ZAGREB, March 28, 2019 - A bill on road traffic safety which the government sent to parliament on Thursday, envisages a significant increase in fines for traffic offences and recommends the temporary confiscation of vehicles for repeated offenders.
Presenting the bill to the government, Interior Minister Davor Božinović said that the experts from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences were engaged to draft this legislative proposal which is aimed at raising all traffic participants' awareness of the need to respect traffic regulations in order to reduce the number of serious offences that endanger lives on the road.
The bill proposes higher fines for traffic offences and a period of ban from driving a motor vehicle depending on the number of offences committed by an offender.
Grave traffic offences include driving in the opposite direction on motorway, fast access roads, exceeding the speed limit in built-up areas by more than 50 km/h, passing through a red light, refusing to take an alcohol test, driving with more than a 1.5 g/kg alcohol blood level or under the influence of narcotics, driving without a licence.
Other offences include driving without a seat belt, use of mobile phone while driving, leaving the site of an accident and the like.
The bill proposes the temporary confiscation of a vehicle for repeated gross offenders, Božinović said underscoring that temporarily means until the case is heard before a court which has to be within 15 days and would apply to drivers who have committed two previous grave offences.
A novelty is that drivers have to keep a safe distance between vehicles on motorways as well as the obligation to have a camera recording a driver when taking a driver's test for a licence in order to increase transparency and quality of driving tests.
Considering the controversy in public over the proposal for compulsory medical check-ups for elderly drivers when extending their licence and that an agreement has not been reached with pensioners' representatives, it is important to say that until a final draft of the bill is prepared, negotiations will continue and an additional analysis will be conducted with Health Ministry officials and a regulation will be adopted that will improve safety on the roads while taking account that it does not pose a too large financial burden for the elderly, Božinović said.
The government today sent to parliament a bill of amendments to the legislation of the police powers and jurisdiction.
More news on driving in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.
