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The study is focused on environmental contamination with platinum metals and compares soil samples from four European cities: Jihlava (Czechia), Brno (Czechia), Vienna (Austria) and Moscow (Russian Federation). The research was aimed at determining the amount of platinum and palladium in soils that were sampled in different urban areas of the mentioned cities. The selection of sampling points was focused on crossroads and roads with a high intensity of car traffic, especially places which are frequent traffic jams in populated agglomeration. The results of this study show that the highest concentrations of platinum and palladium in the soil are close to these roads. The greatest release occurs when cars start on in places with low air circulation, such as tunnels, crossroads or highway entrances. Based on this fact, these localizations are the most interesting for research. Concentrations above the limit are also at places with poor dispersion conditions. This work includes monitoring the amount of platinum and palladium released into the environment due to automobile traffic. The measurement showed a connection between the increased traffic situation in individual cities and the concentration of platinum and palladium in the soil matrix. Platinum and palladium values ranged in the following ranges. For Jihlava, the concentration of platinum was determined from 16.93 to 38.72 ng g−1 and palladium from 2.705 to 8.452 ng g−1. For Brno, the concentration of platinum was determined from 34.53 to49.71 ng g−1 and palladium 8.450–12.78 ng g−1. For Vienna, the concentration of platinum was determined from 39.22 to 159.2 ng g−1 and palladium 18.45–98.21 ng g−1. For the Moscow center, the concentration of platinum was determined from 5.897 (background value) to 352.9 ng g−1 and palladium 2.598 (background value) to 86.11 ng g−1. For the Moscow circle, the concentration of platinum was determined from 249.7 to 520.9 ng g−1 and palladium 91.87–180.6 ng g−1. This study was created in 2021–2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]