Changes to Hungary's traffic regulations announced

Economy Minister János Kóka announced five changes to Hungary's traffic regulations (KRESZ) at an elementary school today, writes fn.hu. The ministry hopes the number of accidents will fall drastically after the new regulations come into effect.

According to the new KRESZ, pedestrians and cyclists will be required to wear reflective vests outside inhabited areas during bad visibility and at night. Children traveling in cars will have to be placed in a child seat, and passengers of commuter buses will be required to wear a seatbelt. (Though not every bus can be fitted with them.)

School buses will have to be marked as such, and will be required to be fitted with child seats and seatbelts. Children under 14 or less than 135 centimeters tall will have to travel in a child seat.

The ministry has launched an online vote on the planned changes at gkm.gov.hu, even though professional consultation has finished. Voting will close on January 15; the new regulations are expected to become effective in the first half of 2007.

Kóka said the changes were necessary, as 30,000 people die annually in road accidents in Hungary, including 2,500 children.

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