Changes to criminal-law regulations
- Driving without a licence
Under the current law, driving a vehicle without the required licence constitutes an offence (specified in Article 94 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences), punishable only by a fine, except where a person drove a vehicle while subject to a court-imposed driving ban; that act constitutes the offence specified in Article 244 of the Criminal Code.
From 18 May, Article 94 § 1 of the Code of Petty Offences will apply only to people driving a vehicle for which they have never previously held the required licence. In such a case, in addition to a fine, a driving ban may also be imposed, with the final decision resting with the court.
People who, under the new regulations, drive a vehicle for which their licence was previously revoked by an administrative decision issued by the competent starosta will meet the elements of an offence (specified in the new Article 180a of the Criminal Code), punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to two years. Regardless of the type of penalty imposed, the court may also impose the penal measure of a driving ban. - Driving while intoxicated
The amended regulations tighten sanctions for drivers operating vehicles while intoxicated and for drivers who, while intoxicated, cause a road accident (an incident in which people are killed or seriously injured). First, the maximum period for which a driving ban may be imposed has been extended from 10 to 15 years, while the minimum period has been set at three years.
People driving while intoxicated will also face severe financial consequences. Regardless of the sentence imposed, the court will be required to order a monetary payment of at least PLN 5,000 for a person committing the act for the first time, and at least PLN 10,000 when a person drives while intoxicated again. In cases involving road accidents caused by intoxicated drivers, the court will be required to order compensation of at least PLN 10,000.
In addition, a new Article 182a has been added to the Executive Penal Code, providing for the possibility of a court changing the way a driving ban is enforced to a ban on driving vehicles not equipped with an alcohol interlock. A person may use this possibility no earlier than after at least half of the imposed period has elapsed, or, where a lifetime driving ban was imposed, after at least 10 years. Importantly, the court will ultimately decide whether to change the way the ban is enforced.
Changes to road-traffic regulations
- Suspension of a driving licence
The Act on Drivers has been supplemented with new grounds for the administrative suspension of a driving licence: exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 km/h in a built-up area and carrying an excessive number of passengers. In practice, detection of such an act will result in the licence document being confiscated during a traffic inspection and sent to the competent starosta, who, by issuing an administrative decision, will formally suspend the document—for three months the first time.
It should be remembered that the starosta will issue this decision regardless of whether the driving licence was physically confiscated by a police officer. Under the new regulations, bodies authorised to control road traffic must inform the competent starosta of every detected case involving one of the above acts. On the basis of this information, the starosta issues a decision suspending the driving licence, giving it immediate enforceability and requiring the driver to return the licence if it has not already been confiscated.
Importantly, the three-month period for which the driving licence is suspended will begin on the date it is actually confiscated by a police officer, or, if this did not occur, only when it is returned to the competent authority (the starosta).
Detection of the person driving again during this three-month period will mean that it is extended to six months. The next stage will be the revocation of the driving entitlement; its restoration will be conditional on meeting all the requirements imposed on a person applying for a driving entitlement for the first time. - Stricter regulations for “young drivers”
The Road Traffic Act has been supplemented with a new ground for the starosta to revoke a driving entitlement. This change concerns young drivers, meaning people who, within two years of being issued their first driving licence, commit one offence against transport safety (for example, causing a road accident or driving while intoxicated) or three petty offences involving endangering road safety, driving after consuming alcohol or exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 km/h. This solution will apply until 3 January 2016. The people referred to will ultimately be subject to supervision during the probationary period provided for in the Act on Drivers, which was scheduled to enter into force on 4 January 2016. - Removal of a vehicle
The Road Traffic Act introduces a new situation in which a vehicle will be mandatorily removed from the road at its owner's expense. This provision applies when the vehicle was driven by a person without the required entitlement—someone who has never obtained it or whose entitlement was revoked by an administrative decision. Under the regulation in question, a vehicle will also be removed when it was driven by a person who formally holds the required entitlement but whose driving-licence document was previously confiscated, for example because they exceeded 24 penalty points.
In this case, the officer will refrain from removing the vehicle only if it can be handed over to a person present in the vehicle who holds the entitlement to drive it.
For obvious reasons, the provision in question will not apply when the driver presents a receipt for the confiscated driving-licence document that authorises them to drive the vehicle.
What do you think about these changes? We invite you to join the discussion.
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