The sale of alcohol at Poland's fuel filling stations

I read today that lawmakers are considering a ban on the sale of alcohol at petrol stations.
During my last visit to Poland my cousin bought us several cold bottles of Zywiec while filling up. Truth be told, I was initially shocked (but shock melted away to a guilty satisfaction after the third bottle).

Do you think the sale should be banned?
Can you buy beer in other countries' gas stations? ..........here in the States you can't (I think it's also a no in Canada).

Rybnik,I guess they figure it promotes drinking and driving.

We can buy it at gas stations where I live but it's low point beer. There's a liquor store, sometimes, in the same strip mall though so all one has to do is walk a few feet and go buy whatever they want at the liquor store after they fill up at 7/11 , They can get any kind of liquor they want at liquor store. Six point beer, wine, JD, vodka, tequila, whatever their heart desires.

that what the anti-alcohol faction maintains. But as PlasticPole says, there's an easy way around it. ie if you want to drink and drive, you'll drink and drive regardless if it's sold at the gas station or not.

Rybnik,oh I completely agree;I just figured that was their reasoning.

There may be another reason - petrol stations are often in residential areas, and they are the only place to buy booze late at night from. If someone's buying drink at 2/3am, they're probably already drunk - and this can tip them over the edge.

I'm thinking about round where I stay - there's nowhere to buy alcohol after midnight from, unless you go to the petrol station.

Ok
That's interesting.

Drinking and driving laws are enforced so there's the trade off.

HAhahahahahaha,...hahahahaha...hahahahahaha.

Have you driven in Poland?

Nothing is enforced here. The only time they bother with enforcing laws is normally around Christmas and All Saint's day. Apart from that? Bwawhahaha.

(having said that, for the last few years, they've had checkpoints right outside the cemeteries. The amount of people caught drunk at these checkpoints is absolutely astounding)

How are they enforced? (not meaning to be sarcastic). Here in Central Jersey it's a joke.


it was :)

If Poles have no money to pay tickets, it won't do much good issuing them. I guess the answer in this case is to take the booze out of the gas stations.

Where I live, people get DUIs if they drive drunk and it is enforced if people are caught unless they are really good at driving under the influence. They have to pay a huge fine, I think, and take some kind of special class. If they do it again and get caught they lose their license. I don't know for sure because I never have gotten a DUI and would never risk it. It's so much trouble. I don't know anyone who gets them, either.

I have and your right.
I couldn't believe the sh*t my cousin was getting away on the A4! I was white-knuckled the entire time!!

It's a total joke here. If only they put out permanent checkpoints to catch people, they'd be revoking driving licences left/right/centre.


The fines are actually quite low for drink/driving - the real punishment is that your licence is revoked for 12 months, you don't get it back until you've passed your test(s) again AND passed an interview with a psychologist. The psychologist test is also quite tough, apparently.

But of course, there's no enforcement, so Pawel the racist dickhead drunk can lose his licence, then go straight back out on the road safe in the knowledge that he won't get stopped again anyway.


I even surprise myself when I look at the stuff I do here - crossing solid white lines, turning where I shouldn't, the list is endless. About the only thing I don't do is drive under the influence - it's a stupid thing to do. But speeding? Paah..who doesn't speed? Even stuff like turning speed - in Poland, I'll take the turn as fast as I can. Elsewhere? No chance - I'll take it slowly and surely. But again - lack of enforcement. If I knew that such behaviour was going to result in heavy fines, I wouldn't do it.

The second I go abroad, I have to repeat in my head "you're not in Poland, you're not in Poland, they have police here, you're not in Poland".

You shouldn't do it anyway, Reckless drivers can get in very serious accidents. Cars can roll over.

lol
can you buy booze in other countries while filling up?
which country(ies), in your experience, are the toughest on the highways in terms of enforcement?

GB apparently.

I don't drive recklessly though, that's the thing. Reckless is taking the corner and losing control, or taking the corner far too fast in the middle of the day when there's a high likelihood of kids being around.


You know, I don't know. I think in Germany you can, but beer is engrained in their culture. But - it's not something I really pay attention to.


Montenegro, without a shadow of a doubt. There is police everywhere there - almost every 10-15km, you'll see a cop by the side of the road with multiple cops in towns. The only plus side is that they're open to bribery for non-serious offences such as speeding or ignoring illogical stop signs.

But as you specifically asked for highways - I'd say France. The UK doesn't pay much attention to what goes on in their highways, but in France, they care - a lot. Sweden too, I think - but I only have very limited experience there. Spain was also apparently quite vicious when they dropped the limit to 110km/h (now reversed).

Enforcement was strangely lacking on the German autobahn, however.

that's also my experience