The number of such signs on Polish roads is growing every day. They are not spelled out in the current sections of the traffic rules, and their content is intended to guide and warn military drivers.
The appearance of non-standard road signs is caused by a sharp increase in military vehicles moving alone and in columns on the roads. Wheeled, tracked combat and transport vehicles arrive in Poland from different countries to participate in the international military exercises “Resilient Defender-24” and “Dragon-24”.
The signs indicate the military load class of the road and bridge – MLC (Military Load Classification). Looking at these signs, the military understand whether their equipment can move on.
The yellow signs with black symbols and markings on this background are addressed only to drivers of military vehicles and are not relevant to drivers of civilian vehicles. They inform about the military load class of the roads and bridges the equipment will use. And there is a lot of it these days.
The Steadfast Defender 2024 maneuvers alone, which will last until May 31, 2024, will involve 1,100 combat vehicles, including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles from 31 NATO member states (as well as Sweden).
And 3,500 pieces of military equipment are arriving from the alliance countries to take part in the Dragon-24 exercise, which begins on February 25.
Such a large number of vehicles on the roads requires coordination and organized maneuvering throughout the country, including safe passage through bridges, overpasses, temporary pontoon crossings and fords.
Although the appearance of military signs does not apply to civilian drivers, they should still follow certain rules at this time. Therefore, Ukrainian drivers traveling to or already in Poland should remember that there is a high probability of encountering a convoy of military equipment on roads with such signs.
In this case, you should be aware that the military asks you not to take photos or videos of military equipment. They have another request: avoid driving between military vehicles moving in a convoy. Military vehicles have a lot of weight, a longer stopping distance and poor visibility from the driver’s seat.
A natural question arises: is it possible to overtake a military convoy? The answer is unequivocal – you can. However, overtaking must involve the entire convoy; movement between combat vehicles moving in the convoy is prohibited. In this case, the convoy can be overtaken only on country roads.
If you see military trucks on the road that are not moving in a convoy, you should treat them as another road user.
How do you know if the vehicles are moving in a convoy? It is mandatory that the first vehicle must have a blue flag and the last vehicle a green flag. The column commander is marked with a black and white flag.
The convoy gets a special status if there are vehicles, such as police or fire trucks, at the beginning and end of the convoy with flashing blue lights and sound alarms. Such a convoy should be given preferential treatment.
