The new Road Act that was approved on December 3 is designed to be an effective tool for fighting reckless driving, said Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák after the parliamentary session.
"But it's not a cure-all device," he added.
Kaliňák said that he was disappointed that the opposition refrained from voting on the Act, even though most of its amendment proposals were approved as well.
One widely-discussed measure in the new Act was the lowering of the maximum-speed limit in towns and villages from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. Kaliňák said that this will increase the chances of survival for both pedestrians and passengers in case of an accident.
HZDS MP Jan Kovarčík, who wanted the existing speed limit to be retained, said that the current road network in Slovakia isn't dense enough for such a limit, and that traffic jams will form on the roads as a result.
The new Road Act, which will take effect as of January 1, 2009, will make it compulsory to keep headlights switched on all year round. It will also ban phone calls while driving, increase fines for violations of the Road Act, lower the speed limit in towns and villages, make winter tyres compulsory on roads covered by snow and oblige cyclists to wear helmets outside of towns and villages.
"The goal of the new regulations ... is to increase safety on the roads and make drivers more disciplined, which will reduce the number of accidents and their victims," Kaliňák said. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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