Higher penalties for traffic violations, and lower charges for car buyers and future drivers.
At midnight, new traffic and transportation rules have come into force in Croatia. The most important changes relate to significantly cheaper driving exams, while, on the other hand, breach of traffic rules will be punished more severely, reports Index.hr on January 1, 2018.
Driving schools and tests for future drivers used to cost about 7,200 kunas, and the price was dictated by the central authority. However, starting on 1 January, each driving school will be able to determine its own rate. The competition is expected to lead to a drop in price by more than a thousand kunas.
Vehicles for the training of candidate drivers will have to be technically inspected only after two years, and candidates will be able to develop their driving skills on cars which are up to ten years old, instead of seven years old. Some driving schools say this could result in dangerous drivers ultimately driving on the roads.
From 1 January, more severe fees are imposed for traffic violations, especially for young drivers. Thus, drivers who receive nine penalty points will have their driving license invalidated, and they will have to wait for two years to retake a driving test. As for drivers over the age of 24, the police will annul their driver's licenses after they collect 12 penalty points.
The beginning of 2018 introduces a number of new rules pertaining to car owners. One of the most critical changes concerns buyers of used cars. So far, the process of transferring ownership included going to the public notary, the police and the tax administration, while now they can do all the formalities at the technical inspection station. Also, the tax for buying used cars has been turned into a fee and lowered by about 50 percent.
Translated from Index.hr.
