Strict speed limits to be implemented in Budapest
The Centre for Budapest Transport (Budapesti Közlekedési Központ, BKK) has published a new road safety strategy, including strict speed limits in the Hungarian capital.
The Hungarian automotive and traffic news portal vezess.hu reported on Saturday that BKK has introduced a comprehensive road safety strategy to reduce traffic accidents.
Speeding and the traffic accidents
The strategy aims to reduce road fatalities by half by 2030 and to zero by 2050. These objectives are also in line with the relevant EU directives. The strategy largely sets out the capital’s tasks for the coming years, but also includes changes to national legislation.
In addition to lower speed limits in the city centre, the project also includes the installation of speed cameras and the renewal of pedestrian crossings. The introduction of lower speed limits has been much debated over the years, but now the idea seems to be becoming a reality. The last time this issue was raised was following a fatal accident a week ago. Then, the city’s authorities indicated that they wanted to take action as soon as possible to reduce traffic accidents. They, therefore, started to cooperate with the police to tackle the problem of speeding and the resulting accidents. Details of the accident and the proposals for safer roads in Budapest can be read HERE.
Reduction of speed limits
According to the road safety strategy, speed limits need to be reduced in several areas within the city. The number of residential areas would be doubled in the city. This means that there would be twice as many areas with a 30 km/h speed limit as before. At first, experts at BKK suggested that the maximum speed on the Hungária Ringroad should be 50 km/h instead of 70 km/h, and on the Grand Boulevard only 40 km/h. However, as telex.hu has learned, this option was eventually rejected.
As for pedestrian crossings, more than half of them have already been renovated in the last 3 years. This renovation programme will continue in accordance with the new road safety strategy. Thus, in a few years’ time, all pedestrian crossings in Budapest are expected to be in perfect condition.
- Read also: Pope Francis to visit Hungary this spring
Installation of new speed cameras
According to the road safety strategy, speed cameras should be installed in at least 100 locations within Budapest.
The Budapest Police Headquarters (Budapesti Rendőr-főkapitányság, BRFK) announced a few days ago that 4 new speed cameras would be installed on the roads of Budapest. The implementation of the measure was consulted with Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest. The Mayor also shared the news via Social Media. As he wrote, this measure is in line with the new road safety strategy of the capital.
The police shared the locations with infostart.hu. Two speed cameras will be placed on the expressway to the Budapest Airport. Furthermore, one will be placed on Weiss Manfréd Road, while another one will be installed on the M6 motorway.
Read alsoPHOTOS, VIDEO: Hungarian castle hotel among the Heritage Awards winners
Source: vezess.hu, telex.hu, infostart.hu
This isn’t about safety. It’s about revenue generation. No speed cameras is going to stop a drunk driver from driving recklessly.
Speed limits are generally counter-productive.
No one want’s to die in a traffic accident, so in general, people don’t go much faster then they can handle, even without speed limits.
However with speed limits, people who could handle it are also stuck in pointless waiting, which makes travel longer, that results in “more traffic”, makes people more tired and angry, and results in more accidents overall.
It’s so easy to issue fines and generate revenue from minor speeding offences but does it really cut dangerous driving that causes accidents? A few weeks ago I watched a car drive through a red light across a train track and 2 cars behind was a police car also watching and they did nothing. Far easier to install an automatic money printing machine that catches people going a few KPH over the limit, causing no problem to anyone. We all see dangerous and stupid driving every day that is not over the speed limit because they know they will usually get away with it.
These same people are spending big to eliminate accidental deaths of any kind by 2030– car will have to have speed control chips-10 years before people will have chips installed – part of the new world order
After half a year in Hungary I’m yet to see a road accident. In my home city of St.-Petersburg, Russia, I would see several accidents every week. I attribute that to speeding: people there accelerate to much and drive recklessly. Controlling speed is not targeted as much by the road authorities. So in my view Hungarians are right to curb the speed limits and they are doing great job so far.