Road narrowingPoland
Traffic rules
Poland
27. Road narrowing
A road narrowing is a section where the available width of the road or carriageway becomes smaller. The narrowing may occur on both sides, on one side only, or because one or more traffic lanes end.
Drivers should reduce speed, observe approaching and adjacent traffic, maintain sufficient lateral clearance and merge when necessary. Warning signs do not always determine priority, so drivers must follow any priority signs, lane markings and local traffic rules.
Wikimedia.org • Grzegorz W. Tężycki • CC BY-SA
What does a road-narrowing warning mean in Poland?
Polish road-narrowing warnings distinguish both-sided and one-sided narrowing. They do not replace the separate priority controls or the statutory rules for a lane that ends.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 19, 22(4)–(4b), 23; Signs 7 and 72
Warning for a road narrowing.
English • Traffic sign A-12a • Road narrows on both sides. Signs A-12a, Road narrows on both sides; A-12b, Road narrows on the right; and A-12c, Road narrows on the left, warn of narrowing on the indicated side that may obstruct traffic.
Polski • A-12a • zwężenie jezdni – dwustronne. Znaki: A-12a „zwężenie jezdni - dwustronne”, A-12b „zwężenie jezdni -prawostronne”, A-12c „zwężenie jezdni - lewostronne” ostrzegają o zwężeniu jezdni po stronie wskazanej na znaku, które może powodować utrudnienia ruchu.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Eli.gov.pl • § 7 ust. 3
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Author not stated on source page • Public domain • Original revision 2025-10-07. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Polish official sign catalogue, Dz.U. 2019 poz. 2310: Eli.gov.pl • A-12a, PDF page 41, with amendments 2021/433, 2021/2065, 2022/2372 and 2026/133 checked. Catalogue-equivalent illustration; intentional update from the previous PNG. This is an educational illustration, not a manufacturing specification.
Warning for a road narrowing on the left.
English • Traffic sign A-12c • Road narrows on the left. Signs A-12a, Road narrows on both sides; A-12b, Road narrows on the right; and A-12c, Road narrows on the left, warn of narrowing on the indicated side that may obstruct traffic.
Polski • A-12c • zwężenie jezdni – lewostronne. Znaki: A-12a „zwężenie jezdni - dwustronne”, A-12b „zwężenie jezdni -prawostronne”, A-12c „zwężenie jezdni - lewostronne” ostrzegają o zwężeniu jezdni po stronie wskazanej na znaku, które może powodować utrudnienia ruchu.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Eli.gov.pl • § 7 ust. 3
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Author not stated on source page • Public domain • Original revision 2025-10-07. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Polish official sign catalogue, Dz.U. 2019 poz. 2310: Eli.gov.pl • A-12c, PDF page 41, with amendments 2021/433, 2021/2065, 2022/2372 and 2026/133 checked. Catalogue-equivalent illustration; intentional update from the previous PNG. This is an educational illustration, not a manufacturing specification.
Warning for a road narrowing on the right.
English • Traffic sign A-12b • Road narrows on the right. Signs A-12a, Road narrows on both sides; A-12b, Road narrows on the right; and A-12c, Road narrows on the left, warn of narrowing on the indicated side that may obstruct traffic.
Polski • A-12b • zwężenie jezdni – prawostronne. Znaki: A-12a „zwężenie jezdni - dwustronne”, A-12b „zwężenie jezdni -prawostronne”, A-12c „zwężenie jezdni - lewostronne” ostrzegają o zwężeniu jezdni po stronie wskazanej na znaku, które może powodować utrudnienia ruchu.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Eli.gov.pl • § 7 ust. 3
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Amada44 • Public domain • Original revision 2025-10-07. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Polish official sign catalogue, Dz.U. 2019 poz. 2310: Eli.gov.pl • A-12b, PDF page 41, with amendments 2021/433, 2021/2065, 2022/2372 and 2026/133 checked. Catalogue-equivalent illustration; intentional update from the previous PNG. This is an educational illustration, not a manufacturing specification.
Does a narrowing warning give you priority in Poland?
No. A warning describes the reduced width, rather than allocating priority or setting a numerical speed limit. Follow any separate priority signs, signals and meeting rules, and slow enough to pass safely or wait before entering.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 19, 22(4)–(4b), 23; Signs 7 and 72
What should you do if traffic lanes merge at a narrowing in Poland?
Polish law requires alternating entry from an ending or obstructed lane where speed has been substantially reduced and the statutory lane-reduction conditions apply. The rule operates immediately before the restriction; it is not unconditional priority for every lane change.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 19, 22(4)–(4b), 23; Signs 7 and 72
