Minister plans tougher traffic laws to curb speeding
Sunday 15th November 2026 on 17:01 in
Iceland
Iceland’s infrastructure minister plans to put major changes to traffic laws out for public consultation in the coming days, mbl.is reported, announcing the plans at a memorial event for road-crash victims on Sunday.
Eyjólfur Ármannsson said the changes would strengthen road safety and help curb speeding, including by giving police greater powers to respond to serious traffic offences. A separate education and public-awareness campaign on speeding will also be launched.
This year’s memorial day focused on young road users and speeding among young people. The Transport Authority says speeding is one of the main causes of serious and fatal crashes involving young people. However, its data show that young drivers have improved in recent years, and that crashes caused by young drivers and injuries to young people in cars have fallen substantially over the past 20 years.
“We must respond and tackle risky behaviour in traffic through a coordinated effort by all of us, society as a whole,” Ármannsson said.
Memorial events were held at 17 locations across Iceland, organised with local units of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue and other emergency services. In Reykjavík, the ceremony took place by the helicopter pad at the emergency department of Landspítali hospital in Fossvogur. President Halla Tómasdóttir also spoke.
Haraldur Már Haraldsson, the day’s main speaker, shared his experience of causing a fatal crash that killed a childhood friend when he was young and speeding. The MH choir performed the day’s signature song, “I Think of Angels”, written by KK in memory of his sister, who died in a traffic crash in the United States in 1992. A recording by KK and his sister Ellen was played simultaneously on all radio stations at 2 p.m.
A new Transport Authority survey found that just over 26 per cent of Icelanders have lost a close relative or friend in a traffic crash. The memorial day is observed internationally under the auspices of the United Nations on the third Sunday in November. This was the 16th time it has been held in Iceland.