2025-12-22 14:24
publication
2025-12-22 14:24
President Karol Nawrocki signed an amendment aimed at improving road traffic safety, his office announced on Monday. The regulations introduce, among others: definition of illegal racing and drifting, as well as tightening penalties for violating the driving ban.
The new regulations introduced by the Act amending certain acts in order to improve road traffic safety are intended to directly affect people who consciously and blatantly disregard road traffic law. The changes assume that the following people will be eliminated from participating in road traffic: recidivists and holders of multiple driving bans. Tougher sanctions are intended to have a deterrent effect.
According to the regulation, exposing a person to a direct danger of loss of life or damage to health as a result of grossly exceeding the speed and safety rules will result in a penalty of three months to five years in prison.
The amendment indicated, among others: the definition of an illegal race – it is a competition between at least two drivers who want to cover a specific section of road in the shortest possible time and in violation of road safety rules. The penalties are intended to eliminate or limit the problem of illegal races or rallies on roads with road traffic.
In addition to illegal racing, the act also includes the definition of drifting – “deliberately causing a vehicle to skid or causing it to lose contact with the road surface, at least one of the vehicle's wheels, performed during a public meeting, without the required permit” – and penalties for it. The new regulation also applies to motorcyclists who ride on one wheel.
The regulations specify that a meeting of owners, possessors or users of motor vehicles in an open or publicly accessible space, the purpose of which is to present more than 10 motor vehicles, in particular the modifications introduced to them, requires prior notice to the municipal authority.
The rules for forfeiture of vehicles have been tightened. It will also be possible if the perpetrator was sober but drove the vehicle despite the applicable ban. Repeat offenders with multiple driving bans are to be eliminated from road traffic. Only in particularly justified cases will the court be able to conditionally suspend the execution of a prison sentence imposed for violating a driving ban. The court will be able to impose a lifelong ban in the event of a conviction for failure to comply with previous driving bans.
The new solutions also increase the lower limit of the monetary benefit that is mandatory for failure to comply with the driving ban – from PLN 5,000 to PLN 5,000. PLN up to PLN 10,000 zloty. When the regulations require the forfeiture of a vehicle and this cannot be done, the maximum compensation replacing confiscation increases after the changes are adopted from PLN 100,000. up to 500 thousand zloty.
The regulations will generally enter into force 30 days after their announcement. The exception are the regulations regarding drifting, which will enter into force after three months from the date of announcement of the amendment. (PAP)
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