Poland is located at the heart of Europe and the quality and efficiency of its roads largely influences travel between Western and Eastern Europe. Poland is a key transport and logistics hub. Obviously, the country's central location is a big advantage - it guarantees easy access to various destinations. But with advantages comes big responsibilities.
With routes that can stretch for hundreds of kilometres, truckers must be informed about what they’ll encounter on their travels through Poland.
So, what condition is the Polish road infrastructure in, what challenges do drivers face, and is there any progress on solving these challenges? Let's find out.
Over the last decade, Polish roads have undergone a significant metamorphosis, but further investments are necessary.
According to the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) data, as of the end of 2023, Poland had a total of 17.800 km of national roads, of which only 5102.3 km were fast highways (which included 1849.2 km of motorways and 3253.1 km of express roads).
Although this is a small number, these roads are good quality, allowing fast, obstacle-free travel between major cities and border crossings.
These roads have a key role in transport, as they are used by truck drivers. Although the network connecting large and medium-sized cities is becoming increasingly dense, there are still many sections where drivers have to choose lower-category roads. This affects not only the comfort of the journey, but also the timeliness and fluidity of deliveries.
Despite the dynamic development, Polish road infrastructure still needs more work. Even though the road network is developing quite dynamically, there are many problems. Despite considerable investment in infrastructure, there are still "clearly forgotten" areas in the country where the roads are in really poor condition.
According to the GDDKiAe report, at the end of 2021, the worst performing region was Małopolska - less than half of the roads in that voivodeship were in good condition (39.9% in unsatisfactory condition and 16.4% in poor condition). This is the result of many years of underfunding, which is reflected in the transport exclusion of some regions, and the lack of appropriate safety.
The paradox is that trucks are responsible for most road damage (35 to 70%), particularly overloaded ones. Sadly, the deficiencies in road infrastructure that force drivers to use national roads significantly contributes to the damage and, what's even worse, accidents. Although Poland has made progress in terms of road safety, it still lags behind many Western European countries.
The 2023 European Commission's Road Safety Report leaves no doubts. Per one million residents, there were 52 road fatalities in Poland (1,893 people), while the EU average was only 46.
Despite major improvements over the years, this number is still tragically high.
However, truck drivers must be appreciated here! They cause far fewer (and increasingly fewer) accidents compared to passenger cars. In 2023, they caused 17.1% fewer accidents (the number decreased from 3.3% to 2.8% in total).
Fleet management tools from Eurowag can be helpful in maintaining and even improving those statistics. The software assists in areas such as planning routes or tracking traffic volume.n other words, it helps to avoid traffic jams and increase safety, along with optimising routes and saving .
Now, with some information about the condition of Polish roads, let us look at the specific challenges that truck drivers face daily. There are three issues that everyone would certainly mention. What are they?
1. Traffic congestion
This has always been and will (most likely) forever be the primary concern of every professional driver. Although it develops the driver's patience, and also that of their employer and target customer, it is the driver who is directly affected by that problem.
The developing Polish road infrastructure is not able to keep up with the growing number of vehicles on the roads, which is especially apparent in large cities such as Warsaw or Krakow, and can also be felt in the form of polluted air.
Although London has the worst traffic congestion record of all cities in the world (it takes 37 minutes and 20 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km in the city centre), the city of Wrocław is still in the 21st position in the world ranking (between New York and Geneva), with Łódź catching up with it (39th position). 5 Thus, as a country, Poland ranks quite high in terms of time wasted in traffic jams.
For truck drivers, traffic congestion is no less frustrating than for residents of large cities. It disrupts delivery schedules and can be really stressful. Apart from the fact that it generates additional fuel and running costs, it can also lead to more serious financial consequences.
Indeed, in the logistics industry, timely delivery is often crucial. More and more often, companies are opting for TMS solutions. With transport management systems, one can better control timeliness and operational efficiency.
Eurowag has real-time traffic monitoring tools to avoid congestion or minimise its impact on operations. Additionally, using the ETA algorithm, the driver can accurately calculate the arrival time to the destination - the algorithm takes the tachograph data into account. In this way, it includes any required breaks, or remaining daily driving time that the driver has left to use.
2. Regulations and compliance
In terms of road regulations, Poland has integrated with the European Union. What does this mean for transport companies? They must be well aware of the regulations, as the strict standards can vary from region to region, and depend on the load.
Firstly, companies must strictly comply with road safety regulations. In Poland, for example, drivers are allowed to work for two weeks with no break, but not for more than 90 hours.
There are also certain daily limits, rest periods and timely vehicle maintenance requirements to adhere to. The regulations are quite strict and non-compliance usually have unpleasant consequences in the form of heavy fines and, in extreme cases, even towing the vehicle or suspension of the driving licence.
Knowing the regulations and being aware that they are changing on an ongoing basis can help companies avoid unfavourable situations, such as operational delays. It is important to be aware of compulsory road tolls, emission standards and different regional additional restrictions (ecological zones).
It is worth observing the expansion of the scope of goods covered by SENT transport (fines for failure to transmit to the system may exceed PLN 20,000). Another important piece of information concerns the Etoll system - particularly the planned extension of tolls to roads that were opened after 2017.
3. Road quality
There is no doubt that driving 87,000 km per year (on average), a truck driver pays attention to the quality of roads.
Potholes, poor marking, bad lighting, uneven surfaces - every road shortcoming on the route directly affects the condition of the vehicle. And, as is well known, frequent repairs are another unwelcome cost.
An increase in the quality of infrastructure has a direct impact on the operation of transport companies. Any technical failure often causes delays in the supply chain. The overall condition of the road network in our country affects the quality and efficiency of the logistics sector.
Further development of roads and the use of durable materials for that purpose can greatly improve the condition in that sector. As far as road maintenance is concerned, Poland should ensure regular maintenance programmes that do not involve patching huge potholes, but rather prevent their formation in the first place. Long-term solutions are key to good road infrastructure.
Now that the biggest worries of truck drivers when it comes to Polish roads have been covered, let's try to look into the future – with optimism. What are the potential opportunities for development and growth?
The biggest opportunity is to continue to invest in infrastructure. The good news is that Poland is in the right direction. Government investment in road infrastructure has increased in recent years, giving hope not only for the development of certain regions, but also for increased road safety.
One such project is the National Road Construction Programme for 2014-2023 (with a projection to 2025), which plans the construction of 3,900 km of expressways and motorways, along with 57 bypasses, at an estimated cost of approximately PLN 107 billion. The programme includes the project to build Via Carpatia, a corridor connecting Northern and Southern Europe. It has already been partly implemented, with completion planned for 2025.
The more long and high-quality sections that make it possible to bypass large cities, the greater the comfort for drivers in the transport sector. Tracking new routes is facilitated by Eurowag's solutions - thanks to these services, drivers can plan routes taking into account newly opened sections and take full advantage of the opportunities offered by subsequent investments. New sections often offer rest areas (MOP) of much better quality, where drivers have mandatory breaks or stop for a rest.
Poland faces countless road infrastructure challenges. Although changes are taking place rather slowly, new sections are appearing, piece by piece, making travel easier for both passenger cars and trucks.
Pressure from the European Union and the public is causing the government to plan further investments.
Fortunately, technology such as TMS solutions makes the daily lives of professional drivers easier. It helps them avoid time-wasting issues like endless traffic jams while offering pleasant surprises, such as discovering newly opened routes.
Eurowag's solutions help with navigation, increase operational efficiency and manage costs with ease (the Eurowag fuel card is a good way to save when refuelling). It is worth trying them out while looking ahead with optimism to the further development of our roads!
