A ban on trucks overtaking other vehicles on a 2+1 section of the Pärnu-Tallinn highway took effect Thursday. It is the first restriction of its kind in Estonia.
Until now, signs prohibiting trucks from overtaking other vehicles have not been seen on Estonian roads.
"The overtaking lanes on this stretch are shorter than on other similar sections. Another important factor is that heavy vehicles account for a very large share of traffic on this heavily traveled road, making up 25 percent of all traffic. We see every day that trucks overtaking one another is sometimes unreasonable. When a long convoy of trucks is traveling along the road and one starts overtaking another, it certainly isn't safe for other road users either," said Viktor Kisseljov, head of the northern division of the Transport Administration's road maintenance service.
The restriction aims to ensure smoother traffic flow and allow passenger car drivers to overtake slower-moving trucks.
According to statistics from the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund, 20 accidents occur annually on this stretch of road, involving vehicles changing lanes or hitting roadside barriers. Similar restrictions on trucks are already in place in Germany and Sweden.
"The results there showed a significant reduction in traffic accidents. In Germany, accidents fell by 30 percent and in Sweden by as much as 50 percent," said Lauri Potsepp, a member of the Estonian Traffic Insurance Fund's management board.
Police say the most important aspect of any change to traffic regulations is informing road users and they do not plan to step up enforcement on this stretch of highway.
"At the moment, we have no plans to carry out additional enforcement there because we expect people to act responsibly and obey traffic rules," said Sirle Loigo, head of the Police and Border Guard Board's traffic enforcement unit.
There are no plans to introduce the new restriction on Estonia's other 2+1 highways, as their overtaking lanes are nearly twice as long. On the Pärnu highway, however, they range from 900 to 1,500 meters in length. The Transport Administration plans to upgrade the Ääsmäe-Kustja section to a four-lane divided highway, but that will not happen until the next decade.
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