The Dálnice D3 roadway is most likely to be the first domestic highway where it will be possible to travel at 150 km/h. The Czech Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD) recently announced a tender for the procurement of variable traffic signs for the approximately 50-kilometer stretch from Tábor to České Budějovice. The subject of the tender is the delivery and installation of variable traffic signs on the D3 motorway to increase the maximum permitted speed to 150 km/h between kilometers 80 and 130 of the D3, as well as the operation and maintenance of these systems for five years after commissioning – the announcement states. The estimated cost of the project is 90 million crowns.
The signs will be powered by a combination of solar energy and batteries and will be wirelessly controlled. There are nine grade-separated junctions and a two-sided rest area on the stretch. The Ministry of Transport was given the legal possibility by a governmental amendment of the road traffic law, effective from January, to increase the allowed maximum speed on motorways from 130 km/h to 150 km/h. This step is central to the government's program statement and is conditional, among other things, on good visibility conditions. However, this speed increase is being realized just as other countries are considering speed reduction. Previously, the Netherlands already took this step, and it is similarly addressed in Germany, where unlimited speed is far from applicable everywhere. The debate also continues in Austria and other states. The reasons are the same everywhere: lower consumption, lower emissions, greater safety. "Safety issues should be of primary importance, not convenience, time savings, and the like. All that can be added is that in those countries with the fewest fatal accidents in the world, namely the Scandinavian countries, the usual maximum speed on motorways is 100 km/h. The European Commission's traffic safety recommendation is 110 km/h," said Igor Sirota from ÚAMK to Aktualne.cz last year. 253 comments
