Sep3, 2008: Government Approves Yearlong Ban on Weekend Truck Driving, Premier To Negotiate with Haulage Contractors

At its meeting today, the Czech Government has approved a motion by Transportation Minister Aleš Řebíček and Environment Minister Martin Bursík to impose weekend limits on truck driving all year round. The limitation is to apply to vehicles over 7.5 tons, on Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from midnight to 10:00 p.m. The Ministers have also commissioned the Premier to hold further talks with the haulage contractors. 

“The path to the Government’s agreement on weekend limits on truck driving has taken fifteen months. It meets one of the key items of the Government programme. People will be able to take some rest from noise and polluted air at least during the weekends. The ban is expected to bring smoother weekend traffic and less road accidents,“ Martin Bursík, the Vice Premier and Environment Minister, has told today’s press conference. 

The weekend truck driving ban is the result of more than year-long negotiations between the Transportation Ministry and the Ministry of the Environment. The Government has now commissioned the Transportation Minister to draw up a final proposal, and asked Premier Mirek Topolánek to hold further talks with the Association of Haulage Contractors - ČESMAD Bohemia. “During our recent meeting with haulage contractors we discussed the price of diesel oil and consumer tax relief, which led to the possibility of discount for quantity. There is still a lot of topics to be solved,“ Transportation Minister Aleš Řebíček was quoted as saying. 

The members of the Government have also approved changes in the country’s Road Traffic Act and the Rules of Criminal Procedure according to which the local police will be able to continue measuring driving speed of vehicles. “This returns to the local police its powers taken away during the voting on the law in the House of Deputies,“ Vice Premier and Minister for Regional Development Jiří Čunek explained. 

The Government has also adjourned discussion of the amendment to the Armed Forces Act, amendment to the Act on serving prison terms or the conclusion of the Supreme Control Office on the construction of the Justice Complex in Brno. On the other hand, the Ministers have taken note of another conclusion of the Supreme Control Office on investment projects of the Czech Republic’s Prison Service or the position of the Ministry of Education to the control of “funds granted to art universities“.