New Prague Litter Law
 

There is a new Prague litter law that has gone in effect. This is also in some other Czech cities. The Czech police can give you an on the spot 1000 crown fine (This is around $66 U.S.). Some of the things that fall under this are:

Throwing cigarette butts on the ground.
Throwing food on the ground.
Feeding the pigeons.
Spitting on the sidewalk.
Urinating on the sidewalk.
Chewing gum on sidewalk.
Paper on the ground.

And probably a few others.

Sounds like Singapore with cheaper fines.

I'm all for it, and I'd be in favor of the same laws in the U.S.

donn't worry about this rule. Especially that one according to it is not possible to drink alcohol in parks. Policemen don't care about tourists.

Erm, sorry? All these points in theory should not require laws and punishments because it ought to go without saying that one does NOT throw one's rubbish everywhere, eh? Unfortunately some people have to be forced to learn the hard way.

<i>donn't worry about this rule. Especially that one according to it is not possible to drink alcohol in parks. Policemen don't care about tourists.</i>

Sorry, but we got nailed (and fined on the spot) in Prague for not having a ticket for the funicular (we had one going legs were wobbly couldn't after climbing up and down the mini-Eiffel tower, and the ticket office was closed, so we just hopped on - MISTAKE). Not only did we get fined on the spot, but since we didn't have the correct amount of the fine, they marched us to the nearest ATM to take the money out and hand it over!! Fortunately, it was only the equivalent of about $35USD, and makes for a great travel story.

in the first week over 500 people were stopped because of these new laws, 150 + were fined. These are on the spot fines which the Police love and I can assure you that tourists will be stopped too if not targeted as they will be able to come up with the fine for sure. The drinking ban is only in selected locations and is more geared to getting the vagrants off the street

The electronic signboards in Paris are pointing out at the moment that one cigarette butt on the ground pollutes 4 liters of water.

I'm all for fining smokers for littering - couldn't care a less if they smoke, but smokers have no right to trash public space. It takes 10 years for a cigarette butt to disintegrate - and the by-products are toxic.

I was just in Torino - saw a majority of smokers always disposing of their cigarettes properly.

Agree completely. Many smokers seem to believe that cigarette butts evaporate into nirvana by magic.

And here in the US we have fines for littering and speeding on our interstate highways. I've never seen ANYONE pulled over for the former and only very rarely see anyone stopped for the latter. You can drive for hours on Pennsylvania and New York highways and never see a cop. I assume they are doing more imortant work.

In Prague the cops ought to consider keeping an eye on the everpresent pickpockets instead of worrying about petty crimes.

oh this is great news!
i hated prague
yep it's a strong emotive word but i still stick by it- i was sooo looking forward to seeing prague so my disappointment upon seeing the grubbiness and the litter was acute
we had just been to vienna which was so pristine and ironically it is now one of our fav cities ( ironic because we really didnt even want to go there but were hellbent on seeing prague and so had to travel through vienna three times because of our itinerary that trip)

to see river under the charles bridge so polluted so chunky with rubbish was a heartbreak

the streets were littered with so many butts that it drew my eye more often to the road than to the magnificent architecture around me

the facades of the beautiful buildings ( described as disney-esque in so many reports id read) were peeling and grubbed over with years of neglect

the tourist face of prague was sloppy, underhanded, gruff and still brings a shiver of revulsion

i am so pleased that they have taken a strong hand now

it could indeed be very beautiful but ill still give it a wide berth...
ill plunge into russia for a last dip into eastern/ cenrtal europe but that will be it for me

dmlove - I got nailed for not having a correct tram ticket (that was many years ago), and it was about $15 then. If the ticket office was closed, there should be a machine there where you can buy tix (just a heads up for others who may have the same situation). Sorry you got caught, but touristy areas are about the only places in Prague where I've seen cops (and people PRETENDING to be cops) fine people.

<i>(and people PRETENDING to be cops)</i>

Well, that never even occurred to us!! (they were wearing uniforms). Anyway, it was a longer story actually -- there was a ticket machine, but the &quot;bills&quot; part was out of order, and we had no coins!

I am so shocked by the post of the previous poster - hate Prague? I've never ever heard anyone say that before. We were there in 2004 and not only loved Prague, I don't recall litter, or peeling buildings, or a bad &quot;tourist face&quot;. Has something changed radically in these past four years?

About those &quot;pretend&quot; cops...

This happens in other cities, as well, of course. In my Russian guide book, it says that if a &quot;cop&quot; asks to see your passport, hold it up to them, but do not let go!!! lol!!!

I've seen many many people stopped in the Prague metro, with police asking to see tickets and/or ID. It really is a good idea to carry at least a copy of your passport with you. I believe it is a rule there that you should have that kind of ID on you.

Worst cops were in Moscow. It was 11 PM, and closing time at the mall. A security guard held up his rifle to me, and pointed to the exit door, while yelling something in Russian! Needless to say, I said &quot;OK!&quot; in a sheepish voice, and promptly got the heck out! ;-)

The littering I hate absolutely worst is chewing gum. Cigarette butts, food, paper--they can all be picked up--but gum sticks to the ground and becomes a black spot that never seems to go away.