The draft of the aforementioned regulation retains most of the regulations currently in force concerning road traffic inspections. The main aim of the changes is to clarify the existing procedures followed, for example, by the police. This concerns, among other things, the issue of where vehicles belonging to road traffic inspection authorities may stop during an inspection. Ministry of the Interior and Administration:

The regulation states that, while inspection activities are being carried out, a police vehicle may stop in a place where stopping is prohibited, provided that this does not endanger road traffic safety.

What will change?

Once the regulation enters into force, drivers and officers will gain new obligations and powers. During a road inspection, a police officer, as well as an inspector of the Road Transport Inspection, an officer of the Military Police, the Border Guard or the Customs and Tax Service, will be able to check the mileage of both the vehicle stopped for inspection and a vehicle being transported, for example, on a tow truck. The current mileage will be entered into the Central Register of Vehicles.

It will also be possible, when there are reservations following an initial technical inspection of a commercial vehicle—for example, a truck or bus—to refer it for more detailed testing. The aim? As the ministry reports, this will help eliminate unroadworthy vehicles from the roads.

Easier fines

The draft regulation expands the circumstances in which the driver of an inspected vehicle may be allowed into a police vehicle. An officer will be able to do so if, for example, the driver declares an intention to pay the fine by payment card or another payment instrument.

The changes will also make it easier for an inspecting officer to ask the starost for an assessment of a driver's health, as well as to refer a driver or tram operator for an examination testing their qualifications.

More inspections of transported waste

When so-called rapid sobriety tests are conducted, a uniformed police officer will not have to identify themselves to every driver, according to the draft regulation. The new regulations also concern breaking seals in order to inspect transported waste. If there are doubts about the load being transported, the inspecting officer will be permitted to break the security seal.

The regulations also specify the conditions for inspections of waste transport by inspectors of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate, as well as procedures concerning inspections of special-services vehicles.

What about road inspections?

Ministry:

As at present, drivers may be stopped for inspection by police officers, inspectors of the Road Transport Inspection, officers of the Border Guard, Military Police and Customs and Tax Service, municipal guards, forest guards and park guards, as well as persons acting on behalf of the road administrator in the presence of a police officer or inspector.

The new authority entitled to inspect waste transport, in the presence of selected authorized officials such as a police officer, is the Environmental Protection Inspectorate.

The ministry adds:

The need to issue the regulation results from the adjustment of the provisions to the Road Traffic Act and the Road Transport Act. This act implements into national law a directive of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union concerning the roadworthiness testing of commercial vehicles.

The draft currently published is still undergoing interministerial consultations, so the final provisions may change.

The changes are to enter into force in November this year.

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