Are Polish roads really this bad?

Yes I live here... and on average see 1 or 2 accidents (or the aftermath of) a week!

It's 20 points to lose your license in Poland and most speeding fines carry only a 2 point penalty (10x2 point fines) whereas 12 in England (4x3 speeding fines)

Car insurance also is incredibly low and the cost of vehicles at the lower end of the market is incredibly cheap. Add on top of this the state of some of the cars being driven! This makes it easy for idiots to stay on the road cheaply and hard for them to lose thier licenses. The Poles however, will always blame the state of the roads!

As for road building just read the debarcle regarding the Chinese contract for the new motorways and how the Poles would only deal with Polish companies that upped the costs.

Sure you're not exaggerating? I'm out on the road every day and I don't see one or two accidents and month; maybe per year.


Any stats for that? My last speeding offence got me six points.

Sounds like an exageration to me, but it does depend where youre doing the driving, country roads are much more dangerous than the cities.

The accident stats do remain high though, we only heard last week about a friend of ours in Poland who recently had his son killed. The 10 year old boy was crossing a main road on his way home from school which ran through a B town and was struck by a truck. The truck driver commited suicide a few days later. Its way too high.

Really what's so ignorant in what i said? The Poles gave the contracts to Chinese contractors which where made to buy materials at super inflated prices by Polish suppliers and therefore couldn't afford to finish the job. The Polish government went back to the EU with a bigger begging bowl to get the job finished.. of course this is all lies! doh!

In no other EU country have i ever seen tarmac roads with cart-ruts in them! Well done Poland!

My thoughts exactly.

And mine!

So what happened with that segment of A1 that some Irsh company was supposed to build? Did they go bankrupt?
What's the reason for the delays in the other highways?

It was just too ambitious to get everything funded and constructed in the timescales available.

Generally speaking, stuff is still moving forward - just not as fast as originally hoped. The only real mistake is with the A1 connection to the Czech Republic - there's a huge argument over the construction of a bridge there, and now it looks like it won't be opened till 2014.

But on the whole, it's not bad. On SSC, they're estimating another 150km or so of roads to open this year if the winter arrives a bit later than normal.

The latest and greatest map -

Thanks Delph but what about this Irish company? I keep hearing references to this firm on TV but they never explain the details. Did this company promise too much? Did they run out of funds? Were they caught embezzling funds? I'm hearing about this section almost daily. Now it's got my curiosity going.

I will be visiting Poland in about 2 weeks, I will have to travel from lodz to rzeszow,
On Google maps I have 3 different options all of tham about 5 hours, but with crazy difference in km.
would anyone please be able to tell what would be the best way to go with?

the one that looks longest will be the most convenient (but partly paid)- why? - because you avoid one-carriageway roads - you head from Łódź to Katowice (double carriageway road for the most part) and in the area of Katowice you join the A4 motorway/interstate and head east - I can't tell you the exact cost but it's not overwhelming

How do I pay?

Cash. It isn't very much (small change really), so make sure you have some low denomination notes and some coins.


If you go on a new road, be sure to make a small diversion to eat at a roadside bar (it will probably have the words Zajazd or karczma in the name). They're cheap and usually OK, the food can sometimes be greasy and bland but they generally have very good soup.

It was 20zł between Katowice-Kraków last time I went - 10zł each at the toll gates in Mysłowice and Balice.

Nice motorway actually at that point, but the Kraków bypass was a mess.

How about gasoline, is there gas station on the way?
Where do I pay?
As well how about gasoline, is there gas station on the way?

At the toll gates, you'll find them just after the S1 junction with the A4 and just before the junction for Kraków Airport, also on the A4.

Gasoline is easy, there will be plenty of places along the way, all well signposted.

you should be warned about the weather conditions - though it is not very likely that it will snowing according to 2 week forecasts the roads can be slippery because of freezing fog

No, there are no gas stations in Poland - all the cars on the new roads are pulled by horses. You'll need to bring it with you. Food too, since they are a society of hunter gatherers.

Jon I am surprised this is very out of character for you to make a post like this , as we both know there are plenty of petrol stations and some also sell gas lpg.

No, only horse-pulled or wooden rollers.

I love your answer and attitude.
my question was not if there is gas stations at all! my question was if it's on the main road/motorway, or if you have to get out

It must be the marathon long (think Jerry Lewis) hours of posting and he`s become delusional. I seen somewhere he likes Trump also! LOL

Next question
How about a GPS could I use waze or Google maps, or rather rent one with the car?

Lots of people use this in Poland.

Merged:

BMW M6 in Poland

Going to be returning to Poland in my new BMW M6 soon, need to clear up some loose legal ends, close bank accounts and stuff. Have the roads improved much? Any speed cameras? or can you still do 130 mph with virtually no issues from the Police? Shout out to Germany for the great cars....

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  BMW M6
  

Poland has become a fully European country at last - last week I was driving on a newly renovated urban road - the surface was perfectly flat and smooth, and the manhole covers were precisely level with the ground. Wow! I was really impressed - after so many years of futile attempts, those road workers have finally learnt their fekking job. I had been waiting for it for so long.

Today, the police in Poland are very active and have faster unmarked police cars than BMWs. Driving 130 mph can result in a hefty fine and loss of your license.