Court judgments in drink driving cases are publicly available and provide the best insight into how the law operates in practice rather than in theory. The judgment of the District Court in Wągrowiec of 3 February 2021 (case ref. II K 412/20) offers a precise picture of the consequences of driving at a concentration approaching 3 per mille. It is worth examining in detail.
The Facts – What the Court Established
On 10 April 2020 the defendant drove a motor vehicle on a public road while in a state of intoxication. Testing revealed a blood alcohol concentration of between 2.9 and 3.1 per mille. The court took 2.9 per mille – the lower end of the established range – as the basis for sentencing, which is a practice consistent with the principle of resolving doubts in the defendant’s favour.
The conduct was classified as the criminal offence under Article 178a § 1 of the Criminal Code. The criminal proceedings lasted nearly ten months – the judgment was handed down on 3 February 2021, while the driving licence had been seized on the date of the incident, 10 April 2020.
The Ruling – What Penalties the Court Imposed
Principal penalty: a fine
The court imposed a fine of 100 daily rates at PLN 20 each. The total fine came to PLN 2,000.
This is a significant outcome. Article 178a § 1 of the Criminal Code provides for a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to three years as alternatives. At a concentration approaching 3 per mille, the choice of a fine rather than a custodial sentence indicates the presence of mitigating circumstances – most likely no previous convictions, an admission of guilt and genuine remorse.
The low daily rate – PLN 20, the statutory minimum – indicates in turn that the defendant’s difficult financial circumstances were taken into account when the fine was set. The maximum daily rate is PLN 2,000, and the theoretical maximum fine at 540 daily rates exceeds one million zlotys. Between the PLN 2,000 imposed and the theoretical maximum lies an enormous range of judicial discretion.
Driving disqualification: four years
The court imposed a four-year disqualification from driving all motor vehicles, crediting against it the period during which the driving licence had been held by the police from 10 April 2020.
A four-year disqualification exceeds the statutory minimum of three years by one year. At a concentration of 2.9 per mille this is a typical outcome – courts rarely stop at the minimum disqualification for such high readings.
The crediting of the licence seizure period has significant practical consequences. The licence was seized ten months before the judgment. The effective disqualification remaining after the judgment was therefore approximately three years and two months, not four years counted from the date of the ruling. The disqualification expired in April 2024, not February 2025.
Financial contribution: PLN 6,000
Under Article 43a § 2 of the Criminal Code, the court ordered a financial contribution of PLN 6,000 to the Fund for Assistance to Victims and Post-Penitentiary Assistance.
PLN 6,000 is close to the statutory minimum of PLN 5,000 – and this at a concentration approaching 3 per mille, where judicial practice typically produces amounts of PLN 10,000–15,000 or higher. Such a low figure, alongside the waiver of court costs, suggests the court gave substantial weight to the defendant’s difficult financial circumstances.
Waiver of court costs
The court waived court costs in full under Article 624 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Article 17(1) of the Act on Costs in Criminal Cases, on the basis that the defendant lacked the financial means to pay them.
What the Judgment Does Not Include – the Legislative Context
The judgment was handed down in 2021, before the vehicle forfeiture provisions came into force. Since 29 January 2026, where the blood alcohol concentration is at least 1.5 per mille, or 0.75 mg/dm³ in exhaled breath, vehicle forfeiture is mandatory under Article 44b of the Criminal Code. Had the same case been heard today, the imposed sanctions would have been supplemented by the loss of the vehicle – or an obligation to pay its equivalent value – fundamentally changing the overall financial picture.
Observations from the Analysis
Several points emerging from this judgment deserve attention.
First, even at a concentration approaching 3 per mille a court can impose a fine rather than a custodial sentence – provided mitigating circumstances support it. This is not automatic and requires an active defence.
Second, the defendant’s financial circumstances have a real effect on the sentence – both on the daily rate of the fine and on the level of the financial contribution. Those circumstances need to be properly documented.
Third, crediting the period of licence seizure can significantly shorten the effective disqualification remaining after the judgment. Drivers are often unaware of this and unnecessarily prolong their concerns about when their entitlements will be restored.
Fourth, the total financial contribution can exceed the fine itself – as in this case, where the ratio was PLN 6,000 to PLN 2,000. Focusing solely on the principal penalty gives a misleading picture of the true financial burden.
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Analysis of case law shows that the outcome of a specific case depends on many factors and is not predetermined. The right defence strategy can materially affect both the type of penalty imposed and its level.
It pays to be properly prepared: both in knowing what you can claim and in having a clear strategy.
We handle cases for drivers in Poznań and across the Wielkopolska region, with in-person and online consultations available for clients elsewhere in Poland.
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This text is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case requires individual analysis.
