The aim of the activities is to remove from road traffic vehicles that fail to meet environmental protection requirements. Drivers whose vehicles do not comply with the requirements set out in law must expect to have their registration certificates taken away; these will be returned only after the defect has been repaired.

As we read on the website of the County Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec:

We remind you of the applicable regulations:

Article 66(1)(3) of the Act of 20 June 1997 – Road Traffic Law (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 128, as amended) stipulates that a vehicle participating in traffic must be constructed, equipped and maintained in such a way that its use does not cause the emission of harmful substances in quantities exceeding those specified in detailed regulations.

Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 31 December 2002 on the technical conditions of vehicles and the scope of their necessary equipment (Journal of Laws of 2013, No. 32, item 951).
§ 9(1). A vehicle should be constructed, equipped and maintained in such a way that:

  1. the exhaust gases of a vehicle with a spark-ignition engine contain no more carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (CH) or excess-air coefficient λ (lambda) than the values specified in the table “Emission levels of gaseous pollutants and excess-air coefficient λ”, constituting Annex No. 2 to the regulation, except that:
    a) for a vehicle registered for the first time by 31 December 1996, equipped with an engine with a displacement below 700 cm³, the values specified in column 5 of the table in Annex No. 2 to the regulation are permitted;
    b) for a vehicle for which higher values have been confirmed in the type-approval certificate and constitute the assessment criterion for that vehicle, the values specified in columns 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the table in Annex No. 2 to the regulation do not apply;
    c) the requirements concerning the excess-air coefficient λ (lambda) apply to a vehicle equipped with a suitable sensor.
  2. the smoke opacity of the exhaust gases of a vehicle with a compression-ignition engine, measured during free acceleration of the engine from idle speed to maximum engine speed and expressed as a light-absorption coefficient, does not exceed: 2.5 m⁻¹, or, for a turbocharged engine, 3.0 m⁻¹; in the case of vehicles manufactured after 30 June 2008, it does not exceed 1.5 m⁻¹.

Article 132(1)(1)(c) of the Road Traffic Law stipulates that a police officer shall retain the registration certificate (temporary permit) if it is found or reasonably suspected that the vehicle violates environmental protection requirements. In this case, the police officer may not permit the driver to use the vehicle.