A fine of up to 2500 crowns is threatened from Saturday by pedestrians who will move in poor visibility on the road outside the village and in other designated places without mandatory reflective elements. This stems from an amendment to the Road Act, which will come into effect this Saturday. In particular, the measure should contribute to the safety of pedestrians, who often fall victim to traffic accidents in poor visibility.
The obligation to wear reflective elements for pedestrians will apply in poorly lit places, in municipalities especially in places where there is no pavement and pedestrians move along the side of the road. If pedestrians are not marked with reflective tapes or other elements, for example, they face up to two thousand crowns in block proceedings, while in administrative proceedings they are penalized in the range of CZK 1,500 to 2,500. Initially, however, according to the Ministry, the police will not penalize people but will negotiate and distribute reflective tapes and bags.
Police, in cooperation with Besip, are also planning to explain to people how to wear the tapes. “The strap should be located on the side facing the center of the road. So that the driver who is coming against me or from behind me can see how far as a pedestrian who goes along the side of the road or on the side of the road,” said Besip boss Martin Farář for Czech Radio.
The new facility mainly monitors pedestrian safety. Between 2012 and 2015, 523 pedestrians died on the roads, including 303 at night. Last year alone, 72 people died because they were not seen at night, the Ministry of Transport said. This repeatedly points out that to increase safety, it is not necessary to wear a reflective vest or another bulky reflective element, but even a luminous strip that can be easily removed from the pocket and placed on the sleeve. Reflective material elements increase pedestrian visibility in the dark up to 200 meters.
However, the amendment to the Road Act will not only apply to pedestrians. From Saturday it will also be possible to withdraw a driver’s license for half a year for drivers crossing the railway crossing at the time of signaling the arrival of the train. The fine for such an offense has not yet increased, but in the future, it is considered to increase from 5,000 crowns to five times.
Municipalities will also have the right to prohibit segway operation either using a traffic sign or by regulation, based on a related degree. The amendment also stipulates that people on these vehicles will be able to ride “at a speed comparable to that of walking”.