Ministry of Infrastructure Tightens Speed Camera System with Fines Up to PLN 7,500

The Polish Ministry of Infrastructure has proposed a bill introducing administrative fees ranging from 1,500 to 7,500 PLN for failing to respond to official speeding notifications.

Penalty for Failing to Respond to a Notice

The Ministry of Infrastructure aims to tighten the speed camera system by introducing an additional penalty for failing to pick up official correspondence. A lack of response to a notification after a traffic violation is registered could mean an administrative fee ranging from 1,500 to 7,500 PLN.

The Ministry of Infrastructure is tackling loopholes in the speed control system. The department has prepared a draft amendment to the Road Traffic Law act, introducing changes to the disclosure and enforcement of traffic violations recorded by recording devices—speed cameras, section speed measurement systems, and red-light cameras—as well as the maintenance of the Central Vehicle Register and the identification of entities responsible for violations.

The most important change concerns individuals who do not react to a notification from the Road Transport Inspection (GITD) after a violation is recorded. Such a notification will contain information about the location and time of the incident, the vehicle, and the recording device. A photograph will also be included. The recipient will also receive a form where they can accept or refuse a fine.

If the fine is accepted, the case will be handled under the existing rules. However, if no statement or documents confirming the lack of responsibility of the vehicle owner or user are submitted within 30 days, an obligation to pay the administrative fee will arise.

Administrative Fee Rates and Exemptions

What will the administrative fee rates be? The amount of the administrative fee will be several times higher than the criminal fine for a violation recorded by a speed camera. The draft prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure provides for the following rates.

However, there are certain exceptions. The owner or user of the vehicle will be exempt from payment if they prove that at the time the violation was recorded they were not the owner or possessor of the vehicle, the vehicle was stolen before the violation was registered, or at the time of the violation they acted under conditions of overriding necessity.

In addition, the fee would be 20 percent lower if settled within 30 days of receiving the notification.

Over 41 Percent of Ineffective Cases and Drivers Evading Responsibility

The Ministry of Infrastructure emphasizes that under the current legal status, a significant portion of cases revealed by recording devices does not result in the actual responsibility of the offender or the vehicle owner. A fundamental loophole appears between the recording of a violation and the effective conclusion of the case by imposing a criminal fine on the offender or submitting a motion for punishment to a common court.

The reasons are primarily:

For example, in 2024, controls carried out using recording devices operated by GITD identified 1,169,522 traffic violations. Regarding approximately 483,180 cases, offenders evaded responsibility for violations, accounting for 41.3 percent of cases. Within this number, over 350,000 cases became time-barred, and over 129,000 cases were ineffectively concluded because they concerned violations committed by vehicles registered outside the Republic of Poland.

Changes for Leased and Foreign-Registered Vehicles

Changes prepared by the department will also apply to vehicles registered outside Poland. A Central Register of Violations will be established in the Central Vehicle Register, containing data on foreign cars whose drivers were recorded by CANARD devices. ITD inspectors, police officers, Border Guard officers, and Customs and Fiscal Service officers will gain access to the register.

If the vehicle appears in the register and the liability is not settled, the draft provides for the possibility of towing the car to a guarded parking lot at the expense of the obligated person. Additionally, at the border, services will be able to prevent entry into Poland or departure from the country until the fine or administrative fee is settled.

The draft also imposes reporting obligations regarding vehicles used under leasing and long-term rental agreements. According to the changes, the owner of vehicles given in leasing or long-term rental (for a period exceeding 30 days) will be obliged to transfer to the central vehicle register or notify the district governor (starosta) of the data of the actual vehicle user and the period for which the vehicle was made available to them. Information about concluding the agreement is to reach the register within 30 days, and information about a change of user or termination of use within 14 days.

The scope of transferred data will include the name or business name of the user, their PESEL number, REGON number or other identification number, address of residence or registered office, and address for service.

The purpose of this regulation is to enable authorities conducting proceedings in cases of traffic violations to direct correspondence and procedural actions directly to the actual user of the vehicle, and not exclusively to its owner, who—having no actual control over the vehicle—does not possess knowledge of the circumstances in which the violation was committed, explains the Ministry of Infrastructure.

The purpose of this regulation is to enable authorities conducting proceedings in cases of traffic violations to direct correspondence and procedural actions directly to the actual user of the vehicle, and not exclusively to its owner, who—having no actual control over the vehicle—does not possess knowledge of the circumstances in which the violation was committed, explains the Ministry of Infrastructure.