# Highway Robbery in Poland



## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

I recieved this from Barry & Margaret Williamson (Magbaz Travels).

Introduction

Brenda and Adrian Wilson are very experienced motorhomers. They have built their own motorhome; they have motorhomed in Australia; they have flown to the USA where they bought a motorhome and travelled extensively before returning with it to Europe. They have toured widely by motorhome in Europe (we first met them in Greece), and regularly visit Bulgaria where they are also restoring a small house near the Greek and Turkish borders.

In May of this year, returning to the UK from Greece and Turkey, they drove onto a section of road in Poland that, quite unknowable to them, required a recently introduced Via Toll Box. What followed was quite literally highway robbery and a warning to us all.

This is their letter of complaint to the Polish Authorities.

This episode also answers the question: Do the Poles need more Polish?
4th June 2013

To whom it may concern

APPEAL AGAINST FINE

Whilst driving recently on your roads in Poland, we came across a situation we had never encountered before, even though we have driven all around the world. Previously in Poland, in September 2011 on the A4 (NW of Legnica down to Katowice), we did NOT come across any toll gates at all. We were (on both occasions) driving a 7.5 ton MOTORHOME (CAMPERVAN), which is used for our own leisure and is NOT an HGV lorry used for business.

However, in May 2013, whilst driving on the single carriageway red road (number 2), having joined it at Sekowo (going west away from Poznan), we were stopped by Traffic Control, who asked us where our 'Via Toll Box' was. We did not have one and were then taken to an ATM machine to withdraw cash for a fine of 3,000 Zloty, but British Citizens CANNOT withdraw more than £200 (880 Zloty) in any ONE transaction PER DAY. We were subsequently detained for 3-4 hours before being eventually escorted by a breakdown service (at a cost to us) to Poznan Vehicle Compound, where we were told to stay (at more cost PER DAY) until we had withdrawn all the funds. Extra costs were incurred when we were taken to the Transport Department in order to produce all our necessary documents. The total amount came to 3,740 Zloty.

We believe this system to be most unfair in our situation, because:

A) There were no Toll Stations, to pay anyone cash or to take a ticket.
B) There was no information on where to purchase a 'Via Toll Box', or on the weights or prices that apply.
C) There was no information on which roads were affected (even the Transport Dept could not give us a map showing which were the actual roads).
D) The VERY small signs on the roadside show a 'ticket' and NOT a 'Via Toll Box'.
E) The forms given to us to sign were NOT in English, so we were unaware of all the implications.

I would like to point out that we had been very careful to avoid the motorways around Poznan and had driven on yellow roads in a bad condition all morning. We could not possibly have known that where we joined the 'number 2' road we would be in so much trouble! No one seemed to know the rules, not even in the petrol stations where we stopped 3 times to enquire, nor the lorry drivers themselves. Communication was very difficult, due to the language barrier, but if your own people do not know, how can foreign visitors be expected to know. This situation is very unwelcoming for those of us who wish to come and see your country. We ourselves curtailed our visit, as we had intended to sightsee along the Polish coastline on the Baltic Sea but decided instead to take the quickest route out of your country. We would have liked to have all the necessary information, upon entering Poland at the borders.

We feel the fine was an extortionate amount, especially for a private vehicle. It wasn't as if we were trying to get away with anything; simply that we genuinely did not know what was expected of us. I would like to point out that the Traffic Control Officers who stopped us were pleasant enough and did try to be helpful to us but we feel that they could have used a certain amount of discretion, as we had not travelled very far on that particular road. They could have escorted us onto a road which was toll-free.

We will not be travelling again in Poland, either now or in the future! A letter will also be sent to our Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

A Very Angry and Disappointed Visitor.
Our Note

Their fines and costs came to about £750 at the current exchange rate.

All vehicles over a maximum weight of 3.5 tons (including a car plus caravan which together weigh more than 3.5 tons) must fit and use a Via Toll Box when using certain roads in Poland.

Vehicles under 3.5 tons may fit a Via Toll Box or may choose to pay tolls as and when they come to a toll booth. These tolls may be a fixed charge or based on a previously issued ticket.

For more information on everything except penalties and fines, see: http://www.viatoll.pl/en?eprivacy=1


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well that's Poland off our list of countries to visit

Aldra


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

We were thinking of Poland next year but that is now crossed off our list!


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

This is the only information on the Polish Tourism site.

http://www.poland.travel/en-gb/travel-by-car/roads-and-motorways

It's not exactly very informative.

I've copied a link to this topic to that site.

It will be interesting to read any reply.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Crossed off our list of countries to visit - TOTALLY.

That sort of action will hopefully result in their tourist industry crashing totally.

Maybe then someone might think WHY HAS THAT HAPPENED?

Dave


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Ignorance is not bliss then.

In Rome do as the Romans do. Sorry.
Dave p


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*considered*

We had considered Poland, will avoid it now.

We should do the same and toll the roads for all European Transporters in the UK.

TM


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

There were no tolls in 2010 when I did the tour.

I was thinking of going again, but not now.



Pete 8)


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

Well, we will be in Poland in a few weeks; we are at Nordkapp as I write this, with plans to head for Helsinki then the Baltics, Poland etc. We are not minded to change our plans, as we had become aware of the tolls before we left, and the tolls themselves appear to be very moderate. It seemed from the website that it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain a 'Go-box' - I just hope that proves to be the case. Forewarned is forearmed.

I will let you know how we get on, but thanks for the warning - we will tread very carefully!!

PS - As many will know, Norway is amazingly beautiful; we travelled the RV 17 scenic route, then across to the Lofotens and Vesteralen and then to Tromso - the slow route, but definately the scenic one!


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

That's very shabby treatment by the authorities to a visitor and the fines were well over the top, but as experienced motorhomers I would have thought they would be used to doing a bit of research before visiting or revisiting a country.

I posted on here about the tolls in July 2011, so the information has been out there on the internet for some time.

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftoptitle-110537-new-toll-system.html

Pete


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

I know I have to pay tolls in France, a vignette in Switserland , so why say I am not going to visit a country that imposes them.
Dave p


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

It seems very harsh treatment but it just goes to show how useful the forum is as we all know about go boxes and vignettes for the likes of Switzerland and Austria and its dead easy to belt 100 miles into either and forget (like I did) so it's up to us to make sure we know exactly what the rules are. I gather the Swiss and Austrians impose heavy fines as well if you break the rules.

You would think though that some leaniancy would have been shown here and it seems shabby treatment.

Perhaps the polish tourist board should be sent a link to this story and thread.


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## selstrom (May 23, 2005)

We should approach our MEP to get all motorhomes and cars towing caravans to be classed as Cars in all EU countries to encourage more tourism.

Or to adopt one system of toll collection throughout the EU so you only need one box that can charge your bank or credit card.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Stanner said:


> This is the only information on the Polish Tourism site.
> 
> http://www.poland.travel/en-gb/travel-by-car/roads-and-motorways
> 
> ...


That Polish Tourism site is totally inadequate.

The full information is available at

http://www.viatoll.pl/en/heavy-vehicles/news/viatoll-toll-road-network-will-expand-from-july-2012

Note for vehicles over 3.5t the box is necessary for a lot of trunk roads not just Motorways - you need to study the map carefully.

Our MH is quite large but went through the car toll booth on the A4 (Katowice-Wroclav) a few weeks ago and was not questioned re weight. Toll was about GBP3.50. Note that going West on this section the first barrier you reach is just to press a button to collect a ticket, which you present when leaving and confirms where you entered the system. The same may apply on other Motorways.

For those who decide not to visit countries which have tolls and or 'GO'-type boxes for over 3.5t there will soon not be many places to go.

I do agree with the comment that there should be a standard box system, but even if attempted noe I believe it would meet stiff resistance from the countries that have invested so much infrastructure. It is not so expensive to install for Motorways because there are only a few junctions, but here in Poland on the A19 for example there are gantries and charging transmitters almost every 1-2 kms.

Geoff


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Don_Madge said:


> I recieved this from Barry & Margaret Williamson (Magbaz Travels).
> 
> Introduction
> 
> ...


Don

I have tried unsuccessfully to search for the MH involved.

In their letter they stated '7.5ton MH'. Is it actually 7.5t or in the 3.5t-7.5t category. if the former maybe they were stopped because obviously they needed the box.

I wonder how the police knew that they had no VIA box and whether the police have equipment that detects that the charging system has not been triggered when a vehicle passes a gantry?

Geoff


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

I have used the viaToll site and established exactly where I need to go to get a viaToll box when entering from Lithuania, including coordinates. Providing you know about the tolls it is all clear enough on the website.

Not wanting to sound smart, but before setting off on this trip I looked up the 'transport ministry' website of each country we are visiting - very easy with Google Chrome translator. That doesn't alter the fact that it should be clear what is required from signs on the roads themselves. 

I also established that there are also recently introduced tolls in Lithuania (note as Nicolsong's point!), but as far as I can see they don't apply to private vehicles. I shall check it ot when we get there.

The only thing I may not be prepared for is that the viaToll requires proof of your vehicles 'Euro' rating. I know that the Germans will do this from the registration certificate for the 'pollution' stickers, but whether the Poles will I'm not sure. I plan to go into a dealers before I get to Poland and hopefully they will give me a printout of those details for our motorhome.


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

Well seeing there are wireless antenna's on the gantries over the road that collect the electronic toll as vehicles go by, I'm wondering if there are also weight sensors in the road with camera's over the road that detect when a vehicle over 3500Kg has passed and no toll was collected. A quick photo of the registration plate passed straight to the police.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Europe, Common Market, EEC etc all imply that the member countries wish to be united.
What function the European Parliament take in promoting this unity, I am not sure. Surely if we can unite over the types of dustbins we use and the 220v mains supply it is not beyond reason to expect drivers on roads to have a common form of payment as they travel from one country to another. Aircraft manage to cross borders without swapping their electronic equipment, it would be laughable if they had to. I fail to see any difference for drivers, who apparently have to research the individual policies for each country they pass through and change their recording equipment (which as time goes by will become 'their' established system). This should be the task of politicians on a global scale, it would be laughable not to be.
We in the UK are just as much to blame, not wishing to lose any of our established sovereign rights for road funding...... I could go on.

Alan


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

nicholsong said:


> Don_Madge said:
> 
> 
> > I recieved this from Barry & Margaret Williamson (Magbaz Travels).
> ...


Hi Geoff,

I've met the Wilson's and they have a 26 ft Fleetwood Fiesta RV which they brought home with them after touring the states.

When we met them in Turkey their van was well loaded and could have been over 7.5t mark.

Don


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> I know I have to pay tolls in France, a vignette in Switserland , so why say I am not going to visit a country that imposes them.
> Dave p


it's not because they have a system of Go boxes that puts me off visiting a country I agree it is the persons responsibiity, but it can be confusing

It's the to me excessive level of fine imposed on a tourist for what was a mistake and the heavy handed method of collecting it that puts me off ever visiting

Aldra


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## Darloboy (Oct 27, 2010)

We (two Autotrails - one a Mohawk the other a Comanche) have just returned from Poland. We were there in May this year for ten days and travelled to Poznan, Auschwitz, Krakow, Zakopane on motorways and other main roads. 

At Poznan there was three other Autotrails (all of a similar size)who on leaving Poznan headed north and east in Poland so between us we covered a lot of the country.

We investigated before we set off and were ready to pay tolls or for a box - whichever was needed. 

We paid the tolls (which were very reasonable) and not once were challenged about having a box and so paid the tolls accordingly. 

European countires do charge tolls or require larger vehicles to have boxes - and we all know that. There is lots if information available (particularly on this site and others which may not be the official source but gives a good idea of what is needed). 

I agree the costs incurred were excessive and some degree of leniency could have been shown but just because a country decides to charge tolls or require a box don't let it out you off going to Poland. 

Poland is a lovely country, very reasonable cost of living and the people we met were great - we would recommend it to anyone.


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## chasper (Apr 20, 2008)

Darloboy said:


> Poland is a lovely country, very reasonable cost of living and the people we met were great - we would recommend it to anyone.


Absolutely agree. We have been the last two years, i think that the only negative for me last year was the amount of speed camera's , every village seemed to have one.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

nicholsong said:


> Stanner said:
> 
> 
> > This is the only information on the Polish Tourism site.
> ...


Well is that not totally unacceptable?

Prospective visitors tend to do their research at the official tourist board sites, rightly expecting to be able to get all their information there - and why shouldn't they?

If you check the link in my post there isn't even a link to the site you quote - Why Not? it could so easily provide the information needed.

I don't think anyone has moaned about the tolls or the level of them BUT they have complained about the severity with which they were enforced and the (apparent) lack of adequate signage.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Darloboy said:


> I agree the costs incurred were excessive and some degree of leniency could have been shown but just because a country decides to charge tolls or require a box don't let it out you off going to Poland.


But with such a draconian response from the authorities to what happened it is very unlikely that many people will want to visit the country since it would be difficult to be aware of what other rules / laws / changes have occurred and have not been announced....

IMO the treatment they dished out was excessive to say the least and that action, and that action alone, makes that country one that I would not wish to drive in.......

Yes, we all know that tolls are levied - but they must be clearly signed and obvious, they must also be transparently visible from outside at the planning stage - the tolls imposed there are NOT readily found......

I will avoid Poland for those reasons however nice it may be............

Dave


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

apxc15 said:


> There were no tolls in 2010 when I did the tour.
> 
> I was thinking of going again, but not now.
> 
> Pete 8)


Well there were tolls in 2009 when we travelled down the A4 to visit Krakow and the Auschwitz memorial at Oswiecim.

They two toll booths, one Krakow by the side of the airport, and the up at Myslowice.

I believe there have been more toll booth ( Platna) added since I last went in 2011. They seem to be adding them in stages.

As for those with vans over 3500Kgs I'm unable to find any more info.


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/5399

http://roadpricing.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/polands-heavy-vehicle-national-toll.html

(Just click off the login when it appears.)


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

peejay said:


> That's very shabby treatment by the authorities to a visitor and the fines were well over the top, but as experienced motorhomers I would have thought they would be used to doing a bit of research before visiting or revisiting a country.
> 
> I posted on here about the tolls in July 2011, so the information has been out there on the internet for some time.
> 
> ...


Hi pete,

I agree the fines were a bit steep.

One can get complacent at times, in Turkey they changed the toll collect system in January this year. I got caught out with my old card. I had just about enough left on the card to get from Aydin to Izmir on our last trip home.

When I realised the system had changed I did a naughty and drove through. It was a Sunday afternoon and it was very quiet. A siren went off and I thought sod it they will have me at the border.

I kept my old card just incase but nothing happened at the border.

Not missing the van at all I thought I might get withdrawal symptons but nothing as yet.

Don


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## Yaxley (Jul 25, 2008)

After reading this Poland is definitely off my list of countries to visit.
My van is 4.500kg and the engine is not Euro5.
I have no problem in paying tolls. At the end of May we were in the middle of the Pyrenees and it was raining cats and dogs and the forecast was bad for days across France. The only place with sunshine was Provence, so we hit the motorways and paid 33Euro to get to Port Grimaud near St Tropez where we stayed for a week unplanned. Simples.
When we visited Switzerland last year it was not a problem. Just download the form and pay for the number of days at the border and we were out of the office in 3 minutes with form stamped. Easy to pay for extra days at about 3SF per day I think. Simples
Now when I read about Austria and their GO BOXES and the cost of crossing Austria, and the minimum top up of 75Euro and the problems with documentation for engine emissions I can readily give that country a miss too.
I dont need that crap in my life.
If enough people complain and if it is brought to the attention of the Polish Tourism Authority then perhaps they will take note. I think it is too late for them to simplify their system because of the amount of money invested in it. 
Similarly with Portugal. I hired a car in Faro mid morning on a Saturday in late October and travelled on the motorway for a 50minute journey to Alvor and a total of 7 cars passed me on the journey. There are 5 toll charges on that stretch of motorway since last year with a complicated system for visitors who dont have an electronic tag on their vehicle. Most of the traffic has moved off the motorway on to the N125 where the accident rate has shot up. It would be very interesting to see some statistics on the Portugal experience.
I didnt mean to rabbit on like this so I better stop and cool down with a beer. 
Ian


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

aldra said:


> DTPCHEMICALS said:
> 
> 
> > I know I have to pay tolls in France, a vignette in Switserland , so why say I am not going to visit a country that imposes them.
> ...


I certain can't recall any Polish carrot packer in the Fens ever having been treated anything like that and they have been known to commit the odd traffic offence or ten.
:roll:


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

Zozzer said:


> apxc15 said:
> 
> 
> > There were no tolls in 2010 when I did the tour.
> ...


I did Krakow, Warsaw and Posnan in August 2010 and didn't see any toll booths or hear of any toll roads.

Pete 8)


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

I bet they never got a reply from Poland to their long letter .

What gets me is two things............

They had to pay cash ......

and as seasoned travellers they only had one bank card between them to get cash out. Hard to believe............


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

I said I'd update on our experience, so here goes:

We came into Poland today from Lithuania, having set the sat-nav for the co-ordinates given on the ViaToll website (as I understood it) for the petrol station named WAMAR. There were no signs whatsoever at the border indicating that any tollls are payable in Poland.

The coordinates took us to a building on the OPPOSITE carriageway (having done a U-turn to get there) - this is not the right place. We returned to the 'Poland-bound' carriageway to the building opposite. When we went in we found four what appeared to be money exchange bureaus (all offering the same rates?!), one turned out to be the ViaToll place (presumably with their exchange rates posted for paying for the box and 'deposit' for road use?). One woman was dealing with a man in front of us, which took a very long time. Eventually it was our turn.

Now I don't assume that everyone should speak English, but it is the most useful second language for a large percentage of peple in the world, if not their first language. She said she spoke 'a little' (actually it was enough, together with OH's bit of German)

[But wouldn't you think the responsible authority would employ someone who could at least speak some English, German (widely used as a second language in the Baltics) and Russian - of which there are many who speak it as a first language in the Baltics, as well as the Russians and Belaurussians themselves ?]

By the time we left, after about 40 minutes there were four behind us - it did't seem that 'customer service' was something they had heard of. And I don't blame the lady herself - it's the organisation who should provide enough people with the right skills - in the end, she was OK, and explained the system to us.

Anyway, after all that rant about poor service, the box was £24, refundable when returned, and the 'user deposit' the same, with any not used also refundable.

BUT, please note - this office was only open 'working hours' 6 days a week!! There was a notice about the WAMAR place, as being open 24 hours a day, which we believe, but were unable to confirm for sure, was in the next village after the border [lorries up our backside prevented both stoppping and having a proper look at the place which we thought might be it. In any case, the co-ordinates given for it were not correct, as explained earlier. The Poles may have put a lot of work into designing the system but they have not applied the same care to the admin!

I'll update on how we get on when we leave Poland


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

Final update

We left Poland yesterday, after 10 days. On our way from Gdansk to Warsaw the viaToll box was ticking away merrily taking our money. After about 50 miles it started double-bleeping, indicating that our pre-paid account was running low. This was a bit of a concern as we had put in the minimum of 120xl/£24, so we wondered if we had used much/most of it already?

We followed the route 12 back towards Germany to avoid tolls as far as possible, joining the A36 right at the last junction before the border. This proved a good road in almost consistently good to excellent condition.

As others have reported, we had to walk across the dual carriageway to get the viaToll offfice, which is on the in-bound carriageway only. Not really a big danger, as the traffic is very light, nothing like our motorways, but quite a lot od barriers to 'leap' over!

We returned our box, and they returned our deposit and the unused pre-paid toll money without any problems or issues. they did however want to see my passport, which was in the safe of the van on the other side, so the trip to get that was a bit of a pain!

We had only spent about £6, which equated to 25% of the pre-loaded (minimum) amount we had put on. We recon that we did about 100 miles on the tolled roads, so this is very reasonable, we think. I should mention that we are Euro 5 rated - lower Euro ratings will pay more - details are on the viaToll website

The important thing to note is not to worry about the 'low funds' warning, as you can do about 400 miles for your £24, and it is easily topped up (once you have gone to the right filling station!) as we had done at one of the places along the road. We used an ORLEN filling station, some have a notice ourtside, a lot don't seem to. There is a list of places on the viaToll website here

viaToll contact points

Unless you print it all off, and know where you are when you need one, I would say the best thing is to note the names of the companies doing it (BP, Orlen, Lotus etc) and call into one of them on a toll route when/if you need to.

My main criticism is that they don't advertise it at the border, nor do they sign where to go for your box or top-ups very well at all. But provided you know about it it is easy enough, not an excessive charge, and no reason not to visit Poland if that's what you fancy doing.

We have seen a lot in Poland _ The Lake District, Gdansk, Torun and Warsaw - all well worth a visit. Prices are cheap, people are friendly and we overnighted mainly in the lorry parks provided by the petrol companies, without any hassle at all. We will be going back sometime to visit the mountains and cities in the south


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## blackbirdbiker (Mar 12, 2007)

We were going to take the grandson to Auswich next year..but it seems to complicated with this type of toll charges.
Cancelled that idea now and thinking of other countries of similar interest.

Keith


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

blackbirdbiker said:


> We were going to take the grandson to Auswich next year..but it seems to complicated with this type of toll charges.
> Cancelled that idea now and thinking of other countries of similar interest.
> 
> Keith


I really wouldn't be put off. All you need to do is:

1 Turn up at the border on one of the tolled routes (see map on website)

2 Produce your V5 certificate, something to verify your 'Euro rating' preferably from the manufacturer

(Mercedes Benz printed off the build spec for our vehicle when I went into their service center (while we were in Finland!), and produced it willingly - I'm sure any other manufacturer would do the same.)

Also show them your passport and, of course, your credit card for the 120zl deposit for the box and whatever you think you will use while you're there - you can work that out from the figures given on the website, - double it if you want to be sure of not needing to top up while you're there.

3 Sign the contract (OK, you can't understand it, but would you read it all properly if it was in English anyway - I doubt it!)

4 Stick the box to the inside of your windscreen out of your line of vision (They suggest behind the mirror

5 Go where you want to go

6 When you leave the Poland, go to the viaToll office - probably on the in-bound carriageway (where we were you could have driven out and over the motorway on the normal road system instead of crossing it if you'd wanted to)

7 Give them back the box; show them your passport and take the receipt for the refunded money for the deposit and any unused 'charge' payment.

Edit When we came in the lady at the desk didn't speak much English, but it was obvious what we were there for, armed with our V5 at the viaToll desk. On the way out the lady did speak some English, but as soon as I handed her the box just got on with sorting it out

We kept the cardboard box that the electronic gismo comes in and returned it, just so there'd be no problem

We are now in Germany, so need to do much the same for our Umwelt sticker. We've done this before with our previous motorhome - we just find the 'MOT' station, take our documentation, pay our money and away we go - much the same, and more expensive than we paid for tolls in Poland!


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## Citysafe (Feb 5, 2006)

Someone mentioned - do they have weigh bridge under the road. 

I dont think so - I have seen the tool booth operators looking at my back axle to establish if we are twin wheel or tag axle.

I know someone with a 3.8T single wheel back axle who pays the 3.5T tax and they have had not issues - I wouldnt feel comfortable as it is stamped on a plate on every motorhome so there is a real risk if you are stopped.

I struggle with the Go Box charges in Austria - at some E200 to drive through both ways - which is a lot - its well documented here so i will not rant further.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Citysafe said:


> Someone mentioned - do they have weigh bridge under the road.
> 
> I dont think so - I have seen the tool booth operators looking at my back axle to establish if we are twin wheel or tag axle.
> 
> ...


'No weighbridges, no APNR cameras' - my police source.

Geoff


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## Johny_Walker (Oct 17, 2013)

Every vehicle in Poland has to pay for some motorways like Katowice - Krakow for example.
Vehicles above 3,5 tonn have to pay another toll called "via toll" with prepaid box. There are a lot of "gates" on motorways and some other roads with cameras which recognize plates and faces. If you drive >3,5t without "via toll" or if your box have no money prepaid in it you will be charged about 3000 zloty (1000 US$) for every one gate!
Some truck drivers has to pay huge 60000 zl and more because their via toll box was empty or broken and they didn't know about it driving thru 20 gates. 3000 zloty is two month salary for basic worker. 
AFAIK Stupid politicians intended to give fine 3000 for one trip but they screw it and make it for every gate.
I think it's robbery and shame. I didn't vote for those ba****ds who make this law. 
Solutions: pay, drive with less than 3,5 tonn (including trailer) or avoid motorways and roads with toll.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Johny_Walker said:


> Every vehicle in Poland has to pay for some motorways like Katowice - Krakow for example.
> Vehicles above 3,5 tonn have to pay another toll called "via toll" with prepaid box. There are a lot of "gates" on motorways and some other roads with cameras which recognize plates and faces. If you drive >3,5t without "via toll" or if your box have no money prepaid in it you will be charged about 3000 zloty (1000 US$) for every one gate!
> Some truck drivers has to pay huge 60000 zl and more because their via toll box was empty or broken and they didn't know about it driving thru 20 gates. 3000 zloty is two month salary for basic worker.
> AFAIK Stupid politicians intended to give fine 3000 for one trip but they screw it and make it for every gate.
> ...


Hello

I thought I was the only MHF Member in Poland, but I see you are not a subscriber and are described as 'touring Poland.

Your information is correct, but for UK-registered vehicles it is less of a problem as I understand that the 'ViaToll' system is not linked to the UK DVLA information on vehicle Registration Numbers and their weights.

Geoff


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

blackbirdbiker said:


> We were going to take the grandson to Auswich next year..but it seems to complicated with this type of toll charges.
> Cancelled that idea now and thinking of other countries of similar interest.
> 
> Keith


Hi.

I never had a problem anytime in Poland and never paid any tolls, I put no tolls in the tom tom and took roads that went through the real Poland not some bland motorway style road where the biggest challenge is not to fall asleep through boredom.

We went to Auswich, well you have to if you are in Poland, it is here where we experienced our only problem. Opposite the camp is a large car park which says on various parking boards 24 hrs for x amount of Euros I can't remember how much without looking it up, and the amount is not important.

We paid at the shed where the guy gave us a receipt to say we had paid and closed the barrier behind us, there were no facilities at all apart from being able to park up and there was security on site a woman who sat in a deck chair all night.

Come the morning and time to move on I drove up to the barrier gave the bloke in the hut our receipt, he then started babbling on and I hadn't a clue what he was on about except he kept on about more money, I kept saying no and pointing to the receipt, we eventually came to a stalemate so he wondered off into another part of what turned out to be a Hotel reception, he came back with a young lady who could speak English.
She said he wanted the same amount of money again as it was for 12 hours, but all around him were signs saying 24 hours for the amount we had paid, so I just dug my heels in and refused to pay, it wasn't much to pay extra but the Yorkshire man came out to the front.

So the manager came out and then realized that I was right and the signs agreed with what I said, so he started shouting at them in Polish and the barrier lifted and we were on our way.. How many folk have given in and just paid it to get on their way..

So back to the OP, we were there at about the same period as we were planning on visiting Geoff for a pot of tea, but he had buggered off somewhere so he wouldn't have to give us any :wink: and not taking toll roads which were fine to drive on with our big tag axle van, and on to Hungary.

So as far as I would say, don't take toll roads and you will be fine, or at least we were.

ray.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Ray

There is now quite a lot of the road network which is non-Motorway but is now covered by the VIA Toll (GO-type) box system for vehicles over 3.5t.

But as I said above I believe UK vehicles are not in the system.

Do satnavs differentiate between tolls for all vehicles and ones for over 3.5t?

Geoff


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

If your navigator is up to date any toll roads should be known, so if you put in non toll roads that is what you should get. 

So far this year we have been through France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Italy, Sicily, Italy again, France, Spain, Portugal all non tolls without any problems, when we came into Portugal there was an off shoot off the road which said foreigners use this lane which took us to a toll booth that took a couple of euros from our Debit Card and gave us a print out with our registration number on from a number recognition camera, presumably so we can use toll roads and the toll will be taken automatically from the registered card, but we don't use toll roads!.

But there again we are not time restrained, set off and you haven't much time to spare for your trip you might have to use toll roads, along with any headaches involved with using them, my point is you can go a long way without any hassle's if you want,and the advantage is you actually see whatever country you happen to be in and you have to interact with it's inhabitants to make yourself understood.


ray.


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## Kev1 (Apr 4, 2011)

Brilliant Ray we hope to do similar at some stage
maybe get together when you return to listen to your advice
Kev and Sue


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