Serbia for Polish Drivers — Motorways Slow to 130, Roads Get Rougher

A Polish driver heading into Serbia should reset the cruise control before anything else. Poland’s motorways now allow 140 km/h, the highest in Europe; Serbia caps its motorways at 130 km/h. It is only 10 km/h, but the cameras enforce it strictly, and a habit carried over from the A1 or A4 is an easy way to collect a fine in the first hour.

The bigger shift is how little motorway there is to use that limit on. Serbia’s high-speed corridors are good but sparse, and the moment you leave them you are on 80 km/h single-carriageway national roads. These sit below the standard of Poland’s improving network — uneven surfaces, faded markings, villages and slow agricultural and freight traffic, with overtaking that is more assertive than you might expect. The driving is straightforward if you plan around the slower secondary roads rather than fighting them.

On alcohol, you are coming from one of the stricter regimes: Poland’s 0.02 is tighter than Serbia’s 0.03 BAC. The looser number is no licence to relax — the safe rule on a driving day is still none, because Serbian police check often and can confiscate a licence on the spot.

You need no International Driving Permit; the Polish EU licence is valid for up to six months, as the driving permit checker confirms. Town limits are 50 km/h with active cameras, and a low-level speeding fine runs RSD 5,000-20,000 (around EUR 45-170) — the speeding fine calculator gives a figure for your speed.

Fuel is about $1.45 a litre, cheapest at supermarket forecourts, and 112 is the single emergency number. A warning triangle, hi-vis vest and first-aid kit are compulsory — the Serbia driving guide has the full list. Drop the cruise to 130, slow for the rural roads, and Serbia is an easy drive for a Pole.