Na autostradzie trzeba patrzeć przed siebie.

Yes. In Polish, na autostradzie is the normal way to say on the motorway / on the highway.

Here:

• na = on
• autostradzie = the locative form of autostrada

After na when talking about location, Polish usually uses the locative case:

• autostrada → na autostradzie
• ulica → na ulicy
• dworzec would usually take na dworcu in some expressions, though not all places use na

So na autostradzie means while on the motorway or when you are on the motorway.

Because the preposition na requires the locative case when it describes location.

The base form is:

• autostrada = motorway, highway

But after na in a location meaning, it changes:

• na autostradzie = on the motorway

This is a very common pattern:

• w szkole = at school
• na ulicy = on the street
• na autostradzie = on the motorway

Trzeba means something like:

• it is necessary
• one must
• you have to

It is an impersonal word. That means it does not directly name who has to do the action.

So:

• Trzeba patrzeć przed siebie = You have to look ahead
• more literally: It is necessary to look ahead

Polish often uses trzeba where English uses you have to or one must.

Because trzeba is impersonal.

In English, you often need a subject:

• You have to look ahead

In Polish, with trzeba, you do not need to say you:

• Trzeba patrzeć przed siebie

It means something general, like:

• one must
• people should
• you have to

This makes the sentence sound like a general rule, which fits traffic advice very well.

Because after trzeba, Polish normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• trzeba patrzeć = one must look / you have to look

Compare:

• Patrzysz przed siebie. = You are looking ahead.
• Trzeba patrzeć przed siebie. = You have to look ahead.

This structure is very common:

• Trzeba iść. = You have to go.
• Trzeba uważać. = You have to be careful.
• Trzeba pracować. = You have to work.

They are different kinds of seeing.

• patrzeć = to look, to direct your eyes
• widzieć = to see, to perceive with your eyes

In this sentence, the idea is about where you direct your attention, so patrzeć is the right verb.

Compare:

• Patrzę na drogę. = I am looking at the road.
• Widzę drogę. = I can see the road.

So trzeba patrzeć przed siebie is about actively keeping your eyes forward.

Przed siebie is a fixed Polish expression meaning:

• ahead
• straight ahead
• forward

It does not literally mean in front of yourself in a personal, reflective way in normal English. It is just the idiomatic Polish way to say ahead with verbs like patrzeć.

So:

• patrzeć przed siebie = to look ahead

You could think of it as an established phrase rather than building it word by word every time.

Because siebie is the form of the reflexive pronoun siebie / sobą / sobie, and in the expression przed siebie it appears in the form required by this idiom.

In ordinary grammar:

• przed can take different cases depending on meaning
• in patrzeć przed siebie, the phrase expresses direction: ahead / forward

So learners usually do best to remember przed siebie as a whole expression.

Useful chunk:

• iść przed siebie = to keep going ahead
• patrzeć przed siebie = to look ahead

Yes, naprzód can also mean forward / ahead, but patrzeć przed siebie is more natural and common in everyday Polish for this idea.

Possible options:

• patrzeć przed siebie = the most natural here
• patrzeć naprzód = understandable, a bit less everyday in this context

So for a learner, patrzeć przed siebie is the safest and most idiomatic choice.

Because the sentence describes a general, ongoing requirement, not a single quick action.

• patrzeć is imperfective: to be looking, to look in an ongoing sense
• a perfective verb would suggest a single completed act, which does not fit as well here

On a motorway, the idea is not take one look ahead once. The idea is keep your eyes ahead continuously.

That is why patrzeć works so well.

Yes, Polish word order is flexible, but the original order sounds very natural.

Original:

• Na autostradzie trzeba patrzeć przed siebie.

You could also say:

• Trzeba na autostradzie patrzeć przed siebie.

But this is less neutral. The original version puts the setting first:

• On the motorway, you have to look ahead.

That sounds like a rule applying specifically in that situation.

Not exactly a direct command like Look ahead!

It sounds more like:

• a general rule
• advice
• an instruction
• a statement of necessity

Compare:

• Patrz przed siebie! = Look ahead!
• Na autostradzie trzeba patrzeć przed siebie. = On the motorway, you have to look ahead.

So the given sentence is less direct and more general.

Both can mean you have to look ahead, but the tone is different.

• trzeba patrzeć przed siebie = general rule, impersonal, something everyone must do
• musisz patrzeć przed siebie = specifically you must look ahead

So:

• Na autostradzie trzeba patrzeć przed siebie. sounds like a general driving principle.
• Na autostradzie musisz patrzeć przed siebie. sounds like someone is telling one specific person what they must do.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Na autostradzie ≈ nah ow-toh-STRAH-jye
• trzeba ≈ TSHEH-bah
• patrzeć ≈ PAHT-shetch
• przed siebie ≈ pshet SHYEH-byeh

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• rz often sounds like the zh sound in measure, but after p in przed it is devoiced and sounds more like sh
• cz sounds like ch in chocolate, but harder
• ie often sounds like ye

So the whole sentence is roughly: nah ow-toh-STRAH-jye TSHEH-bah PAHT-shetch pshet SHYEH-byeh

Not always exactly. Autostrada is usually closer to:

• motorway in British English
• freeway / interstate / motorway depending on context in other varieties of English

So the exact English translation can vary a little by country, but motorway is often the closest match.