Police lower over-the-limit tolerance

Motorists who go slightly over the speed limit by relying on police tolerance will need to make new calculations next week, following a decision by the transport ministry.

According to local media, the Road Safety council has approved a new guideline that would instruct traffic police to drop their tolerance down to 10% plus 2 kilometres per hour in certain speed zones.

The transport ministry’s road safety council has approved a police recommendation that reduces the tolerance level for speeding, effectively dropping tolerance from 20% over the limit down to 10% plus 2kph in some urban and rural roads.

The new measure, which is based on the British model, is set to go into effect on October 1, meaning that police officers have been instructed to give out citations under the new guidance a week from Thursday.

Under the new rule, a car moving 35 kilometres on a road where the speed limit is 30kph would not be cited, but if the radar catches it going 36 and over, then a police officer can issue a citation.

A vehicle going 58 kilometres or faster in a 50kph zone in urban and rural settings could also be cited. Currently, a 20% speed tolerance on such roads means that car moving up to 62kph would not be stopped for speeding.

Motorists who reach up to 73.5 kilometres in a 65kph zone will be fine, but if they go 74 and higher, then they will be ticketed under the new rules.

But authorities have clarified that the speed tolerance on motorways and highways remains at 20%, which translates to 120 kilometres in a 100kph zone and 97 kilometres in an 80 kph zone.

Local reports said there was a push to lower the tolerance on highways, but officials had determined the problem with road fatalities was in built areas and on rural roads, with highway deaths being very rare.