The Norwegian government has no doubts. The country's drivers should be banned from using traffic alarms before the summer. It is said to be disturbing the police.
The Norwegian government wants to ban traffic alarms. A bill to ban the use of traffic alarms in Norway is underway. The ban could come into effect before the summer.
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård from the Labour Party (AP) has spoken out about the issue. According to the minister, devices that warn drivers of traffic controls are a growing problem.
This is what the newspaper VG writes.
He justifies the request for a ban by saying that the purpose of traffic control is to reduce risky behavior in traffic.
The minister believes that advance knowledge of traffic control is the same as directly opposing the police.
Traffic alerts can warn about speed checks
He believes that this could lead to a deterioration in traffic safety.
– This type of device that warns drivers about traffic controls is a growing problem. The main purpose of such controls is to eliminate risky behavior such as speeding, drunkenness and inattention.
– If it is to work as intended, drivers should not know anything about the police in advance. This helps to make the roads more unsafe.
Today, drivers can get information about traffic controls via apps and physical traffic alerts. Installing a small box in the car further enables drivers to warn others about traffic controls, animals and obstacles on the road.
The bill was sent for consultation on Friday. After that, a response deadline of four weeks follows. The proposal implies that violation of the ban costs a fine of 10,200 Norwegian kroner. This means that it is cheaper to talk on a handheld mobile phone. Read more about it here .
The goal is for the Storting to adopt the proposal before the summer.
Safedrive, one of the largest players in the traffic alarm market, can look forward to a business foundation that comes to a complete standstill with the ban.
The company also claims that their product contributes to increasing road safety. They emphasize that warnings about animals, objects and incidents on and around the road can reduce the risk of accidents.
The company also makes it clear that the system is not used to warn against drug tests, and that such warnings between drivers are deleted.
Nor is there support for the government's proposal all the way around the Storting. The Progress Party's transport policy spokesman, Frank Sve, is completely against it.
He believes that traffic alarms prevent traffic accidents and improve road safety. He has promised to work to lift a possible ban.
Sve believes that it makes more sense to build better roads in Norway instead of hitting drivers with bans. Police resources should not be used to chase drivers. At least not those with traffic alarms, says the spokesman.
The quality of the roads is more important if you want to avoid accidents. The government should rather increase the budget for road maintenance than spend the police's scarce resources chasing drivers with traffic alarms, Sve tells the news agency NTB.
