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Road rules abroad

Poland → United Kingdom

Driving in the UK when you know Poland

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

Driving to the UK from Poland: what to check before you go

These are the key destination rules to check first. The comparison below shows every verified difference. Follow local signs and instructions on the road.

Which side of the road do you drive on in the UK?
In the UK you drive on the left.
What is the speed limit in the UK?
70 mph on motorways, 70 mph on dual carriageways, 60 mph on country roads and 30 mph in towns and cities. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
What is the drink driving limit in the UK?
The legal limit in the UK is 80 mg/100ml. England and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.
What do you have to carry in your car in the UK?
Nothing. The UK requires no equipment by law.

Read the full driving rules in the UK and the required car equipment in the UK .

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have their own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
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What's different (14)

Which side of the road you drive on

Critical
Poland · homeRightFrom the RAC's list of the European exceptions: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta drive on the left, and every other European country drives on the right.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationLeftChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical
Poland · home140 km/h — about 87 mphSigned A. The highest general motorway limit in Europe.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destination70 mph — about 113 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical
Poland · home90 km/h — about 56 mphChecked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destination60 mph — about 97 km/hSingle carriageway roads.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in towns and cities

CriticalVaries by region
Poland · home50 km/h — about 31 mphChecked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destination30 mph — about 48 km/hEngland and Scotland. Wales uses 20 mph as the default in built-up areas.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source
Wales20 mph — about 32 km/hThe default in built-up areas. Some roads are signed back up to 30.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How much alcohol you may have in your blood

CriticalVaries by region
Poland · home0.2 g/l — about 20 mg/100mlThe same for everyone — new drivers, professional drivers and visitors alike. One drink will put most people over it. If you are coming from a country with a 0.5 or 0.8 limit, treat Poland as zero.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destination80 mg/100ml — about 0.8 g/lEngland and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source
Scotland50 mg/100ml — about 0.5 g/lChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical
Poland · home
  • Warning triangle
  • Fire extinguisher
The fire extinguisher is the one visitors do not expect. Check the hire car has one before you drive away. A first aid kit is not required in Poland, though the police advise carrying one anyway.Checked 19 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNothing — no equipment is legally requiredNothing is legally required. Drivers arriving from most of continental Europe expect a triangle and a vest to be compulsory here; they are not.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Important
Poland · home120 km/h — about 75 mphThis is the expressway signed S, with two carriageways. Poland treats it as its own road class, below the motorway. A single-carriageway expressway, or an ordinary road with two lanes each way, is 100.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destination70 mph — about 113 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Turning at a red light

Important
Poland · homeOnly where a sign allows itOnly when a green arrow is lit under the red light, and only after stopping first. A plain red light means stop, with no turn allowed.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNot allowedRed means stop for every direction. A separate green arrow is the only exception.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence

Important
Poland · home
  • Engine up to 125 cc
  • Power up to 11 kW
Only once you have held category B for at least 3 years, and only inside Poland. The licence page adds a third condition with no slot here, a power-to-weight ratio of at most 0.1 kW per kg of unladen mass. From day one a B licence covers category AM, so a moped is always included; the Road Traffic Act defines that class as 50 cc for petrol or 4 kW for electric, with a design speed of 45 km/h. The source does not say whether a foreign B licence gets the same 125 cc allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026
UK · destination
  • Engine up to 50 cc
A full car licence lets you ride a moped up to this engine size without L plates or a moped test. If you passed your car test on or after 1 February 2001 you must first complete a compulsory basic training (CBT) course. Anything larger needs CBT and the motorcycle tests. The Highway Code's Annex 2 defines the two-wheeled moped class by a maximum design speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) rather than by engine size; that figure is not on the page cited here. Stated for licences issued in Great Britain; the source does not say whether foreign car licences get the same allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

When you must switch your headlights on

Good to know
Poland · homeRequired at all timesDipped headlights at all times, day and night, all year.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNot requiredHeadlights are required at night and when visibility is seriously reduced.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know
Poland · home14 yearsCategory AM. A moped is limited to 50 cc or 4 kW and 45 km/h by design.Checked 2 Sep 2026
UK · destination16 yearsCategory AM. CBT, a theory test and a practical test are needed for a full moped licence.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Riding between lanes of slow traffic

Good to know
Poland · homeNot allowedNot banned by name. The police read the rule that a vehicle may not occupy more than one marked lane as forbidding a motorbike to ride along the line between two queues of cars. The same police page says it is seldom fined unless there is a crash.Checked 2 Sep 2026
UK · destinationAllowedNo law bans filtering. The Highway Code tells riders to take care and keep their speed low when filtering in slow-moving traffic, and tells drivers to expect it.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know
Poland · home
  • Engine at least 50 cc
  • Power at least 4 kW
  • Top speed at least 45 km/h
Anything the Act classes as a moped is banned, from motorways and from the S-signed expressways alike. A moped is a two- or three-wheeler with a petrol engine of at most 50 cc or an electric motor of at most 4 kW, whose build caps it at 45 km/h. The size cap and the speed cap apply together: a machine that exceeds either one is a motorcycle and may enter. The Act also requires a motorway vehicle to be able to reach 40 km/h, which any motorcycle does. The ban is by vehicle class, not by a sign, because the statute keeps mopeds out of the motor-vehicle class that motorways and expressways are reserved for.Checked 2 Sep 2026
UK · destination
  • Engine at least 50 cc
  • Power at least 4 kW
The rule is set by engine size, not vehicle class: riders of motorcycles under 50 cc (4 kW) must not use motorways, so a machine of exactly 50 cc is allowed. The Highway Code gives the power figure in brackets as the equivalent of the engine size rather than as a separate test. Riders holding only a provisional motorcycle licence must not use motorways either.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Headlights on a motorbike in daytime

Good to know
Poland · homeRequired at all timesThe same rule as for cars. Every vehicle must use dipped headlights whenever it is moving, day and night, all year. In daylight, daytime running lights may be used instead.Checked 2 Sep 2026
UK · destinationNot requiredDipped headlights in daylight are advised to make the rider easier to see, but they are not required.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Known on one side only (23)

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationNot requiredA full foreign licence is accepted on its own for visits.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Which side you overtake on

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationRightChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in living and residential zones

Poland · home20 km/hChecked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNot yet verified

Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • Motorway — 60 mph
  • Dual carriageway — 60 mph
  • Country roads — 50 mph
Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Poland · home0.2 g/lNo separate limit for new drivers. The general limit is already this low.Checked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNot yet verified

Age below which a child needs a child seat

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination12 yearsUntil age 12 or 135 cm tall, whichever comes first.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Height below which a child needs a child seat

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination135 cmUntil 135 cm tall or age 12, whichever comes first.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What the lines and painted kerbs mean

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • Double yellow line — no parking. No waiting at any time, even without an upright sign.
  • Single yellow line — no parking during signed hours. The hours are on nearby time plates, not on the road.
  • Double red line — no stopping. Red routes. No stopping at any time.
  • Single red line — no stopping. Red routes. Applies during the times shown on nearby signs.
  • White zigzag line — no stopping. Marks the approach to a pedestrian crossing.
Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Winter tyres

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationNot requiredChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What a rider must wear or carry

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationNothing beyond a helmetNo law requires protective clothing beyond the helmet. Eye protection is advised, and if worn it must meet an approved standard.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

How you pay for motorways

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • Toll booths
  • City charges
Almost all motorways are free. The M6 Toll and several bridges and tunnels charge. London and Durham charge to drive in the city centre.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for professional drivers

Poland · home0.2 g/lChecked 16 Aug 2026
UK · destinationNot yet verified

How long you may drive on your own licence

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination12 monthsCounted from when you last entered Great Britain.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Who has priority at a roundabout

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationTraffic already on the roundabout goes firstGive way to traffic approaching from your right, unless signs say otherwise.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking on the pavement

Varies by region
Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationNo single national answer:
EnglandAllowedExcept London, where it is banned. Discouraged everywhere, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source
ScotlandNot allowedChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source
WalesAllowedDiscouraged, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking facing against the traffic

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationAllowedBy day only. At night you must not park facing against the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How far you must park from a junction or crossing

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • A junction — 10 m
Advisory rather than a fixed law, except where markings say otherwise.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Low-emission zones

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationIn many citiesLondon has its own ultra low emission zone. Clean air zones operate in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside, and Scottish cities have separate low emission zones. Most only charge vehicles that miss emissions standards.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Congestion charges

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationIn some citiesLondon and Durham.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Emergency number

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination999112 also works and reaches the same service.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether police can fine you on the spot

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destinationYes — visitors must pay at the roadsideFixed penalties are normally paid later, not at the roadside. A driver who cannot give a UK address must pay a deposit on the spot.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you should carry, but do not have to

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • Warning triangle
  • First aid kit
  • Fire extinguisher
  • High-visibility vest
Advised, not required. One motorway exception is worth knowing: do not set a warning triangle out on a motorway hard shoulder — get behind the barrier instead.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Typical fines

Poland · homeNot yet verified
UK · destination
  • Holding a phone — fine from 200 GBP, 6 points (Drivers who passed their test within the last 2 years lose their licence instead.)
Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source
Same in both (5)