In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), today, May 27, the new Law on Amendments to the Law on the Basics of Traffic Safety on Roads in BiH (ZOBS) comes into force.
New legal provisions bring drastically harsher penalties, and the police will begin strict application of the new rules from Wednesday with the aim of reducing the number of traffic accidents with the most serious consequences.
“Hanged Ride”
The most significant innovation in the law is the introduction of the “suspended driving” offense, for which high fines are provided, as well as the possibility of permanent confiscation of the vehicle.
Drivers will be severely sanctioned if they commit one of the following violations within 20 minutes:
– they go through a red light two or more times within 20 minutes
– in the settlement they drive 40 km/h above the permitted speed limit, i.e. outside the settlement 60 km/h above the permitted speed limit
– overtaking the column over a continuous (solid) line
– drive a vehicle with more than 1.50 g/kg of alcohol in the blood or under the influence of narcotics and other psychoactive substances
A penalty of 2,000 to 3,000 KM, revocation of a driver’s license for six months, two penalty points, and the possibility of permanent confiscation of the vehicle are prescribed for “suspended driving”.
Zero tolerance for all major violations
The new law also introduces zero tolerance for misdemeanors that were previously more often punished more leniently.
Penalties for using a mobile phone while driving, except in the case of the “hands-free” system, have been significantly increased, as well as for not using the driver’s and passenger’s seat belt.
Penalties for using devices that interfere with the operation of police speed cameras have also been tightened.
Maximum fines of up to 5,000 convertible marks are provided for the most serious violations of traffic rules.
From Wednesday, the police will specifically control multiple repeat offenders, and the focus will be on speed, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and passing through a red light.
