What is the penalty for a lorry driver carrying three persons more than the number of seats stated on the vehicle's registration document?

The question is about the consequences for a lorry driver who carries three people more than the number of seats in the vehicle registration certificate. The driver faces retention of the driving licence for 3 months - answer A.

The Road Traffic Act states that a police officer will retain the driving licence, giving a receipt, if it is found that the driver is carrying more people than the number of seats stated in the vehicle registration certificate; the rule does not apply if the excess in a passenger car or a lorry is no more than 2 people. Three people over the limit exceeds this tolerance, so the document is retained, and the starost (head of the district authority) issues a decision on the retention of the driving licence for 3 months. Answer B adds a driver qualification check, which the Act does not provide for in this case - a qualification check exam is used in other situations, for example when the driving licence has been retained for more than a year. Answer C gives 6 months; the rule extending it to 6 months for people who drive despite the retention has been repealed. On top of the retention of the document there is a fine and penalty points, and passengers without seats have no seat belts, so in a collision they become projectiles for the others.

Legal basis: Art. 135 para. 1 point 2 letter b and para. 2 point 2 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); Art. 102 para. 1 point 5, para. 1c and 2 of the Vehicle Drivers Act (ustawa o kierujących pojazdami)