The amended traffic regulations which restrict speed in residential areas to 50km per hour have made a major impact. TYDEN's cover page shows the offensive road-sign, against a background of a heavily congested city road. RESPEKT, another popular weekly, features an article entitled "Stop the dictatorship of motorists". Judging by the hue and cry one would think prohibition had been introduced in the Czech republic" Marek Svehla of that weekly says. The whole nation seems to be up in arms about it, with motorists reassuring each other that the restriction is ludicrous, will not be adhered to -and cannot possibly last. Yet all Czech motorists have been asked to do is to adhere to a regulation valid in many other European states - which hopefully will reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians. At present 1,500 pedestrians a year die under the wheels of motor- vehicles - mostly children and elderly people.

"One realizes how dismal the picture really only when travelling abroad, Svehla continues. A Czech tourist in Germany or Switzerland is unexpectedly filled with a sense of tranquillity and self- confidence. Motor vehicles are quieter, they don't leave a trail of pollution, and the minute a pedestrian steps onto the road -traffic miraculously stops. The rule of the jungle no longer applies and it appears that the more powerful the vehicle the more considerate and courteous its driver. In this country the precise opposite applies. The driver is "king of the road" and the more flashy and powerful the vehicle the less its driver feels the need to apply brakes. Pedestrians weave their way around parked cars blocking parts of the sidewalk and patiently await for that precise moment when they can scurry across a zebra crossing and avoid being flattened by a speeding car usually in the act of overtaking another vehicle on a risky stretch of the road. This accounts for the fact that when a courteous and often foreign driver does stop some pedestrians are so shocked they freeze, undecided whether to exercise the right of way.

Driving in a country where courtesy to pedestrians is seen as a quirk is not easy. In fact it only takes newcomers a few days to realize that by their manner of driving they are upsetting the entire local pattern and Czech drivers use colourful language and gestures to bring that message home. Stopping at a zebra crossing will not endear them to the driver behind them - even if that driver manages to stop in time to prevent smashing into them. So like it or not , in time visiting drivers have to forget their home schooling and revive their hidden jungle instincts driving around on a permanent state of alert, Svehla notes. Well, it is time something changed this dictatorship he adds. The fact that the interior ministry actually implemented this much maligned restriction is in itself a small miracle - and the optimists among us hope that it may be the beginning of a new and more civilized order on Czech roads, he concludes.

TYDEN magazine on the other hand has covered the story by interviewing some of those behind the wheel, psychologists and road patrols. One anonymous driver of a powerful Western made model was incensed to be fined 300 crowns for driving at 75 km per hour where a 50 km limit applied. Mumbling under his breath about "police despotism" he paid up but told TYDEN reporters the new restriction would bring more rather than less accidents." I ought to know . I drive 200km around Prague each day - and the experience is awful. Pedestrians think that at 50 km any car will stop in time and they just step onto the road without fear for the consequences." Psychologist Vlasta Rehnova says the campaign should not be allowed to fade away after a few weeks. Changing this behavioral pattern will take time and it is important to let drivers know how many lives have been saved by the new regulation, she notes.

While the head of the traffic police department Zdenek Bambas says the fines arn't nearly high enough. Some drivers will simply make up their minds to pay fines over and over -but go at their own speed. The only thing they are really afraid of it to get their drivers license taken away. And of course, TYDEN's reporter adds there are ways and means to prevent that as well. According to an opinion poll carried out anonymously in 1995 every tenth Czech driver or someone close to him, has, at their own admission, successfully corrupted a police officer. " We all know that things like that happen occasionally , but it is not something we want to discuss" police spokeswoman Irena Moosova told the weekly. Fighting corruption in police ranks is difficult because when a citizen who is caught drinking and driving manages to corrupt a policeman and keep his licence - nobody is going to file a report about it. Some foreigners living in Prague have complained that police intentionally stop cars with foreign plates and ask for fines in foreign currencies. Few cases are proven. An independent and effective control mechanism targeting corruption in police ranks is something the Czech republic is still waiting for, the weekly concludes.