of movement on toll roads and autobahns may be different. Thus, for vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tons, the fare will be calculated based on PLN 0.10 per kilometer. Today, only A4, A2, A1 are classified as paid Polish autobahns. On most toll sections, the payment is made at the end of the track, but there are some where you will need to pay part of the amount at the beginning and part at the end.
Toll roads in Poland and the cost of travel on them
Toll highways in Poland A1, A2, A4 are designed for the movement of cars and motorcycles. You can recognize the toll road by the corresponding road sign - Pobor opłat.
Polish Autobahn A1
The total length is 568 km. The route is located in the direction from north to south (from Gdansk to the border with the Czech Republic in the south). For use, payment is allowed not only in cash, but also by credit card. There are 12 toll road sections along the route. Depending on the distance to be covered, the cost will range from PLN 3.5 to PLN 29.90. More about tariffs.
Polish Autobahn A2
The route covers the route from Swiecko (near the German border) to the Polish-Belarusian border in the east. Length - 657 km. If you drive across the entire autobahn, you will need to pay 60 PLN. The free sections are Warsaw - Strikow, Minsk Mazowiecki, Poznan (West - East), Rzepin - Swiecko. The section Rzepin - Novy Tomysl will cost 18 zloty, 17 zloty for travel along Vzheshnya - Konin, Poznan Vostok - Vzheshnya, Novy Tomysl - Poznan West. PLN 9.90 must be paid for travel along Konin - Strikow.
You can calculate the exact cost of moving along the autobahn using a special calculator on the A2 autobahn website.
Polish Autobahn A4
Laid in the direction from West to East. The western point is the city of Jendrichovice (German border), the eastern one is a point on the border Krakovets - Korcheva. The largest cities that drivers pass by: Rzeszow, Tarnow, Krakow, Korcheva.
Sections in the direction of the cities of Tarnow, Bochnia, Brzesko, Rzeszow are free. You can overcome the entire autobahn for 36 zł. If you take the plots, then the most expensive will be Krakow - Katowice (PLN 20) and Wroclaw - Gliwice (PLN 16.5). It should be borne in mind that you can use the electronic payment system to pay for travel only on the last specified section. More about tariffs.
Poland toll road map 2020
If you look at the country's road map, you can see that they are all divided into 3 sections:
- Those that are already in use (toll roads are marked in red, free roads are in blue).
- Autobahns under construction (greyed out on the map).
- Autobahns, the construction of which is only planned (on the map with a thin gray line).
You can view the current map at the link.
Over the past 2 years, for about 500 km of toll roads that have appeared in 7 Polish voivodeships, the viaTOLL payment system is available, the number of toll roads for buses of any weight and the movement of trucks from 3.5 tons has increased. Basically, these innovations relate to the A4 and A1 motorways, S8 and S1 expressways.
In Poland, they plan to introduce environmentally friendly zones. They will serve both as a means of improving the environment and as a method of promoting "green" cars. In such areas (mainly the central parts of the city), only cars that refuel with natural gas will be allowed. The rest will have to pay an hour of travel in the amount of 0.6 euros or 6 euros per day. If the rule is violated by the driver, he will have to pay a fine of 120 euros.
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Poland has over 1,630 km of motorways. Car drivers pay for the use of almost half of them. Tolls on motorways vary depending on who drives them. We present a guide to toll roads in Poland.
Ultimately, all motorways in Poland should be tolled. So far, most of them have the viaTOLL system (Polish "Platon"), with the help of which drivers of trucks and buses pay taxes. Drivers of all other vehicles pay tolls on sections longer than 700 kilometers.
New Polish motorways are free of charge until the construction is completed and the toll system is introduced.
Drivers of cars and motorcycles drive free of charge, in particular, on sections of the A1 Toruń-Strykow and A4 Dębica-Rzeszów motorways opened in 2016. Formally, because there were construction sites where work is underway. It is necessary to build fifteen overpasses, exit roads, service maintenance and the Kutno Vostok junction on A1.
In order to be able to make payments, it is necessary to build parking lots, gas stations, and, of course, payment points; their construction is not planned in the near future. In 2017, an electronic toll collection system is to be introduced, which will work on all motorways and will be mandatory for all drivers. Gates with cash registers and barriers will become unnecessary.
All sites under construction, and those that are already ready, but not yet charged, will be covered by the GDDKiA system. For drivers, this means that the Minister of Infrastructure will determine the fare, while the General Directorate will be responsible for maintaining and repairing roads. Its representatives promise that the fare will cost the same as on the highway A2 Strykow - Konin and A4 Katowice - Wroclaw. At the moment it is 10 pennies per kilometer for cars and 5 pennies per kilometer for motorcycles.
On the A1 highway Gdansk - Torun (Gdans-Torun), car drivers and motorcyclists pay 16 kopecks per kilometer. On the A2 from Swiecko, where the toll is charged from Rzepin to Nowy Tomysl, the toll rate is 20 groszy per kilometer, on the A4 Katowice - Krakow (Katowice-Krakow) - 29 groszy per kilometer. Even more expensive, on the highway A2, Novy Tomysl - Konin (Nowy Tomysl - Konin), drivers pay 34 pennies per kilometer. The A2 motorway was built with private money, and the investor must keep rates high enough to have the funds to maintain the road, repay loans, build it, and make a profit.
There are two toll collection systems at the start on Polish roads - closed and open. The first operates on the routes A1 Gdansk - Torun and A2 Shvetsko - Novy Tomysl. The driver pays for each kilometer traveled at the entrance to all exits from the highway, and at the end. The closed system operates on the A2 Novy Tomysl-Konin and the A4 Katowice-Krakow. Here, payment is made at the start and at the end. The driver must pay for the entire section. On the A4 motorway, tolls are paid at the toll booths near Katowice and Krakow. The driver pays half the fare of this section at its beginning and end.
On roads managed by the GDDKiA, car drivers can pay tolls without stopping. But for this they need to buy a viaAUTO device that works in the viaTOLL system. Such a device costs one hundred zł, of which half the amount is money that you can pay tolls.
The communicator can be purchased, in particular, at petrol stations and service points, a list of which is available on the website www.viatoll.pl. Tolls can be paid later in three ways. The simplest and most popular is reminiscent of replenishing a mobile phone account. The driver at the service point indicates the number of the device and makes a minimum deposit of PLN 50. You can also register your device online and control your spending and top up your account online. There is also the possibility of paying bills for actually completed sections. Then the system operator send the driver a monthly bill.
Toll sections of motorways in Poland
Motorway A1 Gdansk – Torun
Duration: 152 km
Cars 30 zl (20 gr/km)
Motorcycles – 30 zl (20 gr/km)
Motorway A2 – Strykow – Konin
Duration: 99 km
Passenger cars - 9.9 zl (10 gr/km)
Motorcycles – 5 zl (5 g/km)
Motorway A2 - Konin - Poznan - Swiecko
Length: 255 km
Passenger cars - 72 zl
Motorcycles – 72 zl
The fee per kilometer varies in the two sections. Between Zhepin and Novy Tomysl (88 km) is 20 g/km. On the Novy Tomysl - Konin section (150 km), drivers pay 36 UAH / km. The highway on the section Swiecko - Rzepin is free of charge.
At the end of 2014, the length of Polish roads was about 3,200 km, of which 52% fell on express roads, and 48% on autobahns. But already in 2016, the government launched a national road construction program to create 950 km of new freeways. As before, the roads in Poland are good, but many of them are paid.
Development of the road system in Poland
Back in 2011, the viaTOLL system began to work here - drivers of all vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tons pay for each kilometer of the road. The collected funds are directed to the further development of the country's road infrastructure.
Since October 1, 2016, toll roads have appeared in 7 voivodships: Lower Silesia, Silesia, Lodz, Mazowiecki, Podkarpackie, Świętokrzyski and Zapadno-Morskie. Most of the new toll roads are on the recently completed A4 Autobahn, which connects western and eastern parts of Poland. This is a key road not only of the national, but also of the international level - it connects the main industrial facilities of the country and passes into the German highway of the same name.
The total length of the A4 autobahn is almost 700 km - the road starts from the Ukrainian-Polish border, leads to Krakow and further to Germany. You will have to pay for a comfortable highway, but you can always use free roads.
Toll roads in Poland - how and where to pay?
For the convenience of drivers, there are 2 ways to pay for toll roads:
1) pay the operator at the checkpoints on the autobahns;
2) make payment through special machines at the entrance to paid sections.
To date, toll roads in Poland are limited to the A1, A2 and A4 autobahns.
Autobahn A1 leads from Torun to Gdansk - the fee for the entire journey is PLN 29.90. The fare on the sections Torun - Grudziadz and Grudziadz - Gdansk is PLN 12.30 and PLN 17.60, respectively. Other motorway sections within Poland are free.
Autobahn A2 passes through Swiecko, Poznań, Konin, Strikow, Łódź and Warsaw. The entire autobahn will cost PLN 78.90. The fare between some points is 17 zł, but there are also free sections (Swiecko - Rzepin, Lodz - Warsaw, etc.).
The A4 autobahn will cost PLN 36.20. The section from Zgorzelec to Wroclaw is free, but further you will have to pay PLN 16.20 to Gliwice and PLN 20 from Krakow to Katowice.
The minimum period for a passenger car (less than 3.5 tons) is 7 days (3 euros). A vignette for 30 days costs 7 euros, for 90 days - 13 euros, for a year - 28 euros.
Failure to pay the fare is subject to a fine of 50 to 100 euros. And this does not eliminate the need to buy a vignette.
There are also a few places where you will have to pay extra for the use of roads/bridges/crossings.
Serbia
Belarusians do not need a visa to visit this country (but there are restrictions). There are also often cars with our numbers. Drivers should keep in mind that you will have to pay for the use of the main highways leading to Belgrade.
The fee is charged at special points located on the tracks. As in Poland, paid sections are closed with barriers (you won’t be able to drive past the booth). You can pay both in cash and by card. The cost is 0.03 euros per 1 km.
Bulgaria
Many Belarusians go to the beaches of Nessebar and Sozopol in the summer by car. Experienced travelers know that in Bulgaria foreigners are required to pay for the use of roads. The amounts are small: a week - 8 euros, a month - 15 euros, three months - 28 euros.
The greatest difficulty is associated with the purchase of a vignette, which must be placed in the lower right corner of the windshield. Most tourists tend to buy it immediately at the border, where there are special points. As a result, queues are formed. Although if you drive just a few hundred meters, then this can be done in a relaxed atmosphere.
You can also buy a vignette at some gas stations (keep in mind that not all gas station chains have the right to do so).
They say that from next year it will be possible to pay for the use of Bulgarian roads via the Internet.
Sweden
Another country where Belarusians can get by car (using a ferry, in particular) is Sweden. In our publications, we often refer to the Scandinavian experience as the best in road safety. What about road tolls? It is not charged. That is, the tracks can be used free of charge. The only exception is traffic on bridges passing through several straits.
However, in the two largest cities - Stockholm and Gothenburg - a fee has been introduced, which is designed to reduce the traffic load on the busiest days - from Monday to Friday (and during working hours). The need to pay it is assigned not only to the Swedes, but also to the guests of the cities.
The invoice is issued monthly by a special service.
Finland
Again, like its neighbor, Finland does not consider it necessary to charge car owners for the use of roads. This rule applies to both Finns and foreigners.
Italy
The Italian road toll system still needs to be sorted out. The highway system is toll. The amount depends on the road, mileage and type of vehicle. Noticed? There are too many components that affect the final amount. For example, for 355 km of motorway from Rimini to Palmanova, our colleagues paid 25 euros during a business trip.
The technology is simple. When leaving the highway, you need to take a special ticket (otherwise the barrier will not open), and at the exit, return it to the machine and pay the specified amount. All guidebooks note that foreigners in cars should not drive into the yellow Telepass lane, but it is better to choose the lane marked in white: cards and cash are accepted there.
The length of the network of public roads in Poland is 423.997 km. Of these, paved roads - 292.134 km. Motorway length ( Autostrady, denoted by the letter A) is 1.647 km.
Toll roads
In Poland, there is a toll for the use of motorways, depending on the distance travelled.
Fares for the A1 motorway
When entering the highway, you need to take a ticket. The coupon must be kept throughout the trip, because. it will be used to pay for the distance travelled. In the absence of a ticket, the driver will have to pay the maximum amount depending on the category of the vehicle.
Tariffs for 2019 (PLN)You can pay for the fare in cash, as well as with a debit or credit card. Cash is accepted in the following currencies - PLN , EUR and USD . Payment in cash in foreign currencies (EUR and USD) is accepted only in the form of banknotes with a face value of not more than 100. Change is issued only in PLN.
Basic traffic rules in Poland
Speed limit
Standard speed limits in Poland (unless otherwise indicated on the signs).
Cars and motorcycles:- outside the settlement (one lane in each direction) - 90 km/h
- outside the settlement (two lanes in each direction) - 100 km/h
- on the highway (one lane in each direction) - 100 km/h
- on the highway (two lanes in each direction) - 120 km/h
- on the motorway - 140 km/h
- in built-up areas - 50 km/h (60 km/h from 23:00 to 06:00)
- outside the settlement (one lane in each direction) - 70 km/h
- outside the settlement (two lanes in each direction) - 80 km/h
- on the road - 80 km/h
- on the motorway - 80 km/h
The minimum speed limit on autobahns is 40 km/h.
Alcohol
Maximum legal blood alcohol level 0.2‰.
If the blood alcohol level is in the range from 0.21 ‰ to 0.5 ‰, then the fine will be from PLN 5,000 (€ 1,092) and deprivation of the right to drive
from 3 to 15 years old.
In the event of an accident, the fine will be at least PLN 10,000 (€ 2,183) and the money will be transferred to the affected persons.
If the blood alcohol level exceeds 0.5 ‰, then this is a crime and the case is subject to judicial review with the possibility of immediate arrest.
Drivers convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol will be required to install an "alcohol lock" (alcoguard) in the car after the restoration of a driver's license. This device does not allow the car to be started if the level of alcohol in the air exhaled by the driver is above 0.1 mg/dm 3 .
dipped beam
Dipped beam is required 24 hours a day all year round.
In the daytime (from dawn to dusk), in conditions of normal visibility, it is allowed to use running lights instead of dipped beam.
Fog lights can only be used during fog or heavy rain. The rear fog lights can only be used when visibility drops to 50 meters.
Fine - PLN 100 (€ 22).
Transportation of children
Children under 150 cm must not be transported in the front seat without suitable child restraint systems appropriate for their weight.
It is forbidden to transport children under 3 years old in cars that are not equipped with seat belts. An exception is the transportation of children in a taxi.
It is allowed to transport children in the back seat without a child seat, whose height is not less than 135 cm, provided that the seat belts are correctly adjusted.
It is allowed to transport a third child in the back seat, in a central place, in cars that are not adapted for installing a third seat, provided that the child is over 3 years old and can be fastened with seat belts. The other two children must be in child safety seats.
Fine - PLN 150 (€ 33).
Seat belts
Use of seat belts necessarily for front and rear passengers.
It is forbidden to ride a motorcycle and ATV without a protective helmet.
Fine - PLN 100 (€ 22).
Talking on the phone
It is forbidden to use, while the vehicle is in motion, a telephone communication device that is not equipped with a technical device that allows hands-free negotiations.
Fine - PLN 200 (€ 44).
fines
Foreign citizens cannot be penalized. A police officer writes out a fine on the spot and issues a corresponding receipt (receipt) to the driver. The amount of the fine is the same as for a citizen of Poland.
In case of non-payment on the spot (lack of cash or refusal to accept a fine), the case is transferred to the court of first instance. Until the time of the trial, the driver may be detained by the police.
Table of fines for speeding in Poland (PLN):| Over speed | ||
|---|---|---|
| up to 10 km/h | 114 (€ 25) | 57 (€ 12) |
| from 11 to 20 km/h | 228 (€ 50) | 114 (€ 25) |
| from 21 to 30 km/h | 380 (€ 83) | 190 (€ 41) |
| from 31 to 40 km/h | 684 (€ 149) | 342 (€ 75) |
| from 41 to 50 km/h | 1,064 (€ 232) | 532 (€ 116) |
| over 50 km/h | 1,520 (€ 332) | 760 (€ 166) |
If the speed limit is exceeded by more than 50 km / h in the settlement - deprivation of a driver's license for 3 months. The police officer will be able to pick up the document immediately after the stop.
Be careful with the speed limit when driving from Germany to Poland on the A2 motorway (Świecko). Immediately after the bridge, Polish policemen are often located and measure the speed. The speed limit on the bridge is 60 km/h and immediately after it is 40 km/h.
Penalties for traffic violations in Poland:| Violation | Fines (PLN) |
|---|---|
| Entrance to the dividing strip between the carriageways | 100 (€ 22) |
| Violation of the permissible conditions for the use of fog lamps | 100 (€ 22) |
| Use of rear fog lamps with sufficient visibility | 100 (€ 22) |
| Overtaking on the wrong side or without maintaining a safe distance | 200 (€ 44) |
| Crossing a solid double line on a roadway | 200 (€ 44) |
| Overtaking at and directly in front of pedestrian crossings | 200 (€ 44) |
| Preventing a bus (trolleybus) from entering the road signaling a lane change or exit from the adjacent territory onto the road with a designated stop in the settlement | 200 (€ 44) |
| Violation of the rules of overtaking by the driver | 250 (€ 55) |
| Refusal to yield to another vehicle or road user while entering the road | 300 (€ 66) |
| Violation of the prohibition of overtaking at intersections | 300 (€ 66) |
| Violation of the prohibition of a U-turn on a freeway or road with high speeds | 300 (€ 66) |
| Reversing on a freeway or high speed road | 300 (€ 66) |
| Violation by the driver of the prohibition to enter the intersection, if there is no place on it or behind it to continue driving | 300 (€ 66) |
| Increasing the speed of the driver of the overtaken vehicle | 350 (€ 76) |
| Driver's refusal to give way to pedestrians at a crosswalk | 350 (€ 76) |
| Parking in the wrong place | 400 (€ 87) |
| Detour of a vehicle that was moving in the same direction but stopped to give way to a pedestrian | 500 (€ 109) |
| Parking in spaces designated for people with disabilities | 800 (€ 175) |
If the number of passengers transported exceeds at least 3 people than indicated in the technical passport, then the driver is threatened with deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for 3 months.
