On 1 June 2021, the Act of 25 February 2021 amending the Road Traffic Law (Journal of Laws, item 463) entered into force. According to the new regulations, the permissible speed limit in a built-up area will be unified regardless of the time of day, the scope of protection of the pedestrian in the area of pedestrian crossings will be increased, the obligation for the pedestrian to be extra cautious will be imposed and the issue of safe distance between vehicles on freeways and expressways will be regulated.
According to the amended regulations, a pedestrian already at the crossing has priority over any vehicle, while a pedestrian just entering the crossing has priority over any vehicle except for a streetcar. The driver of a vehicle approaching a pedestrian crossing is required to be extra cautious and reduce speed so as not to endanger the pedestrian.
A very important change for pedestrians is the ban on using the phone or any other electronic device while entering or crossing the road or track.
Another change is equalization of the permissible speed of a vehicle or a group of vehicles 24 hours a day in a built-up area to 50 km/h.
The last change concerns the minimum distance between vehicles. A driver of a vehicle is obliged to keep a minimum distance from the vehicle preceding him – in the same lane of traffic. This distance is defined as not less than half of the number indicating the speed of the vehicle. For example, at a speed of 100 km/h the distance must not be less than 50 m.
