– On the sections of the A4 and A8 motorways and the S8, S5 and S3 expressways running through Lower Silesia, drivers may encounter numerous marked and unmarked police patrol cars enforcing compliance with road traffic regulations, with particular attention to the ban, in force since 1 July this year, on overtaking by heavy goods vehicles on a motorway or expressway with only two lanes designated for traffic in a given direction – reports junior inspector Przemysław Ratajczyk from the Press Section of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław. – Officers are also observing drivers’ behaviour from the air, using a police drone. All this is intended to improve safety on the roads of our province.
Wrocław Provincial Police Headquarters:
Everyone using the Lower Silesian sections of motorways and expressways is aware of the enormous traffic volume on the high-speed roads running through our province. Every day, tens of thousands of different vehicles travel along these routes, leading to many dangerous situations. Lower Silesian police officers work to prevent them, patrolling these routes daily and disciplining drivers who violate road traffic regulations.
And adds:
Following the amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which took effect on 1 July this year and introduced restrictions on the use of motorways and expressways by drivers of certain vehicles or vehicle combinations, officers of the Traffic Department of the Lower Silesian Provincial Police Headquarters initiated the “Safe on the Motorway and Expressway” checks. They began early this morning and will continue until late evening.
On the sections of the A4 and A8 motorways and the S8, S5 and S3 expressways running through Lower Silesia, officers in marked and unmarked police cars, supported by a police drone and working together, are identifying and stopping people who commit offences for checks. Drivers who ignore the applicable regulations on speed limits, the transport of people and cargo, and above all the ban on overtaking by heavy goods vehicles on a motorway or expressway with only two lanes designated for traffic in a given direction, must expect severe consequences for their actions.
They also remind drivers:
An amendment to the Road Traffic Act took effect on 1 July 2023. Among other things, it states: “A driver of a category N2 or N3 vehicle is prohibited from overtaking a motor vehicle on a motorway or expressway with only two lanes designated for traffic in a given direction, unless that vehicle is travelling at a speed significantly lower than the permissible speed for category N2 or N3 vehicles applicable on that road. The prohibition does not apply to overtaking vehicles carrying out road cleaning, repair or modernization work and displaying yellow flashing signals.”
If a heavy goods vehicle driver overtakes on a motorway or expressway with only two lanes designated for traffic in a given direction, they must expect a PLN 1,000 fine and 8 penalty points. If the same offence is committed again, the fine increases to PLN 2,000, and another 8 penalty points will be added to the driver’s record.