Overtaking in Poland: when allowed, where banned, B-25 and fines

Overtaking is banned when approaching the brow of a hill, on a bend with warning signs, at a junction (except roundabouts and junctions with controlled traffic), at pedestrian, cycle and level crossings, at tram tracks and beyond sign B-25. Fine: 1000-1500 zł, doubled for a repeat offence, plus 10-15 points.

When you may overtake: three conditions from art. 24(1)

Overtaking is governed by art. 24 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym). Before you move into the left lane, you must make sure of three things (para. 1):

1. You have adequate visibility and enough space to overtake without obstructing anyone.
2. The driver behind you has not started overtaking.
3. The driver ahead of you in the same lane has not signalled an intention to overtake another vehicle, change direction or change lane.

The second condition means a look in the left exterior mirror. The catalogue tests it directly: question 13498 on the duty to make sure the driver behind you has not started overtaking has the answer YES, and question 13506 (whether you may start the manoeuvre without that check) has the answer NO. Questions 13652 and 13666 (left exterior mirror) also have the answer YES.

Add to that watching the road ahead of the vehicle you are about to overtake. Before the manoeuvre you keep a gap from it that is large enough to see what is happening further on (question 6369, answer B). Getting as close as possible to its bumper is the wrong answer. You signal the manoeuvre with your indicator (art. 22(5); question 10531: YES).

Safe distance and 1 metre from bicycles, e-scooters and motorcycles

Art. 24(2) requires particular care and a safe distance from the vehicle or road user being overtaken. For most situations the Act gives no figure. There is one exception with a specific value.

When overtaking a bicycle, cycle cart, moped, motorcycle, electric scooter, personal transporter, a person on a mobility aid device or a column of pedestrians, the distance may not be less than 1 m. The catalogue asks this many times: 3628 (A), 3629 (C), 3630 (C), 8979 (A), 10053 (C), 1068 (YES), 6271 (YES). Questions 6270 and 7640 have the answer NO.

Overtaking without a safe distance costs 300 zł (PLN) and 6 penalty points (item 91 of the fines tariff, code F 11; as of September 2026). How the gap relates to reaction time is explained in the article on braking distance, reaction time and safe following distance.

Which side to overtake on: the left as the rule and four exceptions

You overtake on the left (art. 24(3)). The exceptions come from paras 4, 5, 10 and 12:

On a one-way carriageway overtaking on the right is legal. Question 13499 (one-way carriageway outside a built-up area, does a ban on overtaking on the right apply) has the answer NO, 13512 (the same situation in a built-up area) also NO, and 13663 and 13145 the answer YES. A motorway carriageway is one-way, so there too you may continue overtaking on the right (question 1480 with a video: YES). Details in the article on driving on motorways and expressways.

Overtaking on the wrong side is 1000 zł (2000 zł for a repeat offence) and 8 points (item 102, code F 01). Questions 12825 (YES) and 12826 (NO) concern a tram and come with a picture: the answer depends on the position of the tracks in that situation.

Where overtaking is banned: a table of places and exceptions

The bans are scattered across several articles of the Act. Collected in one place, they look like this:

Controlled traffic (ruch kierowany) means traffic directed by working signals or by a person authorised to direct it. The catalogue sticks to this table. Question 13497 (two-way carriageway, brow of a hill, may you overtake a motorcycle in this situation) has the answer NO, and 13513 YES. Question 13504 (whether, despite taking particular care, you must refrain from overtaking a motor vehicle at the next junction) has the answer YES; questions 13505, 13510 and 13659 have the answer NO, and 13507, 13509 and 1081 YES, but these come with a picture and the answer concerns the situation shown.

At a pedestrian crossing overtaking is banned (10229, 13156 and 13754: NO); the rules towards pedestrians are set out in the article on pedestrian priority at crossings. At a level crossing you may not overtake even to get across the tracks faster (13469: NO). At tram tracks the ban does not apply at a junction with controlled traffic, hence the answer YES in question 13668 for the situation in the picture. What controlled traffic means in practice is explained in the article on traffic lights and the green arrow.

The Act does not mention tunnels, bridges or flyovers. Under a flyover you may start overtaking (question 10495: YES) if you meet the conditions in paras 1 and 2.

Bicycles, e-scooters and mopeds: why the ban in para. 7 does not cover them

The ban at the brow of a hill, on a bend and at a junction concerns overtaking a motor vehicle travelling on the carriageway. Under art. 2 point 32, a motor vehicle is a vehicle fitted with an engine, except a moped, rail vehicle, bicycle, cycle cart, electric scooter, personal transporter and wheelchair.

The result: you may overtake a bicycle, an electric scooter and a moped also at a junction, near the brow of a hill and on a bend with warning signs, as long as visibility, space and the other bans allow it. Questions 13661 (bicycle) and 13662 (electric scooter) have the answer YES. But 13658 (an e-scooter in a different situation) has the answer NO, and 13630 (an e-scooter at a level crossing) also NO, because the ban in art. 28(3) point 3 is not limited to motor vehicles. All these questions come with a picture, so look at the scene, not only at the type of vehicle.

A motorcycle is a motor vehicle. That is why on a two-way carriageway without marked lanes you may not overtake one near the brow of a hill (13497: NO), although beyond a B-25 sign a two-wheeled motorcycle may be overtaken.

Signs B-25 and B-26 and lines P-1, P-2, P-3 and P-4

Sign B-25 "no overtaking" prohibits drivers of motor vehicles from overtaking multi-track motor vehicles (vehicles with more than one track, such as cars). Beyond the sign you may therefore overtake a two-wheeled motorcycle, a bicycle and a horse-drawn vehicle. The ban applies until sign B-27 "end of no overtaking", until sign B-42 or, as a rule, until the next junction (it is not ended by a junction on a dual carriageway where the side road joins only from the left and has no connection with the right-hand carriageway; par. 32(2) of the regulation on road signs and signals). A T-23 plate under the sign may narrow the ban to the type of vehicle shown.

The catalogue tests both sides of this rule. On a motorcycle you may not overtake a passenger car beyond B-25 (13750: NO), because a motorcycle is a motor vehicle and a car is multi-track. In a car you may not overtake a bus (13752: NO). Question 13671 has the answer NO, and 10526 (with a picture) YES.

Sign B-26 "no overtaking by lorries" applies to lorries with a maximum permissible mass (DMC) above 3.5 t, road tractors, and special vehicles and vehicles used for special purposes with a DMC above 3.5 t. It does not apply to a passenger car. It is cancelled by sign B-28. Failing to comply with B-25 or B-26 is 1000 zł (2000 zł for a repeat offence) and 15 points (item 101, code F 08).

The second set of restrictions is the lines on the carriageway:

Line P-4 can rule out a manoeuvre that would be legal under art. 24: the road is straight and visibility is good, but the double solid line prohibits crossing from either side.

Speed, the behaviour of the overtaken driver and returning to your lane

The driver of the vehicle being overtaken may not increase speed during the overtake or immediately after it (art. 24(6)). Questions 788 and 13502 have the answer NO, and 13514 YES. Fine: 350 zł and 6 points (item 92, code F 10). A slow-moving vehicle, an agricultural tractor and a vehicle without an engine move to the right to make the manoeuvre easier.

The overtaking driver has no right to exceed the speed limit in order to finish the manoeuvre sooner (10250: NO). A passenger car with a light trailer drives at 80 km/h on a motorway, also while overtaking (13670: NO); the limits are collected in the article on speed limits and fines. A small speed difference between the vehicles lengthens the time and distance of the overtake, it does not shorten them (13627 and 13629: NO).

You return to the right lane after making sure this will not force the overtaken driver to brake or change course (6367: C; 10055: C). The answers with the edge of the vehicle in the mirror or a distance of 100 m are distractors.

How much the fine for overtaking is: table of amounts and points

The amounts come from the fines tariff (regulation of 30 December 2021), the points from the regulation on the register of drivers who breach traffic rules, in force since 3 June 2026. As of September 2026. The second amount in brackets applies to a repeat offence, meaning the same offence within 2 years.

Overtaking at a pedestrian crossing is an offence under art. 86b para. 1 of the Code of Petty Offences (Kodeks wykroczeń), with a fine of no less than 1500 zł. A lorry with a DMC above 3.5 t that overtakes on a two-lane motorway or expressway contrary to art. 24(13) and (14) gets 8 points (code F 12). Two separate incidents, for example overtaking at a junction in one place (10 points) and beyond a B-25 sign in another (15 points), add up to 25 points, which is more than the limit of 24 for an experienced driver and 20 for a driver in their first year. When, in connection with overtaking a single vehicle, you breach several bans at once, points are counted only for the breach with the highest number of points (par. 6(4) of the regulation on the register). What happens then is described in the article on penalty points and losing your driving licence.

Overtaking in the practical test

In the regulation on driving tests, overtaking is one of the on-road tasks for category B, alongside passing a stationary obstacle and passing oncoming vehicles, carried out when the route gives the opportunity. The examiner assesses how the manoeuvre is performed and your behaviour towards others.

The table of behaviours that can end the test when they directly endangered life and health includes, among others, overtaking at a pedestrian crossing, failing to make sure that overtaking is possible, and failing to comply with a double solid line. What the whole test looks like and what else ends it is covered in the article on practical test day.

How the question catalogue asks about overtaking: cheat sheet

Questions marked with an asterisk come with a picture or a video and begin with "in this situation": the answer concerns the scene shown, not every similar situation.

Three traps that cost the most points:

1. The "ban at a junction" concerns a motor vehicle. A bicycle and an e-scooter are not motor vehicles, a motorcycle is.
2. Beyond B-25 you may overtake a two-wheeled motorcycle, but on a motorcycle you may not overtake a car.
3. The overtaken driver does not speed up, either during the manoeuvre or right after it, not even "slightly".

You can practise all the questions on this topic on the list of category B test questions. Advice for the road: before you switch on the indicator, count to three while checking, in turn, the road ahead of the vehicle in front, the left mirror and the indicator of the car ahead. Those are exactly the three conditions in art. 24(1).