From March 14, regulations on penalties for drunk drivers come into force. It's about confiscating the vehicle.

Which drivers will lose their cars?

The car will be confiscated from any driver, if he or she is its owner, if, after examination, it turns out that:
  • driving with more than 1.5 per mille of alcohol in his blood
  • caused an accident with more than 1 per mille of alcohol in his blood
If the driver has a blood alcohol content of 0.5 to 1 per mille, the court may order the forfeiture of property, but it does not have to. It may take into account any additional special circumstances.

For driving under the influence of alcohol, the police will temporarily seize the car for a period of up to 7 days, then it will be secured by the prosecutor's office, and finally the case will go to court, which will decide on the forfeiture and confiscation of the car. Such vehicles will eventually be auctioned.

If not confiscation, then what?

If the car is not the exclusive property of the perpetrator (it may be a borrowed, rented or leased car), or he has managed to sell it, donate it or hide it, then the value of the vehicle is forfeited based on its value recorded in the policy.

In the absence of an insurance policy, the average market value of the car will be taken into account based on available data such as: make, model, year of production, body type, type of drive and engine, engine capacity or power, approximate mileage.

However, the forfeiture of a car or its equivalent will not be imposed in a situation where a drunk driver was driving a company vehicle "while performing professional or official activities involving driving a vehicle for the employer."

Then the court rules the so-called compensation of at least PLN 5,000 to the Victims' Assistance Fund and Post-penitentiary Assistance managed by the Ministry of Justice.

For our part, we always recommend following the safest rule: if you have been drinking, don't drive!

However, we recommend using a good quality breathalyzer to anyone who decides to drink and has doubts about their sobriety.

This is too serious a matter to risk. It is worth investing a fraction of the value of the car that we can potentially lose for driving under the influence.