ZAGREB, 28 July 2022 - The amended Road Safety Act, introduces a number of changes, notably regarding the use of electric vehicles such as scooters, as well as the obligation for medical professionals to notify drivers in case they are temporarily unfit to drive, goes into force on Saturday.

The Ministry of the Interior notes that the new law regulates for the first time the use of electric scooters, unicycles, Segways and other similar vehicles.

The law defines areas where such vehicles may be used and the conditions they and their drivers have to meet in order to participate in traffic.

Under the law, all persons riding such vehicles have to wear a helmet and not only those above 16, as is the case with bicycles. They must use cycle lanes or, if there are none, ride slowly along sidewalks and in traffic-calming zones.

At nighttime or during periods of low visibility, all persons riding bicycles, scooters and similar electric vehicles must wear reflective vests or other reflective gear.

E-scooter riders, as well as cyclists wearing headphones in both ears, face a fine of HRK 300.

An electric scooter with a motor of more than 0.6kW or one that can develop a speed of more than 25 kmph must not be used in public traffic if it does not have a speed limiter or is certified and, if possible, registered, the Strujni Krug e-mobility association has said.

The Ministry of the Interior also recalls that the amended law introduces an obligation for doctors examining or treating a driver as well as driver's GP to notify the driver in case the driver is temporarily unfit to drive and to enter this in their medical record.

Doctors and drivers who fail to comply with the new regulations will be fined.

A person may be temporarily unfit to drive for a maximum six months, after which the driver need not undergo another medical checkup.

The new law regulates for the first time the participation of horse riders in road traffic and introduces a new term denoting a fully autonomous vehicle, a vehicle that can operate without a driver.

The law also envisages penalties for drivers using partially autonomous vehicles as fully autonomous ones, without the driver sitting in the driver's seat.

For more, check out our politics section.

Zagreb, September 1, 2020 – As reported by Hina, as of September 1, due to the coronavirus crisis, only three border crossings between Hungary and Croatia are open: Duboševica-Udvar, Terezino Polje-Barcs (only for Croatian and Hungarian citizens) and Goričan-Leteneye, the Croatian Auto Club (HAK) reported on Tuesday morning.

Hungary closes the borders for all passengers who don't have a residential address in that country. The entry is only allowed for so-called justified cases.

Strong winds slow down the traffic on an A6 Rijeka-Zagreb motorway between Kikovica and Tuhobić Tunnel. On the part of section A1 between the Bristovac Tunnel and the Sveti Rok Tunnel, there is a speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour due to fog.

The roads are wet and slippery in most parts of Croatia.

The Croatian Auto Club (HAK) warns drivers to adjust their speed and driving style to the conditions on the road.

From August 15, Croatian citizens must have a negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours, to enter Serbia, unless they are only transiting through Serbia.

All persons traveling from the Republic of Croatia to Italy (from August 13) and Austria (from August 18), at the entrance, must have a negative Covid-19 test, not older than 72 hours, or they must be tested within 48 hours of entry.

The decision applies to the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to the persons who have resided in the Republic of Croatia. The transit through Italy and Austria is currently not restricted and does not require a negative test.

The catamaran line Ubli - Vela Luka - Hvar - Split is interrupted.

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Recently adopted changes to the Road Traffic Safety Law (Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama) are coming into force today, so here are the most significant changes and the new traffic fines you might come across if you find yourself driving without full compliance with the law today.

The point of almost all of those changes is that the traffic violation fines have been increased. The idea behing the increase is, as the Ministry of the Interior says, to increase the level of safety, but also to raise the level of traffic culture in Croatia, index.hr writes.

There are 8 wrongdoings in traffic that will cost you 20,000 kuna (around 2,700 €):

1) driving at 50 km/h over the limit within an inhabited area,
2) driving in a forbidden direction on a highway or any other road,
3) going through a red light on purpose, without reducing speed, or going through two or more red lights,
4) refusal to take a drug or an alcohol test,
5) driving under the influence of alcohol (over 1,5 g/kg) or under the influence of drugs,
6) driving before obtaining your driver's license,
7) driving while the driver's license is suspended because of "traffic points",
8) driving while the driver's license is suspended for other reasons.

(Please don't do any of the above no matter what the new traffic fines are.)

If you repeat any of those offenses, your license will be suspended for a longer period after that - 6 months for the second time you do it, and at least a year if you repeat three or more times. Also, if you keep repeating the offense, the police are given the authority to temporarily seize your vehicle. Hit-and-run behaviour will also be fined with 20,000 kuna in the future, if there are injured individuals in the accident. If you just bumped someone and nobody was hurt, but you left, the fine will be 7000 kuna. Both of those will get you some additional traffic points.

If you manage to get to 12 such points, you won't be able to apply for your driver's license for two years (this is even stricter for young drivers, as for them the cut-off is at 9 points).

Some other behaviours that are considered to be especially dangerous have also gotten increased new traffic fines, so now you'll pay a thousand kuna (around 150 €) for not having your seatbelt on, using your phone and driving recklessly with children in the car.

A change that probably doesn't matter much to our summer guests is that from now on, the law says that the lights on the car need to be on at all times during the day in the period between November 1st until March 31st. The fine for not having the proper winter gear has now been increased, and the driver's obligations during winter-time have been explained in a better manner.

Driving in Zagreb comes with both ease and difficulties, unlike the along the coast, the time of year rarely causes issues when it comes to traffic in Zagreb, but Mayor Milan Bandić's timing for major roadworks often does.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of December, 2018, after having been delayed multiple times, the closing of the huge Zagreb roundabout has now been announced for this coming Sunday, December the 16th, 2018, as has another important event, a sporting one.

On Sunday, December the 16th, the Zagreb Advent Run will take place in the Croatian capital, and driving in Zagreb will become more problematic as the new traffic changes will come into force.

Isidor Kršnjavi street (Ulica Isidora Kršnjavog), where the start of the race will be, will be closed for all traffic from 08:00 to 12:30 on the aforementioned date.

The rest of the routes being used within the scope of the Zagreb Advent Run will begin being closed off by local police several minutes before the start of the race at 10:00 and will remain closed until 12:30.

Sunday will also bring problems owing to the Dinamo Zagreb - Hajduk Split match, which traditionally brings with it major traffic jams, at 15:00.

Make sure to follow our dedicated news page for more information on traffic and driving in Zagreb, as well as in the rest of the country. If it's just Zagreb you're interested in, stay up to date with everything you need to know about what's going on in the Croatian capital city by following Total Zagreb.

Driving in Croatia is always a pleasure, especially if you're taking a journey across the country, from the south to the north. Having lived in Dubrovnik for a number of years before moving up north to Zagreb, I can say with confidence that the roadtrip between Dubrovnik and Zagreb is, despite its length, a particularly impressive one, offering you a chance to see the true wealth of natural diversity Croatia boasts in all its glory.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 19th of November, 2018, the changes coming to Croatia's roads have already been implemented in various degrees by other European countries, including Norway, the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy.

Boris Huzjan (56) has been the president of the Croatian Motorway's administration (HAC) for a year, and he has the restructuring of two of the largest Croatian road companies under his belt.

In an interview for Jutarnji list, Huzjan spoke about future plans for driving in Croatia and answered the question of whether or not it really is true that the plan is record all cars when they arrive at toll booths, as well as measure their speed, and that the police would potentially punish drivers who, for example, manage to arrive from Zagreb to Dugopolje near Split in less than three hours.

"We're aware that motorways allow drivers to achieve higher speeds than allowed and that this in itself significantly undermines the level of traffic safety. That's why we've decided to support the Ministry of the Interior's (MUP) efforts to control and monitor the speed on the roads in accordance with the National Road Safety Program with one single goal: the increasing of traffic safety. So it's not a repressive measure, but a rescue of human life. These [regulations] have already been implemented in various degrees by Norway, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy...

In the experience of the Netherlands, where the average speed measurement was introduced for the first time back in 2001 on the E19 motorway between Rotterdam and Delft, prove the effect of reducing vehicle speed by 0.5 percent, and the number of deaths was reduced by more than 50 percent.

By introducing continuous automatic speed controls on our highways, traffic safety will be increased, the consequences of traffic accidents will be reduced, the behaviour of drivers will be affected, and this will also reflect the behaviour of drivers on all of the other roads. Speed ​​monitoring will be performed by measuring the average speed of a vehicle at certain sections of the highway, and with radar controls at specific locations, such as locations where there are road works going on, where speeding is the most common cause of traffic accidents.

The speed-controlled locations will be marked with traffic signs that will warn you to look at how fast you're going. We want to do this in a timely manner because we don't intend to use this as a measure to simply punish people. Our goal is to make people aware of speeding, and for this project to be applied to all roads in Croatia. I believe that the most important principle of traffic policy is human life, and that must be ahead of the need for mobility.'' concluded Huzjan.

Make sure to follow our dedicated news page for more information on driving in Croatia and much more.

How do you know when something in Croatia definitely won't happen? Usually when you're told that it definitely will. Some Zagreb traffic news as the much anticipated and highly problematic issue of closing the city's large roundabout, which was initially scheduled for much earlier on has been delayed yet again. 

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of October, 2018, Zagreb traffic is set for some considerable disruption as the date is pushed back once again. As far as crossroads, temporary roads consisting of as many as four lanes will be constructed during the roundabout's closure.

The newly planned date for the start of for the closure of the capital city's large Remetinec roundabout is now December the 15th, 2018, and works on the area are expected to continue until January the 30th, 2020, according to a report from Dnevnik.hr, who obtained this new information from the competent City Office.

To briefly recall, the information which was being circulated before now stated that the rotor should have been closed from November the 30th this year.

"As far as the bypasses are concerned, there will be a temporary road with four lanes (two in the east-west direction) and the harmonisation of all of the traffic lights in the vicinity of the works will be carried out.

There will be temporary traffic regulation signs placed near the bypass near Lučko and at the Jankomir bridge, and a large part of the traffic that is now using the roundabout is being planned to be shifted towards other traffic directions. ZET Zagreb Holding ltd will organise substitute transport for passengers [using public transport] by introducing new bus lines, and ZET will arrange for all of its existing bus lines to continue but on the new temporary roads,'' read a statement from the City of Zagreb.

Want to keep up to date with the latest news, traffic related and otherwise from Croatia? Make sure to follow our news page for news from across the country.

Attention, drivers...

Arm yourself with patience if you're in Zagreb!

Pay special attention to the temporary traffic regulations in Dubrovnik this weekend.