Attention! This new measure will have a serious impact on motorists in Budapest
Budapest has acquired 45 speed cameras, which will be installed before the end of August. The capital hopes that this will drastically reduce the number of fatal accidents.
Rampant fatal accidents in Budapest
Gergely Karácsony, Mayor of Budapest, wants to see a drastic reduction in the number of fatal accidents in the Hungarian capital. “There is another important goal: in the long term, I want to reduce the number of fatal accidents in the city to zero, like absolute zero. The example of several European cities shows that this is not an impossible goal. Yes, because of my father’s death, I have a personal commitment and sentiments about this. Every year, there are about a thousand serious traffic accidents in Budapest, and I think it is our common cause, free of politics, to reduce this number substantially – said Gergely Karácsony in 2020 on his Facebook page. The opposition politician’s father died in a traffic accident.
This has been a failure for the past 3 years, but the events of the past few weeks have spurred Hungarian politicians to action again.
In the spring of 2023, a drunk driver ploughed into a tram stop, killing a woman. Then Karácsony set a new goal: “To reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities in road accidents in Budapest by 50 percent by 2030 and to zero by 2050.”
At the beginning of July, another tragedy occurred on Árpád Bridge in the Hungarian capital when cars racing each other caused an accident.
Speed cameras to fight accidents
These tragic cases further fueled Karácsony’s determination. To this end, Budapest has acquired 45 new speed cameras. Previously, district II. had installed seven new speed cameras on its own.
The Hungarian police told 24.hu that the installation of speedometers will be assessed on an individual basis. Technical capability and road safety risks have also become important criteria. The former includes the fact that they can be installed on road brackets that are currently in use and that the low-current power supply point is built in. According to the information, the first cameras will be installed in August.
Earlier, it was reported that 300 speed cameras were planned initially. The Budapest Transport Centre cites Paris as an example. The French capital operates 50 speed cameras, while Budapest currently has only 4 permanent speed cameras. According to BKK, Budapest would need around 100 cameras installed.