The UK, Ireland and Denmark have opted out of new European Union legislation under which drivers will face increased likelihood of prosecution for breaking traffic laws across the EU.
The deadline for EU Member States to implement the new legislation (Directive 2011/82/EU) is 7 November 2013. The move will facilitate the cross border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences.
The following road safety related offences are specifically mentioned in the EU Directive: speeding; not using a seatbelt; red light running; drink and drug driving; not wearing a motorcycle helmet; illegally using a mobile phone; and using a forbidden lane.
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) says the new legislation “has a considerable life-saving potential and will help improve road safety across the EU”.
Antonio Avenoso, ETSC executive director, said: “Traffic laws apply to all drivers, regardless of the country where their vehicle is registered.
“We ask all drivers going abroad to access information (about traffic laws in the country they are visiting) and comply with the traffic rules.”
ETSC is encouraging the UK, Ireland and Denmark to opt-in “as soon as possible”, adding that “neighbouring States would also benefit from them opting in”.
Click here to read the full ETSC news release.
Try disproving a speeding offence in this country and you run into a whole minefield of legislation and technical details beyond the comprehension of public and magistrates alike. So what chance of defending yourself in a foreign language and a court system that is totally alien to you? How easy for those enforcing and profiteering from law enforcement to pick on ‘foreign’ registered vehicles, knowing full well that any form of comeback is highly unlikely? Especially as this is only the start and eventually will cover all motoring offences.
Terry Hudson, Kent
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Rod, I’ve been to all those countries with the exception of Sweden and I can tell you they are either on the same level as the UK or enforce speed limits less – at least that is what it seems.
Pete
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Yes (Idris) Francis, and readers on this website are amazed that someone who refused to help the police when asked to name the driver of their car found doing 47mph in a 30 limit should continue to castigate those who seek to reduce criminality and serious traffic offending on our roads.
Rod King, Cheshire, 20’s Plenty for Us
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If it leads to points, enforcement helps get the carelsss and reckless drivers off the road – for a while at least.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Rod King appears not to realise that the British drivers he spends so much time castigating, as in his comment here, have long been amongst the safest in the world. That is not of course to say that we cannot do better, indeed we are doing better all the time so spare us the brickbats and aim them instead at drivers in other countries whose record is 2 to 3 to 4 times worse.
Is anyone else becoming weary of “enforcement”? Enforcement to what ends? If some forms of enforcement cause more accidents than they prevent, what’s the point?
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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Pete
Here is a link to an ETSC report on Traffic Law and Enforcement across the EU.
http://www.etsc.eu/documents/Final_Traffic_Law_Enforcement_in_the_EU.pdf
If you travel EU a lot then I would be interested in your perceptions of speeding enforcement in say France, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Germany.
Rod King, Cheshire 20’s Plenty for Us
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Rod – depends which neighbour. I travel across the Continent and the World a lot and it depends. I thought the UK was one of the biggest enforcers of what you describe.
Pete
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Correct Hugh.
And those “serious offences” are taken much more seriously by many of our European neighbours. It’s why they get far higher levels of compliance for speed limits than we do with the relaxed policing of limits in this country, and of course much higher levels of respect for traffic police generally. I bet those who wish to ignore speed limits think they’ve come to heaven when they find that all our speed cameras are painted bright yellow. And now the UK gov seems not to be too bothered about tracking them down once they return.
Rod King, Cheshire 20’s Plenty for Us
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Except “…speeding; not using a seatbelt; red light running; drink and drug driving; not wearing a motorcycle helmet; illegally using a mobile phone; and using a forbidden lane” are not minor offences though are they? And the enforcement thereof does have life-saving potential as the ETSC says.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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This is good news. As I understand it, the advantage of “opting in” is that British police can pursue foreign drivers for minor motoring offences committed in the UK but “opting in” also effectively gives foreign police forces the ability to target UK drivers under the guise of alleged minor motoring offences.
There are so many issues with this, such as arising from UK foreign policy and of false prosecutions (such as following criminal actions where a legal citizen’s licence plate is cloned etc) by non-accountable police forces that the disadvantages of “opting in” are likely to vastly outweigh any minor advantages.
Serious offences with proper evidence are, rightly, pursued across borders but widening these powerful laws to include minor offences would raise the likelihood of widespread corruption and abuse.
Dave Finney, Slough
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