Public Announcements

New Traffic Laws, effective July 1, 2006

Law No. 411/2005 Sb. governing the rules of the road comes into force on July 1, 2006. The main aim of the new law is to increase road safety in the Czech Republic and to bring Czech law into line with that of the rest of the EU. The law contains other preventative measures, introduces a new points system, increases fines for traffic offences and gives the Police new powers.

The main changes to the law are:
·        From now on all motor vehicles will have to keep headlights on night and day, year round.
·        Children under 150cm and weighing less than 36kg can now only be carried in a special child’s seat on every type of road.
·        Cyclists under 18 years of age must now wear an approved cycling helmet at all times when on the road.
·        Drivers must signal when overtaking a cyclist.
·        Using a telephone while behind the wheel increases the risk of accidents happening, so from now on drivers will not be permitted to hold a mobile telephone in their hand or in any other way (for instance wedged between their head and shoulder). The use of hands free sets will be permitted.
·        The new law allows parking parallel to the curb and parking at an angle to and/or facing the curb, even if there is no traffic sign informing drivers they may do this. However, when parked, at least one 3m-wide lane must remain free in the road in both directions.
·        The new law also reaffirms that when overtaking into a free lane on a road with two or more lanes, the right-hand rule applies, meaning vehicles in the right lane have priority when changing into the middle lane.
·        There have also been alterations made to the rules governing roundabouts. These state that a driver wishing to join a roundabout does not have to indicate. The driver must signal only when changing lanes left and right and when leaving the roundabout.
·        In the Czech Republic it is now illegal to use radar detectors, which up until now have been used against laser speed detectors. Using such a device will incur a fine of up to 100,000K�?.
·        During traffic jams on motorways and other major roads drivers must leave the hard shoulder free for use by the emergency services.
·        The permissible Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) continues to be 0%, meaning no alcohol in the blood stream is permitted while operating a vehicle.  The minimum fine for driving with BAC above 0% has increased to CZK 25,000.

An illustrated guide to the rules is available online here.