You are driving an articulated vehicle of gross vehicle weight rating of 24 tones. Is parking your vehicle on the road beyond this sign only allowed in specially designated parking lots?

In the photo you are entering a town - on the right there is sign D-42 "built-up area". When driving an articulated vehicle with a maximum permissible mass of 24 t, on the road beyond this sign you may park only in car parks designated for this purpose. The answer is: yes.

The Road Traffic Act forbids parking a vehicle or vehicle combination with a maximum permissible mass over 16 t or a length over 12 m in a built-up area outside car parks designated for this purpose, and the Regulation on road signs and signals states that sign D-42 means entering a built-up area. Your articulated vehicle has a maximum permissible mass of 24 t, so it exceeds the 16 t limit - and a typical tractor unit with a semi-trailer (about 16.5 m) also exceeds the 12 m limit. So beyond sign D-42 you cannot leave your vehicle overnight by the kerb, on the shoulder of a street or in a housing estate car park, even if there is a D-18 "parking" sign there for passenger cars - you need a car park designated for lorries. The rule protects residents from noise and streets from blocked visibility; parking means bringing the vehicle to a standstill for longer than one minute, so unloading by the kerb is also parking.

Legal basis: Art. 49 para. 2 point 5 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym); § 58 para. 3 of the Regulation on road signs and signals