52.8. What is the maximum speed limit established for minibuses on this road outside populated areas?
UAЯка максимальна швидкість встановлена для мікроавтобусів на цій дорозі за межами населених пунктів?
This exam question from the Traffic Rules of Ukraine concerns the safe selection of speed outside populated areas and the driver's ability to correctly apply speed limits depending on the type of vehicle and category of road. Such tasks directly affect road safety, as speeding on high-speed roads is one of the most common causes of serious accidents, and nuances of vehicle and road classification are regularly included in the theoretical exam.
The question tests the section of the Traffic Rules regarding speed limits, specifically clause 12.6, as well as understanding the term “minibus” from clause 1.10. An important point: under the Traffic Rules of Ukraine, a minibus does not always fall under the restrictions for “buses (except minibuses),” for which a different limit is set outside populated areas. If there are no special conditions (for example, transporting organized groups of children), a minibus in this situation follows the general rules for other vehicles, and on a road with separate carriageways divided by a median strip, subparagraph (g) of clause 12.6 applies with a limit of 110 km/h.
Analysis of the answer options helps avoid confusion in the theoretical exam: 70 km/h applies to drivers with less than 2 years of experience, 80 km/h is used for minibuses when transporting organized groups of children (as well as for motorcycles and passenger cars with trailers), 90 km/h is set for buses, but specifically “except minibuses.” 100 km/h is not a basic limit in clause 12.6 for these conditions. Therefore, the correct limit for this road outside populated areas for a minibus without additional circumstances corresponds to the norm of 12.6 and is 110 km/h.
Clause 1.10 (term “Minibus”)
Minibus — a single-deck bus with no more than seventeen seats, including the driver’s seat.
Clause 12.6
Outside populated areas, on all roads and on roads passing through populated areas marked with sign 5.51 “Start of a populated area”, it is permitted to drive at the following speeds: a) buses (minibuses) transporting organized groups of children, passenger cars with trailers, and motorcycles — no more than 80 km/h; b) vehicles driven by drivers with less than 2 years of experience — no more than 70 km/h; c) trucks carrying people in the cargo area, and mopeds — no more than 60 km/h; d) buses (except minibuses) — no more than 90 km/h; e) other vehicles: on a road marked with road sign 5.1 “Motorway” — no more than 130 km/h, on a road with separate carriageways divided by a median strip — no more than 110 km/h, on other roads — no more than 90 km/h.
Brief application: a minibus (as a separate category, distinct from “bus (except minibuses)”) outside populated areas falls under subclause e) “other vehicles”, unless special cases apply (for example, transporting organized groups of children).
Clause 33.5.1 — 33 “Road signs”, 5 “Informational and direction signs”, sign 5.1 “Motorway”
“Motorway” — a road on which special traffic conditions established by Section 27 of these Rules apply.
Clause 33.5.1 — 33 “Road signs”, 5 “Informational and direction signs”, sign 5.51 “Start of a populated area”
“Start of a populated area” — the name and beginning of a populated area where the requirements of these Rules apply, determining the traffic order within populated areas.
That is, the correct answer is “110 km/h”, given that according to clause 12.6 (subclause e) for other vehicles (including minibuses) on a road with separate carriageways divided by a median strip, outside populated areas, the limit is set at 110 km/h.
To correctly determine the maximum speed, you first need to understand which vehicle and which type of road are being referred to. According to the Traffic Rules, a minibus is defined as a single-deck bus with no more than 17 seats, including the driver's seat. That is, a minibus is not automatically equated to a “regular bus” for all speed limits.
Next, we apply clause 12.6 of the Traffic Rules, which sets the permitted speeds outside populated areas depending on the type of road and vehicle. For buses (except minibuses), a limit of 90 km/h is specified, but this rule does not apply to minibuses unless a separate special condition is specified for them.
Separate lower limits for minibuses in clause 12.6 apply only to a specific situation: when a minibus is transporting organized groups of children (then the limit is 80 km/h). The question does not mention such transportation, so we apply the general rules for “other vehicles.”
On the depicted road outside a populated area, we have a highway with separate carriageways divided by a median strip. For such a road, clause 12.6 sets a maximum speed of 110 km/h for “other vehicles,” which in this situation includes the minibus.
Therefore, the correct answer is “110 km/h,” since outside populated areas on a road with a median strip, for a minibus (when there are no conditions regarding the transportation of children), the general limit of 110 km/h under clause 12.6 of the Traffic Rules applies.