EU set to tighten rules on road traffic offences for motorists driving abroad

The European Commission said there was evidence to suggest non-resident motorists are relatively more likely to commit speeding offences as they perceive they are less likely to receive sanctions when driving in another EU member state. File picture: Stephen Collins/Collins

Irish motorists who commit road traffic offences in other EU countries are less likely to escape punishment in the future as a result of proposed changes to cross-border investigations designed to improve road safety across the bloc.

More traffic offences, including dangerous parking and hit-and-run incidents, are set to trigger cross-border investigations within the EU against motorists who commit offences while driving outside their home country.

EU legislators have also added dangerous overtaking and crossing a solid line to a list of offences where offending foreign motorists will face an increased likelihood of being fined.

The EU has reached an informal deal which will strengthen cooperation between the 27 EU member states and impose tighter deadlines on the cross-border investigation of a wider range of traffic offences.

The proposed updated rules come after the European Commission estimated 40% of all motoring offences committed by foreign drivers currently go unpunished either because the offender has not been identified or because the payment of a fine has not been enforced.

In Ireland, 9% of all penalty point offences are committed by motorists who are either unknown or hold a foreign driving licence.

The exchange of vehicle registration data between EU member states is currently confined to speeding, non-wearing of a seatbelt, failing to stop at a red light, drink-driving, drug-driving, failing to wear a safety helmet, using a forbidden lane and illegally using a mobile phone when driving.

However, an evaluation of the existing EU directive found a number of deficiencies in existing rules including that 50% of detected road traffic offences committed by non-residents were not investigated.

In addition, the payment of fines was not enforced in about half of cases that had been investigated, while almost all offences where non-resident motorists refused to pay a financial penalty went unpunished.

The European Commission said there was evidence to suggest non-resident motorists are relatively more likely to commit speeding offences as they perceive they are less likely to receive sanctions when driving in another EU member state.

It has been estimated while non-resident drivers account for about 5% of all road traffic in the EU, they commit about 15% of speeding offences.

Key elements of the deal, which has still to be formally approved by the European Parliament and European Council, include streamlining cooperation between EU member states, expanding the list of relevant offences and improving the provision of information regarding offences and penalties.

The proposed deal will require EU countries to reply to requests for information on the identity of offending motorists within two months after it has gathered all necessary information as well as having to take over the collection of road traffic fines over €70 provided it has not been paid after all legal actions are exhausted.

The EU country where the traffic offence occurred will have 11 months from the date of the offence to issue a notice to the offender.