Dangerous Roads: Poland

With more than 2,000 deaths on the roads in 2021, Poland is one of the worst performers in the European Union when it comes to road safety. The cause: an explosive cocktail of excessive speed, irresponsible behaviour and drink-driving. And yet the country’s road safety legislation is among the strictest in Europe when it comes to blood alcohol levels. And with good reason: the country is one of the European countries where more litres of alcoholic beverages are consumed per capita.

Another special feature of our European neighbours is that they have tolls without barriers. In Poland, drivers have not had to stop at certain toll plazas since December 2021, and payment is made directly via surveillance cameras. The problem is that this “free flow” system, which was introduced to improve traffic flow, is now the source of a large number of accidents, many of them spectacular. This is a danger for the millions of vehicles that travel on these roads every day, such as the A4 motorway, which is almost 700 km long and links the country from east to west. This route is the most dangerous of all. It accounts for almost half of all fatal accidents in the country every year.

Another scourge is excessive speed, sometimes the cause of human tragedy, as in October 2019 when a father was hit by a car travelling at more than 120 km in the middle of Warsaw. This type of behaviour is on the increase, particularly among “drifters”, sports car enthusiasts who challenge each other in speed races.

To curb this phenomenon, the Polish police have super-powered cars at their disposal. These are the “speed” brigades, equipped with big German engines. Like mobile radars, these racing cars are able to keep up with the most irresponsible drivers. And although Poles have a 24-point driving licence, twice the number in France, it is very easy to lose it. Over there, the police leave no stone unturned, and the slightest breach of the highway code can be very costly! Since 2022, fines have reached record levels: up to €1,000 in certain cases, such as repeat speeding offences.