Hungarian gov't to increase toll charges for heavy goods vehicles on main roads

By the end of September this year, there had been 126 road accidents caused by trucks in Hungary, 15 of which were fatal. A statement from the Ministry of Construction and Transport highlights that

a significant proportion of these accidents were serious, even fatal, accidents caused by trucks in populated areas.

In several cases, heavy vehicles ran over pedestrians or crashed into buildings.

However, motorways and highways are less risky in terms of traffic safety, as the lanes are physically separated in each direction, they avoid populated areas, and their traffic is not obstructed by slow-moving vehicles, the statement argues. The aim of the government package of measures, which has now been adopted and will come into force in January next year, is therefore to divert heavy goods vehicles – unless they directly serve the residents of a given area or group of settlements

– from lower-toll main roads or toll-free secondary roads to the four-lane The aim is to reduce congestion on the main roads and to ensure that the tolls collected are used to improve the quality of the roads.

In addition to improving the transport safety and quality of life of citizens living in rural areas, this measure also has the advantage of generating additional revenue for the state, which can then be used to develop the domestic road network.

The measures include:

• National weight restriction program on 60 new locations. Weight restriction signs are expected to be installed on all affected road sections by the end of December 2025. As the program progresses, additional requests from local governments and the public will be processed by the Ministry of Construction and Transport, with new requests expected to be completed by March 2026.

• Emelkednek a tehergépjárművekre vonatkozó útdíjak a főutakon.

  Tolls for trucks on main roads are going up. The distance-based tolls payable by trucks will change as follows. The toll increase will apply to expressways (categories J2–J5, M2–M3), while on main roads, a toll level close to that of expressways will come into effect for truck categories (J2–J5).
• A uniform and more restrictive penalty system: penalties for traffic violations are increasing: in the distance-based toll system, administrative penalties for unauthorized road use for periods of 0-120 minutes, for example, will increase by 30%. The fine for violating "Restricted Traffic Zone," "Weight Restriction," and "No Entry for Trucks" signs will increase to HUF 100,000 from the previous HUF 47,000.

According to the announcement, the current government decision was preceded by a nationwide traffic survey, which specifically analyzed situations where trucks choose lower-toll main roads or toll-free side roads instead of expressways. The study identified lower tolls as the primary reason for leaving the four-lane road network, in addition to avoiding potential congestion. According to experts' calculations,

a toll increase could result in a 5-15% shift in traffic from the main road network to the expressway network.

The shift will be greater where weight restrictions are also introduced.

Cover photo (for illustration purposes only): Shutterstock