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Highway Robbery in Poland 2013
Brenda and Adrian Wilson
June 2013
Introduction
Brenda and Adrian Wilson are very experienced
motorhomers. They have built their own motorhome; they have motorhomed in
Australia; they have flown to the USA where they bought a motorhome and
toured extensively before returning with it to Europe. They have toured
widely by motorhome in Europe (we first met them in Greece), and regularly
visit Bulgaria where they are restoring a small house near the Greek and
Turkish borders.
Use the Fellow
Travellers feature on this website to locate their
accounts of four motorhome journeys, along with many photographs of their
USA coast-to-coast-and-back epic.
In May of this year, returning to the UK from Bulgaria, they
drove onto a section of road in Poland that, quite unknowable to them,
required a recently introduced Via Toll Box. What followed
was quite literally highway robbery and a warning to us
all.
This is their letter of complaint to the Polish
Authorities.
This episode also answers the question: Do the Poles need
more Polish?
11th June 2013
To whom it may concern
APPEAL AGAINST FINE
Whilst driving recently on your roads in Poland, we came across a situation
we had never encountered before, even though we have driven all around the
world. Previously in Poland, in September 2011 on the A4 (NW of Legnica down
to Katowice), we did NOT come across any toll gates at all.
We were (on both occasions) driving a 7.5 ton MOTORHOME (CAMPERVAN),
which is used for our own leisure and is NOT an HGV lorry used for
business.
However, in May 2013, whilst driving on the single
carriageway red road (number 2), having joined it at Sekowo (going west
away from Poznan), we were stopped by Traffic Control, who asked us where
our 'Via Toll Box' was. We did not have one and were
then taken to an ATM machine to withdraw cash for a fine of 3,000 Zloty,
but British Citizens CANNOT withdraw more than £200 (880 Zloty) in any
ONE transaction PER DAY. We were subsequently
detained for 3-4 hours before being eventually escorted by a breakdown
service (at a cost to us) to Poznan Vehicle Compound, where we were
told to stay (at more cost PER DAY) until we had withdrawn all the
funds. Extra costs were incurred when we were taken to
the Transport Department in order to produce all our necessary
documents. The total amount came to 3,740 Zloty.
A) There were no Toll Stations, to pay anyone cash
or to take a ticket.
B) There was no information on where to
purchase a 'Via Toll Box', or on the weights or prices that
apply.
C) There was no information on which
roads were affected (even the Transport Dept could not give us a map
showing which were the actual roads).
D) The VERY small signs on the
roadside show a 'ticket' and NOT a 'Via Toll
Box'.
E) The forms given to us to
sign were NOT in English, so we were unaware of all the
implications.
I would like to point out that we had been very careful to avoid the
motorways around Poznan and had driven on yellow roads in a bad condition
all morning. We could not possibly have known that where we joined the
'number 2' road we would be in so much trouble! No one
seemed to know the rules, not even in the petrol stations where we stopped
3 times to enquire, nor the lorry drivers
themselves. Communication was very difficult, due to the
language barrier, but if your own people do not know, how can foreign
visitors be expected to know.
This situation is very unwelcoming for those of us
who wish to come and see your country. We ourselves
curtailed our visit, as we had intended to sightsee along the Polish
coastline on the Baltic Sea but decided instead to take the quickest
route out of your country. We would have liked to have
all the necessary information, upon entering Poland at the
borders.
We feel the fine was an extortionate amount, especially for a
private vehicle. It wasn't as if we were trying to get away with anything;
simply that we genuinely did not know what was expected of
us. I would like to point out that the Traffic Control
Officers who stopped us were pleasant enough and did try to be helpful to
us but we feel that they could have used a certain amount of discretion,
as we had not travelled very far on that particular road. They could
have escorted us onto a road which was toll-free.
We will not be travelling again in Poland, either now or in the
future! A letter will also be sent to our Member of the
European Parliament (MEP).
Very Angry and Disappointed Visitors.
Our Note
All vehicles over a maximum weight of 3.5
tons (including a car plus caravan which together weigh more than 3.5 tons)
must fit and use a Via Toll Box when using certain roads in Poland.
Vehicles under 3.5 tons may fit a Via Toll Box or may choose to
pay tolls as and when they come to a toll booth. These tolls may be a fixed
charge or based on a previously issued ticket.
For more information on everything except penalties and
fines, see: www.viatoll.pl/en.
If you have recent experiences of using Toll or Go
Boxes in Poland. Austria or the Czech Republic,
please share them through this website by Contacting
Us.
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