Overtaking bans on heavy goods vehicles – is it a dead letter?

On July 1, 2023, new regulations regarding overtaking between trucks on highways and expressways with two lanes in one direction entered into force. The regulations sparked a lively discussion in the Polish transport industry. Several months after the introduction of the regulations, the question arises more and more often whether the ban fulfills its purpose and whether it is complied with in practice.

According to the amendment to the Road Traffic Law, drivers of N2 or N3 category vehicles (i.e. vehicles with a permissible weight of up to 12 tons and up to 40 tons respectively) are prohibited from overtaking other motor vehicles on motorways and expressways with only two lanes intended for a given direction of traffic unless these vehicles are moving significantly slower than the speed limit for a given vehicle category. This means that each driver must assess for himself whether he can safely perform an overtaking maneuver while maintaining the required speed limits. The ban does not apply to vehicles carrying out cleaning, renovation or modernization work that emit yellow flashing signals. Breaking the new regulations may result in a fine of PLN 1,000 and 8 penalty points. If the same offense is committed within two years, the driver may be fined PLN 2,000 and 8 penalty points. Additionally, on motorways and expressways with three (or more) lanes in one direction, truck drivers are obliged to use only the two lanes closest to the right edge of the road. Violation of this provision is punishable by a fine of PLN 500.

The overtaking ban on motorways and expressways with two lanes in one direction applies not only to trucks, but also to vehicle combinations whose length exceeds 7 meters. This means that drivers of passenger cars towing trailers cannot overtake if the entire combination exceeds this length.

Why have new restrictions on overtaking by trucks been introduced?

The introduction of the new regulations was aimed at improving safety and increasing traffic flow on highways and expressways. One of the main goals was to prevent the phenomenon known as the “elephant race”. This is a situation in which one truck tries to overtake another on a highway or expressway, and due to the speed limits applicable to heavy goods vehicles, such a maneuver takes several minutes, which leads to slower traffic on the road and poses a potential threat to other traffic participants, forcing them to brake. According to Polish law, on highways and expressways, trucks with a total weight exceeding 3.5 tons have a speed limit of 80 km/h. As a result, most trucks are equipped with speed limiters that prevent them from accelerating, making it difficult to overtake other vehicles.

Controversy over the ban on overtaking by trucks.

The introduction of a new regulation that limits the possibility of overtaking by trucks could not be done without intense discussion in the industry and beyond. There were widespread concerns about the wording of the provision itself which leaves wide room for various interpretations. This is the part of the regulation that states that overtaking another heavy goods vehicle on a motorway or expressway is prohibited “unless the vehicle is traveling at a speed significantly lower than the speed limit for N2 or N3 category vehicles applicable on a given road.” The problem is that the regulation does not specify exactly what the difference in speed between the overtaken and the overtaking truck should be. This leaves room for different interpretations for both drivers and enforcement authorities. Although there are unofficial suggestions that this difference should be over 10 km/h, there is no official confirmation of this value in the regulations.

Are the new regulations being complied with?

Although the ban on overtaking trucks has been in force for some time, many drivers on motorways and expressways point out that the road situation has not improved significantly as unauthorized overtaking still occurs too often. There are many discussions on the Internet between drivers of passenger cars and trucks, the former of whom react with indignation and irritation when the regulations are broken, while the latter complain about how the regulations make their work more difficult. Police officers regularly patrol selected sections of highways using both drones and unmarked patrol cars. As reported by Auto Świat, the Police Headquarters registered 899 violations of the ban in July and August, resulting in fines. This number does not include possible warnings or penalties from the General Road Transport Inspectorate (Polish: GITD).