Taking my Right hand drive car to Poland - is it allowed by the Polish authorities?

So my family and I are in the process of moving to Poland, Just south of Krakow. We are currently live in Ireland and will be bringing our RHD car with us. Ive read stories that the Polish authorities do not allow RHD cars/vehicles to use the Polish roads? Ive heard of vehicles (Especially commercial) being seized by the authorities there? Is there an truth to this?

It's not about being able to use RHD vehicles, it's that you can't register them in Poland.

Which means what exactly?

You can't get Polish plates, the car will have to stay on Irish plates.

Under Polish law - contested by the EU, but it IS Polish law - you cannot register a RHD car here. That means you MUST keep the car road-legal where it IS registered - so, for the UK, you have to pay RFL, get UK/Euro insurance (a bit of a bugger!) and get the car MOTd every year. You'll need to do whatever it takes to keep YOUR car road-legal in Ireland, even if you have no reason to return there (ie, you might have to return to Ireland every year just to get the car tested).

You're taking your life (and that of your family) into your hands. Have you ever driven a RHD vehicle in a LHD country? How to you even attempt to overtake a sluggish, fume-belching diesel bus when you cannot see oncoming traffic? If you decide to anyway, then repeat after me: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be.....etc., etc.

Many many times. Lived in France for a year with my RHD car. Drove to Poland a few times with it from Ireland. I just dont want to run the risk of having the car seized from me.

@Polonius3
Agreed. It's scary and Polish drivers are dangerous enough without putting yourself at additional risk.

It won't be seized, but if you're living in Poland with it on Irish plates, there's always the chance that you could get into trouble for not registering it (and paying the tax required) in Poland.

Snaps, If you are bringing the car for a year then it's ok. If you are bringing the car for longer then don't.

I was going to stay here one year, that was 5 years ago. I came in my English car. I now wise i didn't.
Insurance has to be from English what costs 5x more than in Poland. It's a pain in the arse if you want to go back to the UK with it. If you want to sell it here they offer you 50% of the worth.

Plus you aren't allowed to have your car in Poland for more than 6 months without registering it. But they wont allow you to register it. So if you do get stopped then you have only been here for 2-3 months max(wink wink).

The good point is if the police stop you, they don't speak English and sometime you just get a fine and no points.

If i could go back. I wouldn't bring my car here. Even buying a LHD in the UK would be so much better.

Plus i do not overtake unless i know 100% the way is clear, It does add minutes onto my traveling. it was very hard to over take here with a RHD. You just have to take your time.

Polish drivers will try and overtake you asap as you are in a RHD and they do not like being behind ANYONE. They overtake everywhere at any speed.

What you see in the UK and go "OMG LOOK AT HIM", that is 5-10 a day here, not once a week in the UK

+1 for that.

Its not only the drivers that are dangerous, but extremely dangerous roadworks that are poorly marked. 4 abreast on a single carriageway leaves you no room for error. A metre to the left so you can see is likely to be terminal. Beware the drunken cyclist too, they are completely unpredictable although they can be spotted at a distance with their flamboyant style.

I hate driving my RHD car in Poland. LHD is much more comfortable.

This is the biggest danger in my opinion. Driving here is fun for the general lack of enforcement, but drunken cyclists are an absolute pest.

I fully admit to having nearly hit one in the middle of the night - no lights, no reflective clothes, just an old alcoholic cycling between villages and swerving all over the road. To this day, I'm not sure how I avoided him, or how I avoided not throwing him straight in the ditch afterwards.

Personally, I am quite happy driving in Poland. It's perfectly possible to cover thousands of miles in Europe in an RHD car - I know, I've done it - but nevertheless once we'd decided to move over here a LHD car went straight to the top of my to do list. It's simply vastly better to be sitting on the correct side of the car!

Am I correct in assuming this was mostly cross-country driving with not too many city traffic jams?

I've driven through Paris, Munich, Innsbruk, Salzburg, Karlsruhe, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille, Brussels, Essen, Dreseden, Warsaw, Poznan and Krakow, for starters. All in RHD and yes, some of them in rush hour. But I bought an LHD car when we decided to move to Poland - I'm brave, not stupid!

Thanks for your views guys.

wait wait you all are 100% wrong I moved to Poland in 2019 with my jaguar xf and I registered it in Poland all you need is a MOT proof of purchase and translate it and if you owned the car for more than 2 years you don't pay tax and I have seen lots of British cars with Polish number plate