Interior Ministry proposes setting 50 km/h speed limit in populated localities

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has proposed limiting traffic speed in Ukraine's populated localities from 60 km/h to 50 km/h.

He said this at a government meeting on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"There's a simple comparison. Breaking distance at a speed of 60 km/h is 55 meters, and the probability of a fatality when colliding with a pedestrian is 82%, whereas breaking distance at a speed of 50 km/h will be 40 meters, and the probability of a fatality will shrink to 20%," Avakov said.

He added that it was proposed to increase by several times the amount of fines for a number of administrative offenses. In particular, it is planned to set a fine of UAH 3,400 (now it is UAH 510) for exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit. It is proposed to establish the same amount of a fine for escaping the scene of a road accident and also envisage the possibility of suspending the driver's license for a period of up to six months.

op