Greece lowers speed limits as of 1st January 2026 and introduces significantly higher fines for speeding violations.

Speeding is generally found to be the most common transgression and it is also the one most likely to result in accidents, says an article on the motoring website www.carandmotor.gr: “One of the offences which lies at the centre of the new strategy is exceeding the speed limit, one of the most severe and most frequent infractions, which is immediately associated with road accidents, especially in populated areas with increased traffic and the presence of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, users of electric scooters and cyclists.”

For this reason, as announced in September, new speed limits are being enforced from 1st January. The main change is a blanket 30 km/h limit on urban streets, except where otherwise specified, but there are also higher limits for different types of urban roads. Again according to Car and Motor: “Exceptions are one-way streets with at least two lanes as well as two-way streets with two lanes in each direction and a central divider, where the maximum permitted speed is 50 km/h.” On highways there are different speed limits for different categories of vehicle. The accompanying tables give details of how the new limits are to be applied, together with the fines imposed for infractions.

The problem of enforcement
As with all legislation, the effectiveness of the new limits depend on the rigour with which they are enforced, but also how they are applied in real world conditions. A blanket speed limit is easily applied in an urban environment, but less so in the settlements of the Cretan countryside, where signs are often scarce and the intended limit may not be clear. Car and Motor points out that there is provision for this in the legislation: “Article 24 of the code is quite clear: the general speed limit only applies if there is no sign showing a different speed. The limit shown on signs erected by the relevant municipality or region always supersedes the general limit for built-up areas.”

The entrance to Kolymbari from the direction of the VOAK carries a 50 km/h restriction sign, but there are no signs on the road down from Afrata.

However such signage as there is is not always consistent. Entering Kolymbari from the direction of the VOAK, there is a speed limit sign of 50 km/h, which is briefly reduced to 40 km/h as the road passes the school. This would seem to be confirmed by the exit from Spilia towards Kolymbari, where the village limit of 40 km/h is clearly replaced with a sign showing 50 km /h. On the other hand, coming down into Kolymbari from Afrata there is no sign at all, which might lead one to suppose that the general limit of 30 km/h applies. The lack of any signage on the old National Road east towards Tavronitis would suggest that if the Kolymbari limit is in fact 50 km/h, it applies all the way towards Platanias, where illuminated signs conveniently warn one if one is exceeding the speed limit. No doubt only an encounter with a police patrol might serve to clarify any uncertainties, at which point it might be too late to avoid a fine or the loss of one’s licence. (Exceeding the speed limit by upwards of 20 km/h will get you a fine and a 20-day licence suspension.)

Sources: kolymbaricourier.com and tovima.gr