For the first time ever in Israel, the speed limit on one of its roads will in practice be 130 kilometer per hour. On Wednesday the legal speed limit on Road 6 (Cross Israel Highway) will be raised from 110 kilometers per hour to 120. Bearing in mind that Israel police allow a 10% margin before issuing tickets, cars will in practice be able to travel at over 130 kilometers per hour before without receiving a speed ticket.
Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz said, "raising the speed limit on fast interurban highways is being implemented within the framework of new instructions for setting speed limits in Israel that were formulated by a professional team of traffic and safety engineers. As part of this, speed limits on every highway are being adjusted according to conditions on the road."
Over the past year, the Cross Israel Highway operating company has implemented many safety improvements including changing some security barriers on various stretches, fully linking up barriers on bridges, and installing noise bumps and cats eyes in major stretches of the road.
In the first stage the speed limit will be raised from 110 to 120 kilometers per hour between the Iron interchange in the north and the Hadid Tunnels near Ben Shemen. The transport Ministry is currently working on raising the speed limit on the stretch in the south between the Sorek Interchange and the Ma'achaz Interchange.
Ministry of Transport figures found that on highways where the speed limit was raised from 100 to 110 kilometers per hour in 2011, there was no negative impact or deterioration in safety. On some stretches there was even a fall in the number of accidents.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 30, 2015
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