October the 26th, 2026 – Drivers in Croatia could need to pay 3X higher fines for driving offences as stricter traffic rules loom.
Last year, out of a total of 320,046 recorded speeding offences, cameras detected 200,137 of them, or 62 percent. Poslovni reports that a new Rulebook (Pravilnik) proposes a reduction of the so-called safety margin, which means that speed exceedances recorded by cameras will be tolerated significantly less than until now. Under the current rules, 3 km/h is deducted from the measured speed up to 50 km/h. For speeds from 51 to 100 km/h the tolerance is 10 km/h, and above 100 km/h 10 percent of the measured speed is deducted, rounded up to the higher value.
With the new rulebook, for example, a driver travelling at 86 km/h in a built-up area with a 50 km/h limit would be granted a tolerance of only five instead of the current 10 km/h. The relevant speed would be 81 km/h, which is 31 km/h above the limit, and the fine would amount to €390 instead of €130.
cameras record the vast majority of driving offences
If current trends continue, such a change would also significantly increase revenues from fines. Data from the Ministry of the Interior show that fixed speed monitoring devices recorded the majority of such offences. Last year, out of a total of 320,046 established speeding offences, cameras recorded 200,137 of them, or 62 percent. In the first eight months of this year, out of a total of 226,302 speeding offences, fixed devices recorded 145,129 of them, which is 64 percent. Data for last year also show that the most numerous were those exceeding 10 to 20 kilometres per hour above the permitted speed in built-up areas, with a total of 124,611 such cases.
more locations than cameras
Croatia currently has 206 fixed cameras that are distributed across a total of 807 locations. The Ministry of the Interior explains that the cameras are relocated at different time intervals, depending on the assessment of the competent police administration. The highest number of locations for installing cameras is in the area of the Split-Dalmatia Police Administration and the Zagreb Police Administration, with 86 in each, followed by the Međimurje Police Administration with 62 locations. The fewest are in the area of the Karlovac Police Administration, with 12, and the Požega-Slavonia Police Administration, where there are 13.
Although fixed cameras primarily serve to determine speeding, they can also record other traffic offences. “If, for example, the offence of using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seat belt or some other unlawful behaviour is visible on the recording, the driver or passenger can also be fined for such offences,” the Ministry of the Interior explains.
revenue from fines is increasing
The Ministry of the Interior states that it does not keep separate statistics on the amounts collected by type of offence, but collectively for all monetary fines under the Road Traffic Safety Act. Nevertheless, the Annual Report on the Execution of the State Budget shows that last year, 2025, €80.77 million was collected from fines for traffic and other offences under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. That is €11.6 million more than in 2024.
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