As of January 2026, controversial rules will enter into force in Slovakia, which limit the speed on pavements to 6 km/h – this applies to everyone, including pedestrians.

Revolution in Road Law

The Slovak Parliament adopted in October 2025 an amendment to the Road Traffic Act, which introduces the so-called "speed of walking" on sidewalks in a built-up area. The maximum limit is 6 km/h, which in practice means the pace of vigorous walking, but definitely slower than jogging. The new rules cover all users of pavements – pedestrians, roller skaters, electric scooter users and cyclists.

For exceeding the speed limit there is a fine of EUR 50, or about PLN 210. This is much more than most pedestrian tickets in Poland, which usually oscillate between 50-100 PLN.

Purpose or absurd

The author of the controversial project is Žubomír Vážný, former Minister of Transport and MP of the Smer Party. The official purpose of the amendment is to increase pedestrian safety and reduce the number of collisions with electric scooter users and scooters that have become a serious problem in Bratislava, Košice or Trnava.

The legislators argue that the new law will help the police objectively determine whether the speed limit has not been exceeded in the pedestrian zone. In practice, it is mainly about punishing users of electric scooters moving on pavements at a speed of 10-15 km/h.

Questions No Answer

The main problem with the new rules is the lack of clear enforcement rules. For now, it is not known whether special police patrols, photo-radiators or other solutions will appear on the sidewalks. Traffic experts express scepticism – how to measure in practice whether the pedestrians exceeded the speed by one kilometer?

The average speed of normal walking is between 4 and 5 km/h, while 6.4 km/h is already considered to be a moderate rate for a person in excellent condition. This makes runners, people rush to work or even people with a naturally faster pace of march can unwittingly break the new law.