Plans to punish foreign drivers for road traffic offences are ‘unworkable’

PLANS to make it easier to punish foreign motorists who commit road traffic offences in Ireland are effectively unworkable, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Transport and Justice officials yesterday said a proposed European Union directive to improve cross-border enforcement of road safety measures applied to a “complex and difficult area,” primarily due to the different legal systems operating in EU member states.

The proposed legislation, an initiative of the French government, sought measures to enforce cross-border sanctions for speeding, drink driving, non-wearing of seatbelts and red light infringements, the offences which cause the vast majority of road fatalities and serious injuries within Europe.