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Highway Code equivalent in Poland?


Braveheart16 19 | 142
19 Apr 2017 #1
I am a car driver and would like to know if there is anything like the equivalent of a 'highway code' as in the UK. It would really be helpful to know more about road signs, speed limits, car equipment requirement eg. red breakdown triangle etc, zebra crossings, rights of way for pedestrians, motorway driving, use of lights, legal distance when driving behind other cars....that sort of thing. It would just be helpful if there was something I could refer to which shows a list of road traffic regulations / law and a general overview of driving in Poland.

Thanks for any help on this.
Atch 22 | 4,097
19 Apr 2017 #2
Well judging by the way people drive, I would have thought not. However after a bit of rummaging in the internet attic I found this, published last year po Angielsku, it doesn't really compare in range and detail to the British highway code but it contains some of the basic elements:

mib.gov.pl/files/0/1797229/wersjaEN.pdf

Not much about the rights of pedestrians, but plenty about their obligations. Enjoy!

Oh yes, and all the road signs are on Wikipedia.
OP Braveheart16 19 | 142
19 Apr 2017 #3
Atch......thank you very much for this information....much appreciated.
peter_olsztyn 6 | 1,098
19 Apr 2017 #4
legal distance when driving behind other cars

Beware of wildboars and moose. Avoid driving in the night, on Friday evening and through small villages. Beware agricultural machinery on the road, morons on the quads and drunks walking without any light or hivis.
DominicB - | 2,707
19 Apr 2017 #5
@peter_olsztyn

You forgot about the bicyclists on country roads, who are often drunk, and who never have lights on their bikes. When your driving in the evening, they just appear in front of you with no warning.

The moose might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I did have a wild boar and her litter cross the road in front of me once. Make sure you have good brakes.

Assume everybody else on the road is drunk and about to do something very stupid, and be prepared to react accordingly.
delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
19 Apr 2017 #6
It would just be helpful if there was something I could refer to which shows a list of road traffic regulations / law and a general overview of driving in Poland.

Sure, it's called the Kodeks Drogowy (Driving Code). Here you are - kodeks-drogowy.org

All new drivers in Poland are expected to know this. I remember having plenty of fun with the priority rules, though those rules in particular are interpreted rather differently by courts/police - if you have a collision as a result of enforcing your priority over another vehicle, you're likely to be judged at fault even if you were technically in the right according to the Kodeks Drogowy.
peter_olsztyn 6 | 1,098
20 Apr 2017 #7
The moose might be a bit of an exaggeration

It depends where. In Masuria we had a couple scary collisions with moose recently. Poor moose always dead on the scene.

but I did have a wild boar and her litter cross the road in front of me once.

I had collision with wildboars. Time 23:55. Speed was 75km/h. One wildboar dead on the scene one wounded, eight intact. Fire brigade. Police. Waiting two hours in the cold car. Every 15 minutes filing up the coolant due to a serious radiator leak. 110km from home. Cost 2ooozł without painting. Bumper, bumper bar, lamps, radiator, radiator fan, timing belt cover, bonnet, intake manifold, air filter housing.

From this time I never ever drive in the night. Choćby skały ...


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