Police can fine many more drivers in Hungary soon!
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According to the latest police data, 92.2% of Hungarian drivers use seat belts. While this figure may seem high at first glance, usage rates in the European Union’s top-performing countries range from 96.5 to 99.2%, meaning Hungary still lags behind nations with more advanced road safety standards. Highlighting the severity of the issue, in 2024, 11% of those injured and 21% of those killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts.
Many offenders evade penalties
Last year, police issued over 206,000 administrative fines for failure to wear seat belts, totalling around HUF 3.45 billion (approx. EUR 8.8 million). However, a significant number of these fines go unpaid. Often, enforcement efforts are unsuccessful: offenders either ignore communications from authorities or refuse to identify the driver, citing a relative instead. Police officials have admitted that they are able to impose actual penalties in only 20–25% of cases.
Legal changes aim to strengthen enforcement
The situation may soon change. According to a report by Vezess.hu, Hungary’s traffic laws were amended on 5 July to allow for penalising the vehicle owner based on objective liability for seat belt violations (with some exceptions for buses). This means that if proof exists, such as camera footage from VÉDA traffic monitoring systems, the vehicle’s registered owner can be fined if anyone in the vehicle fails to wear a seat belt. If the owner can prove they weren’t driving, the fine shifts to the actual driver; otherwise, the owner bears the responsibility.
The police don’t need to save people from themselves. Instead of wasting their time on this nonsense, how about they start fining bicyclists and scooTURDS who ride their junkmobiles on sidewalks, go too fast, run red lights, go against traffic, etc.!?
THEY are the real menace and danger, not people who take a bit higher risks with their own lives.