Drivers face longer arm of the law in the European Union

EU states will pursue bad drivers in their home countries.Picture / Getty Images

EU is chasing traffic offenders across national borders, says Jamie Merrill

British motorists caught speeding in their own vehicles on the Continent could have fines sent to their home addresses and be pursued in UK courts.

British motorists who commit driving offences in other EU countries can be fined only if stopped by a police officer at the roadside. Those caught on camera tend to escape punishment, and drivers of hire cars are often traced through their rental companies.

But the European Parliament will vote on a range of measures that will give national police forces the power to send fines across Europe and pursue offenders through the courts of their home countries.

Tickets for speeding, running a red light, drink and drug driving and driving while using a cellphone will be enforced across the EU.

Spain's Ines Ayala Sender, the EU Parliament's negotiator on the issue, said: "To meet the new EU target of cutting road deaths by half in Europe we need new and more effective road-safety tools to make sure offenders are held to account.

"Everyone in the EU will be treated equally, no matter where their vehicle is registered."
If approved, the bill will apply from May but the UK has two additional years to introduce legislation and for the DVLA to work to update its computer systems.

Brake campaigns officer Ed Morrow said: "For a driver who puts lives at risk to escape prosecution because their vehicle is registered in another country is insulting and incomprehensible for victims. Illegal driving crosses borders, so enforcement must cross borders too."

However, AA president Edmund King said: "In theory, tracking down drivers who break the law in other countries might sound like a good idea in terms of road safety but in practice it could be a nightmare.

"Different European countries have different motoring laws and indeed penalties. Often photographic evidence is not provided. Returning to Europe for a court case is prohibitive in terms of cost."

The Department for Transport said: "It's not right that foreign drivers have gone unpunished for speeding offences in the UK, and we are pleased this is set to change. But it mustn't be easier for British drivers to be prosecuted abroad than for foreign drivers to be prosecuted in the UK."