The European Parliament wants to reduce the speed in residential areas to 30 km / h

The European Parliament (EP) wants a speed limit of 30 km / h in residential areas and zero tolerance for drink-driving. These and other recommendations of the European Commission, approved at the Strasbourg plenary by 615 to 24 votes, are a response to the fact that the EU has not been able to significantly reduce road deaths in recent years. The resolution passed without the support of the majority of Czech MEPs. Ten of them voted against, the other two abstained. The EP states that numbers are stagnating in this respect and that the Union has failed to meet its target of halving the number of victims between 2010 and 2020.

Parliament has therefore now called on the European Commission to developed and recommended rules “safe speed limitation” including “maximum speed of 30 km / h in residential areas and areas with high number of cyclists and pedestrians ”. At the same time, he mentions the possibility of keeping a higher limit on the main routes while “ensuring adequate protection for vulnerable road users” .

The new set of recommendations of the European Parliament is related to the effort to set the framework for the Union’s road safety policy for the years 2021 to 2030. It is part of a wider initiative called “Vision Zero”, which seeks to ensure that the number of road accident victims on the roads of the EU countries as close to zero as possible.

Area speed limits of 30 km / h already apply in several European cities; During the first 15 days of validity in September, the measure brought only minimal changes in traffic, the French radio station RTL recently said, referring to a study prepared for it by Coyote. The average speed of vehicles in the city allegedly decreased by one kilometer per hour from the original 23.7 km / h to 22.7 km / h. In the city in the monitored period, about four percent of vehicles decreased compared to the average. However, according to the authors of the analysis, it is not possible to reliably determine whether this was caused by the new measure.

In addition to speed limits, the European Parliament driving under the influence of alcohol. It recalls a study by the commission itself, according to which approximately a quarter of all road deaths are due to alcohol and 15 percent to addictive substances. The approved resolution also contains a number of points concerning the equipment of vehicles or transport infrastructure.

almost zero casualties ’. According to her, EU member states should, among other things, support drivers who want to improve, for example through “safe driving experience courses”. “The experience gained in these test sites can lead to the right decision when our lives reach the crossroads between life and death,” said a member of the committee EP for Transport and Tourism

“The number of victims has fallen by more than half in the last 20 years, but thousands of tragedies can certainly be prevented , “ was added by Czech MP Luděk Niedermayer (TOP 09). “The path to reduction leads through various measures, including better infrastructure, safer cars or the effective reduction of the factors behind a significant number of accidents,” said.

Unlike Konečná and Niedermayer, however, most of the 21 Czech MEPs did not support the new set of requirements. Ten of them voted against the proposal and two others abstained. “I understand the efforts to increase road safety. (…) However, I cannot agree with the proposals, which the MEPs support the YES movement, to set a maximum speed limit of 30 km / h in some parts of municipalities and cities. Experiences from cities where this limit has been set across the board are rather negative, “ Veronika Vrecionová from the ODS explained her position.

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