Travel / Polish roads as recorded by myself earlier today [74]

Although I despise poor driving, I have nothing against fast driving if its done in a safe manner. Driving at 150 mph in light traffic on an autobahn is perfectly acceptable and perfectly safe providing the car is up to the job and the driver uses a little common sense. German drivers are used to cars flying past them at twice the speed they are doing so they drive accordingly.

Its not just your wife who tells you to slow down..... My ex used to tell me off for doing 70 mph on the motorway repeatedly and punch me in the head at random intervals, Hence the EX.

The filming might be classed as dangerous but it didn't seem to have an adverse effect on his driving really.

I can't wait for the snow driving, Might have to invest in a cheap subaru to enjoy the snows full potential.

Travel / Polish roads as recorded by myself earlier today [74]


Speed kills is one of the worst defended arguments of all time. Speed has to be combined with another factor ie Incompetence, weather conditions, poor mechanical condition etc, I could go on forever...

When you talk about speed what speed are you thinking about? 3mph, 20mph, 2000 mph?

If speed was really that dangerous then surely flying would be the most dangerous mode of transport when in fact its the safest.

Speed and stupidity kill but speed alone doesn't

As for drink drivers I agree totally and Think that breath test immobilisers should be fitted to all vehicles.

News / POLAND'S CREDIT CRAZE [34]

Credit is necessary, How are people on low wages supposed to buy 150" plasma TV's without it?

I do think Poland will go the same way as the UK and US in future years, The sheer amount of credit people take is ridiculous even by UK standards.

I've always wondered how so many Poles drive new cars when on a low wage.

Eg the average office worker admin person would earn around 3000 pln per month.

To buy a new car ie Skoda fabia, base model it would cost around 48,000 pln,
Monthly payments would be around 1500 pln over 60 months, Then rent 1800 pln, food, bills etc I have no idea how they do it

Travel / Polish roads as recorded by myself earlier today [74]

It all looked fairly safe, (if not the filimng :D), 90 mph isn't really that fast considering the type of vehicle, I would put money on it that a mercedes clk would stop quicker from 90mph than a Polonez or any other badly maintained **** you see on polish roads would from 60 mph.

That looks like a great road for Poland, How did you manage to find such a smooth surface?

Travel / Polish roads as recorded by myself earlier today [74]

That thing looks f**king quick, is that the CLK? Sounds nice too, I see that your steering wheel is on the "correct side", I saw some big bastard in a silver Y plate CLK a couple of weeks ago in Poznan, Wasn't you by any chance was it. Also waht does that big OFF thing mean on your obc?

Work / Hot Rod and Preformance Car jobs in Poland? [6]


*spits coffee all over laptop.

Real cars? Thats a new one on me,
Are you sure you don't mean large engined, inefficient, dynamically inferior, mass produced American shite?

The reason American cars havent taken off in Europe is because we have these things called corners which require the car to change direction in a fluid and stable fashion. We also wouldn't want to run a 5.0 v8 when we can have better fuel efficiency and more power from a Japanese or German car with the added benefits of actually being able to go round corners.

UK, Ireland / Bobski the Builder ... Channel 4, 9pm Thursday16th Oct 2008 [20]

I can't find it anywhere but would be interested in watching, If anyone finds it please post it up,

Love / Fidelity of Polish women [63]

Whats wrong with girls flirting with other men? I've never understood this obsession some people have, As long as it doesn't go any further surely that's fine? I always flirt with other girls even if i'm in a relationship and it never goes any further than a bit of banter.

Travel / My trip to Poland - I hated Katowice, loved Krakow, and adored Bielsko [59]

Seconded, I couldn't find one good thing to say about Birmingham, It is an utter s--hole. Birmingham to me just one massive traffic jam, Its Ugly, Dirty, and really isn't a pleasant place to be.

Travel / Snow tyres in Poland... legal or reccomended? [25]

I use toyo proxy t1R's all year round in all conditions and they have never been anything short of brilliant, Uniroyal rain tyres are also good, I find winter tyres rather restricting at motorway speeds (and potentially dangerous). I go through a set of 4 tyres every 2 months anyway 8000 miles so have been experimenting with different types for years for years.

Also why is it people in poland insist on fitting steel wheels during the winter months? Steel wheels with balloon like tyres have a really adverse effect on the cars handling as opposed to the normal low profile tyres found on alloys.

I might give winter tyres a go but they are stupidly expensive at £150 per tyre, Anyone know where I can find some cheaper?

Love / My polish girlfriend will not leave [47]

If your not happy then leave, Its fairly easy to find somewhere else to live, At least that way you are doing the gentlemanly thing and not making her homeless, Just see how long she can carry on paying the rent for.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]

I flashed at one once to hurry up as he was doing less than 5mph on an empty street in the middle of the road, Me then panicked and drove into a lamp post.


Probably nothing, Poles are generally lovely friendly and courteous people until they get behind the wheel of a car and for some unknown reason they seem to be utter bastards.

I had a bit of a road rage incident with a fairly new passat diesel on the way back from Gdansk last year, He overtook me driving like an idiot with his fairly pretty girlfriend in the passenger seat (I guess he was trying to impress her with the amazing power produced from his smokey and gutless VAG diesel engine)

Any way we stopped at lights and I pulled along side him in a battered BMW 325i with a dent in every panel and faded paintwork (utter shed but procured for a mere £300), He started revving his engine in order to initiate a challenge, which being young and naive I decided to accept. I left the idiot standing from the lights due to the fact I had 192 bhp as opposed to 90 something, Next set of lights he was livid hitting the steering wheel and shouting things and his girlfriend was laughing, It did amuse me and my 5 passenger greatly. He overtook me on the next blind corner though as I wasn't stupid enough to carry on.

Travel / Snow tyres in Poland... legal or reccomended? [25]

I didn't bother last year and managed to drive around (slowly) with the traction control and ABS going crazy non stop, I don't think they are mandatory but I know continental insurance companies are reluctant to pay out if you have and accident and no matter what happens you are instantly at fault. If your car is UK registered it must be legal by UK standards so in my understanding you don't need them but I;m sure zee germans will se it a different way.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]

You think they would care about their octavias on 15 year HP though. Give the average polish driver a faster car and they would just die sooner. They can't even manage to control the clutches on their asthmatic diesels.

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]


I think you may have described the problem perfectly, People do seem to try and race each other all the time, Screeching tyres of the line, and trying to drift in the centre of town and subsequently hitting people. The overtaking on country roads on blind corners and on brows of hills is what I can't understand.

I also wonder how often an unsafe vehicle plays a part in these accidents? Is the polish technical check very stringent as I often see total wrecks which would never pass a UK MOT test on the roads.

Lets hope things improve in the coming years,

Life / Deadly Roads - "Are polish roads really THAT dangerous?" [139]

The roads are bad and fairly dangerous but I think the level of accidents are down to the total lack of talent, common sense and a general disregard for other road users which 90% of polish drivers seem to display.

Bad roads shouldn't be a problem if you drive accordingly but people her seem to have no idea what they are doing, I witnessed a police van drive into a lamp post in the centre of poznan the other day, I also had an incident with a ford focus tailgating me, when I braked he panicked, swerved around me and hit the car overtaking in the middle lane.

Life / Paying bribes in Poland - necessity or a luxury? [41]

I've bribed policemen with cigarettes although I have no idea why he stopped me in the first place.

I also used a bottle of Wyborowa in woja woda office (or however you spell it) in order to get my application done in 4 days as opposed to 3 weeks.

Law / Importing cars in Poland from EU. What limitations are there?? [10]

How much are you looking for it? Is it in Poland at the moment, does it have any MOT and tax, also what year is it?

I'm not a trader but i'm looking to change my car soon. (you can't register rhd vehicles in Poland)

Life / Would anyone be interested in English Magazine For Expats in Poland? [9]

Most definitely.

UK, Ireland / Passed theory in UK, failed driving. Possible to take driving test in PL? [23]

If your driving was good enough to pass the test then you would have passed simple.

Keep trying in the Uk, If learning to drive in Poland is shrouded with as much red tape as everything else then you will find it difficult. Also if they see a foreigner they may just fail you in order to make more money as dual pricing is common in Poland and people will try to rip you off at every single opportunity.

Law / Buying, Registering, Insuring a NEW Car in PL is a NIGHTMARE [22]

Register it in the UK and get a years green card insurance

Would take you 3 days and cost you £38

Life / How important is it to have a car in Poland? [37]

You would be fine without a car and the public transport is great, I managed for nearly a month without a car when the drunken moron drove into the back of mine writing it off. If you do decide you need a car you would probably be best shipping yours from the states and keeping it on US plates until you take it home again as you can't get anything decent in poland for a good price. Petrol here is expensive (compared to the US). There is no risk of car theft whatsoever but make sure you have a good alarm and immobiliser fitted. I've had parts of my car stolen, headlights, indicators door handles etc but never the whole car. Driving in Poland on the other hand requires concentration of the highest level as people here have no idea how to drive and the roads aren't great.

Travel / PLANES VERSUS TRAINS ~ WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? [32]

I always try to fly to smaller airports, Bristol airport you are out 15 minutes after landing.

UK, Ireland / How long before a newly arrived Pole can buy something on credit ? [24]

I wouldnt agree with that, but depends on what you call decent and if you want to drive to and from Poland in it, it might not be too reliable unless you are lucky.

When I first came here my £500 BMW managed the Poland to UK trip twice a month for around 7 months with no problems whatsoever, If you buy something sensible BMW e36 or a bland japanese car you shouldn't have any problems whatsoever, Obviously something french or italian is out of the question but an Oldish (1996 - 2000) bmw or mercedes will go on forever.

UK, Ireland / How long before a newly arrived Pole can buy something on credit ? [24]

You can get a decent car for under a grand in the UK, A 96-97 ish jag xj6 or perhaps a 3 series BMW or passat, Buying cars on credit is ridiculous, I bought an alfa 156 on credit when I was 18, It lasted 2 years before the engine and electrics decided to stop working and the warranty had run out and I ended up paying a fortune for it. If your friend is going to the UK no matter what his trade is he should be earning at least £1500 per month,

I picked up the car I brought to poland bmw325i with 80k miles on the clock for £500 and did 40k trouble free until some drunken idiot drove into the back of it at the traffic lights, Try autotrader.co.uk and as for insurance just call around, try confused.com or insuresupermarket.com. Fully comprehensive insurance is often cheaper than TPFT for some reason (well it has been for me), you can get a fairly respectable and reliable car on the road for less than 1k,

Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

Lamborghini of any type in Poland is pointless as the roads are so shit, I overtook a Ferrari f355 trundling along at a steady 40 mph on a dual carriageway the other week as I guess he was scared of ruining it on the awful roads.

people here seem to pronounce Lamborghini as Lamborg-jeanie for some reason.

Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (Part II -- Much more detail than other topic) [109]

I would say you looked pretty hot :D

UK, Ireland / What is in Poland that England doesn't have? [142]

Poland has lots of idiotic bureaucracy DVLA levels of incompetence across the board, Personally I think the Polish countryside is dull and boring well wielkopolskie anyway. Its so flat and really isn't that pretty. In my opinion Polish cities are much prettier than ones in the UK as we don't tend to have the old ryneks in britain although the communist filing cabinet style housing is truly awful but then I suppose there are council estates in the UK too.

Life / Internet cowboys in Poland - Internet Providers [15]

Avoid teleplus at all costs! they are absolute shite, I now use orange business everywhere with a thing that plugs into the computer its great and really reliable for only 120 pln per month.

News / "EU Politicians Angered By Polish Chemical Castration Plan" [45]

Great idea but introducing the death penalty for these sick bastards would most definitely stop them re offending.