Slovakia

Key points for young drivers:

• Motorway and expressway: 130 km/h, outside built-up areas 90 km/h, in towns 50 km/h.
• Alcohol: 0.0 ‰ for everyone. Refusing a test = you are treated as if you were drunk.
• E-vignette required on motorways, expressways and some class I roads – buy it at eznamka.sk; a trailer needs a vignette too.
• In the car: first-aid kit, warning triangle, high-visibility vest, spare wheel with jack.
• Carry cash for fines – otherwise you lose your licence until you pay.
• Cycling outside towns – helmet mandatory for everyone.

Seat belts and child seats

Everyone must wear a seat belt – in the back too. Children shorter than 150 cm travel in a child car seat.

If there are already two child seats in the car, a third child may travel in the back with a regular seat belt.

Traffic lights

Amber means the light is about to turn red.

Helmet not compulsory

Bicycle – adults don’t have to wear a helmet in built-up areas.

Helmet compulsory

• motorcycle (rider and passenger)
• moped (rider and passenger)
• three- and four-wheelers (driver and passenger)
• bicycle – always up to the age of 15, and all cyclists outside built-up areas

Compulsory equipment in the car

• first-aid kit (contents in line with the rules of the country of registration, not expired, within the driver’s reach)
• warning triangle
• high-visibility vest – within the driver’s reach
• spare wheel, jack and wheel wrench (not required for cars with run-flat tyres or a tyre repair kit)

Compulsory equipment on a bike

• helmet (mandatory for everyone outside built-up areas)
• high-visibility vest in poor visibility

Winter tyres and snow chains

When there is compacted snow, ice or black ice on the road, you must have winter tyres marked M+S (M.S. or M&S). Cars up to 3.5 t – the same tyres on all axles, tread at least 3 mm.

Phone, drugs and other bans

Phone in your hand – strictly forbidden. Calls only with a hands-free kit or headset.

Drugs (including THC, methamphetamine, ecstasy) – banned. If you refuse an alcohol test, you are treated as if you were drunk.

Bus lanes are for public transport, taxis and emergency vehicles. You may use them only where signs allow it – e.g. to get around an obstacle or to turn.

Vignettes, tolls and low-emission zones

Motorways, expressways and selected sections of class I roads are tolled – you need an electronic vignette (diaľničná známka). Buy it on the official website eznamka.sk. Toll roads are marked with a sign showing a white car on a blue background.

With a car-and-trailer combination, the trailer also needs a vignette (categories O1 and O2).

Vehicles over 3.5 t and minibuses for more than 9 people pay an electronic toll (emyto.sk).

Documents and insurance

A driving licence from an EU/EEA country is valid here – you don’t need an International Driving Permit. A Green Card is not mandatory, but the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends carrying one: after an accident it makes it easier to get compensation.

If your car doesn’t have an EU number plate with the country code, you need a country identification sticker at the back – otherwise you risk a fine.

What to watch out for

• Fines: if you don’t pay in cash on the spot, the police will keep your driving licence for up to 15 days. You can only collect it in person, with the original proof of payment.
• The police are very strict about speeding – fines are high.
• Alcohol: 0.0 ‰ for everyone, however long you have been driving.
• Dipped headlights on all year round, at any time of day.

Sources

• Your Europe – Road rules: Slovakia
• Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Odyseusz: Slovakia (in Polish)
• eznamka.sk – official e-vignette
• emyto.sk – tolls for vehicles over 3.5 t
• Slov-Lex – Road Traffic Act 8/2009, § 16 (speed)
• Last updated: September 2026.