Speed limitPoland
7. Speed limit
A speed limit is the maximum legal speed permitted on a road, lane or within a designated area. It may be established by general traffic law or indicated by fixed, variable or temporary traffic signs.
A speed limit is a maximum, not a target speed. Drivers must travel more slowly whenever traffic, visibility, weather, road conditions, vulnerable road users or the condition of the vehicle make the maximum permitted speed unsafe.
Wikimedia.org • Yarl • CC BY-SA
Which general speed limits should car drivers know in Poland?
For an ordinary car without a trailer, the general maxima are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h on ordinary single-carriageway rural roads, 100 km/h on single-carriageway expressways, 120 km/h on dual-carriageway expressways and 140 km/h on motorways. A non-expressway dual carriageway with at least two lanes in each direction has a 100 km/h general maximum. Obey lower signs.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 2(15)–(16), 19–21; Signs 27, 32, 58–60
Start of a speed limit.
English • Traffic sign B-33 • Speed limit. Sign B-33 prohibits exceeding the speed shown in kilometres per hour. Subject to subsection 4 and section 32, the limit applies until another limit is introduced by B-33 or B-43; D-40 marks the beginning of a residential area; or signs mark the beginning or end of a built-up area as referred to in section 58(3) and section 114(1), points 1 and 2.
Polski • B-33 • ograniczenie prędkości. Znak B-33 „ograniczenie prędkości” oznacza zakaz przekraczania prędkości określonej na znaku liczbą kilometrów na godzinę. Dopuszczalna prędkość określona na znaku obowiązuje, z zastrzeżeniem ust. 4 i § 32, do miejsca: wprowadzenia innej dopuszczalnej prędkości znakiem B-33 lub B-43; umieszczenia znaku D-40 oznaczającego początek strefy zamieszkania; umieszczenia znaków oznaczających odpowiednio początek lub koniec obszaru zabudowanego, o których mowa w § 58 ust. 3 i w § 114 ust. 1 pkt 1 i 2.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Eli.gov.pl • § 27 ust. 1
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Miko101 • Public domain • Original revision 2026-03-30. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Polish official sign catalogue, Dz.U. 2019 poz. 2310: Eli.gov.pl • B-33, PDF page 42, 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.
End of the speed limit.
English • Traffic sign B-34 • End of the speed limit. Sign B-34 cancels the speed restriction introduced by B-33.
Polski • B-34 • koniec ograniczenia prędkości. Znak B-34 „koniec ograniczenia prędkości” oznacza odwołanie ograniczenia prędkości wprowadzonego znakiem B-33.
Sources
🔗 Commons.wikimedia.org
🔗 Eli.gov.pl • § 27 ust. 4
SVG source: Commons.wikimedia.org • Original SVG
Szczepan dyskusja Mail 18:29, 31 December 2006 (UTC) • Public domain • Original revision 2025-10-01. Wikimedia original unmodified.
Artwork reviewed against the Polish official sign catalogue, Dz.U. 2019 poz. 2310: Eli.gov.pl • B-34, PDF page 42, 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 Poland permit a higher general urban speed at night?
No. The general built-up-area maximum is 50 km/h both day and night. The former higher night-time default no longer applies. Follow a different applicable sign or the lower rule for a special area.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 2(15)–(16), 19–21; Signs 27, 32, 58–60
Why do Polish expressways have both 100 and 120 km/h car limits?
The general maximum depends on the carriageways: 100 km/h on a single-carriageway expressway and 120 km/h on a dual-carriageway expressway. A motorway is a separate category with a general 140 km/h car limit. Lower signs remain binding.
🔗 eli.gov.pl • Poland, Road Traffic Law — articles 2(15)–(16), 19–21; Signs 27, 32, 58–60

Traffic rules
Poland