Drivers who operate a vehicle after consuming alcohol, drugs or substances with effects similar to alcohol must reckon not only with a fine, criminal proceedings, a driving ban or the loss of their driving licence. From Wednesday, June 24, 2026, the cost of the mandatory rehabilitation course has also increased significantly.
Until now, the fee for such a course was PLN 500. Following the change in regulations, it is now PLN 2,500, or five times more. The rehabilitation course is intended for people who want to regain their driving entitlements after their driving licence was revoked in connection with operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol, while intoxicated or after using a substance with effects similar to alcohol. The courses are organised by provincial road traffic centres.
The change also applies to residents of Bolesławiec and drivers travelling on the roads of Bolesławiec County. In practice, a person stopped, for example, in Bolesławiec, Nowogrodziec, Warta Bolesławiecka, Gromadka or Osiecznica, who loses their driving entitlements for driving after consuming alcohol or similar substances, must reckon with additional costs when attempting to return to the wheel.
The new fee means that the financial consequences of such behaviour are much more severe. The driver may incur, among other things, costs related to the proceedings, examinations, recovery of the document and the mandatory rehabilitation course.
We asked the Bolesławiec police about the scale of such cases in Bolesławiec County.
– In the first half of 2026, we initiated 71 preparatory proceedings under Article 178a of the Criminal Code. In the corresponding period last year, there were 64 such proceedings – Anna Kublik-Rościszewska, spokesperson for the District Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec, told us.Anna Kublik-Rościszewska, spokesperson for the District Police Headquarters in Bolesławiec.
Article 178a of the Criminal Code concerns operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of a narcotic substance. Police data therefore show that in the first half of 2026, seven more such proceedings were initiated in Bolesławiec County than in the first half of 2025.
The spokesperson also noted that complete data on intoxicated drivers would be provided after the end of the half-year, so that they cover the full six months.
Police regularly remind the public that driving after consuming alcohol or drugs poses a threat not only to the driver but also to passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. This applies both to Bolesławiec’s main streets and to county roads and routes running through smaller towns.
The new regulations do not change the obligation to complete the rehabilitation course itself, but they significantly increase its cost. For a driver, this means that returning to the wheel after losing their driving entitlements because of alcohol or narcotic substances will now be considerably more expensive.