With Thursday, June 3, a public holiday, many Poles took Friday off to enjoy a long weekend amid an easing of coronavirus restrictions and a sustained drop in infections.
Officers said they stopped 1,931 drunk drivers during the four-day break from work and banned a further 1,099 from driving for three months for speeding.
During last year's June long weekend amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 24 people were killed and 396 injured in 336 road accidents throughout the nation, according to a report at the time.
During a similar period two years ago, the death toll was more than twice as high, at 51, and the total number of accidents on Polish roads was also far higher, at 437, Robert Opas from the country’s General Police Headquarters (KGP) said on Monday.
He added that some 4,500 police were out on the roads each day during the long weekend in a bid to improve safety.
Meanwhile, six people drowned this long weekend as Poles took to lakes, rivers and the Baltic Sea amid warm weather, police data showed on Monday.
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Source: IAR
Poles hit the road to enjoy four-day long weekend
Click on the audio player above to learn more about how Poles spent their four-day long weekend amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Radio Poland's Elżbieta Krajewska reports that a combination of relaxed coronavirus restrictions and good weather brought crowds of tourists to popular destinations at the seaside, in the country's northeastern lake district and in its southern mountain regions.