Poland drafts fotoradar law with administrative fees several times higher than fines for ignored violations

Draft sent to public consultations

The Ministry of Infrastructure sent the draft amendment to the road traffic law to public consultations on Friday, 7 August. The project, widely described as the "fotoradar law," introduces a new model for the state's response to traffic violations detected by speed cameras and other recording devices. According to the regulatory impact assessment, the goal is to enable effective resolution of cases that currently end without assigning responsibility to the offender or vehicle owner.

The draft specifically targets four problem areas: undelivered correspondence, lack of response to letters from the Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport (GITD), ineffective identification of the driver, and violations by vehicles registered abroad. The regulation does not change the essence of liability for traffic offenses. Where the driver can be identified, the traffic fine and misdemeanor proceedings remain the standard path. The new mechanism covers cases most exposed to statute-of-limitations expiry or procedural ineffectiveness.

Notification and administrative fee

The central innovation is a "notification of recorded violation" sent to the owner or user of the vehicle listed in the Central Vehicle Register (CEP), at the address shown in that register. The owner will no longer be summoned to indicate who was driving. The notification includes a form for the person actually driving the vehicle to accept or refuse the fine.

If the recipient takes no action, an administrative fee is imposed by law, described as several times higher than the traffic fine for the recorded violation. The fee becomes due 30 days after delivery of the notification. Paying before that deadline reduces the amount by 20%. Non-payment triggers a warning followed by administrative enforcement.

The owner or user can avoid liability only in narrowly defined cases: proving they were not the owner or possessor at the time of the violation, the vehicle was stolen before the violation was recorded, or they acted in a state of higher necessity.

Foreign vehicles and Central Register

The project provides for the creation of a Central Register of Violations (CRN) within CEP, collecting data on violations by vehicles registered outside Poland. The data will be checked during inspections by the Police, ITD, Border Guard, and Customs-Tax Service.

A driver of a foreign-registered vehicle will be able to settle detected violations during a roadside inspection. Non-payment may result in the vehicle being towed to a guarded parking lot, and at the border, authorities may prevent entry to or exit from Poland.

Leasing obligations and speed measurement correction

The draft imposes new obligations on companies operating in leasing or long-term rental (above 30 days). They must transmit vehicle user data to CEP within 30 days of signing a contract, and within 14 days of any change or termination of the agreement.

The project also introduces a correction to speed measurements. Five km/h will be subtracted from the device's reading on standard roads, and 6 km/h on motorways and expressways.