Prague -  Transport Minister Řebíček wants the Czech highway speed limit raised up to 160 km per hour.An expert commission which he founded  however, firmly opposes his proposal.

A group of MPs are to introduce an amendment to the law on traffic that includes a higher speed limit in October.

Only in some highways

Despite the fact that the expert commission opposes the amendment, the Government Committee on Traffic Communication Security has already approved it.

"160 km/h would be allowed only in some newly built parts of the highway, not for example on today's D1," the ministry's spokesman Hanzelka explained. This means a part of the D11 highway between Poděbrady and Hradec Králové, or the D5 highway in Plzeň region.

Majority of experts disagree

Traffic expert Václav Špička is convinced that this measure will not make Czech highways any safer. "Drivers tend to use the speed limit at maximum. Now they drive 130 km/h and expect 10 km/h difference to be tolerated," said Špička, explaining that in the case of 160 km/h limit they will behave in the same way.

Also, the new limit will increase speed difference among cars, as some cars will be able to reach the limit, others will not and that could influence the safety on highways too, warned Špička. That's why the majority of the members of the ministry's special commission disagreed with the draft amendment.

However, some experts are in favor of the amendment. "In cases when the road is dry and good, there is no problem to drive so fast," Stanislav Huml said, adding that the alleged increase of the speed gap among cars is a false alarm. Huml believes it all depends on the behavior of the drivers.