UK motorists could be stripped of licences under new EU laws

[Mitsuru]

British motorists could be stripped of licences under new EU laws

The European Commission is proposing to 'harmonise penalty points' in move which could see British motorists stripped of their licences if they are caught speeding while they are abroad


British motorists caught speeding or committing other motoring offences in Europe will face fines and could even lose their licences under new EU laws.

At present motorists using their own vehicles abroad avoid punishment if they are caught by speed cameras. They only face fines if they are stopped by a police officer at a roadside.

The European Parliament is on Wednesday expected to vote in favour of new measures that will give police forces the power to issue fines across Europe and to pursue offenders in courts abroad.

The new rules are expected to be supported by the vast majority of MEPs, and cover penalties for speeding, ignoring red lights, drink and drug driving and driving while using a mobile phone.

Next year the European Commission will also, under the same legislation, review whether it should introduce “harmonisation of penalty points”, under which motorists who commit motoring offences abroad will get points on their licence.



Robert Goodwill, the roads minister, has said that the plans for transferring penalty points are “inappropriate” and would be opposed by Britain.

A Conservative source said: "A Conservative government would ensure these proposals do not see the light of day. Only a Conservative government will give the British people a referendum on membership of the European Union."

Under the new rules for traffic fines, which will come into force in 2017 in Britain, authorities in foreign countries will be able to use a car’s registration plates to find out who the owner is, and where they live. They can then send letters demanding payment and threatening court action if payment is refused. British police will also be able to use the legislation to pursue foreign drivers who commit offences in Britain.

The Bill will apply to the rest of Europe from May, but Britain has been given two extra years so that the DVLA can update its systems. A Department For Transport spokesperson said: “It must not be easier for British drivers to be prosecuted abroad than for foreign drivers to be prosecuted in the UK; we have made this clear from the outset of the negotiations.”

Mr Goodwill said: "We will defend the rights of British drivers and we have been clear throughout the negotiations that people’s private data must be protected. Nothing in the new directive will allow a country to impose penalty points on the licence of a driver from another member state. The government will oppose any such proposal.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -laws.html

[3xpendable]

Will it work the other way though? If so, good.

[rich.]

British motorists could be stripped of licences under new EU laws


British motorists caught speeding or committing other motoring offences in Europe will face fines and could even lose their licences under new EU laws.

The new rules are expected to be supported by the vast majority of MEPs, and cover penalties for speeding, ignoring red lights, drink and drug driving and driving while using a mobile phone.

British police will also be able to use the legislation to pursue foreign drivers who commit offences in Britain.

]

a brilliant idea, why would you want drunk or dangerous drivers etc on the road? why are you complaining?

[Luxobarge]

^^^WHS^^^

We should pursue illegal drivers of any nationality on our roads, and we should do this irrespective of whether we're in the EU or not. It follows that we should not expect to get away with driving offences if we're driving abroad - what's the problem?

[suffolkpete]

The UK is already threatening to pursue foreign drivers for not paying Dartford Crossing tolls.

[TerryG]

It's about time. There must be as many bad foreign drivers in England as bad English drivers in Europe.
Anything that can be done to make people more responsible can only be a good thing!

[JPB]

And just in case anyone wants to go somewhere overseas, drive like a total arse, get drunk in the process and keep their UK licence, may I recommend the Isle of Man. It's still possible to be found over the limit there and not suffer any penalty on the mainland, though visitors will be banned from driving over there for quite some time to come if they are caught taking the pish out of their laws and quite right too.
As for the idea of the licence being subject to points from overseas driving mistakes, that's fine but it does have an unfair element to it; that they have such wildly different traffic rules over in Europe and getting used to people darting out in front of the traffic because they're coming from a side road at the right? In what parallel universe is that a safe idea?

If the issuing of penalties is to be standardised across the EU member countries, then so should be the highway code! And yes, Arc de Triomphe "roundabout" ( ), that means you too!

[Dave3066]

It's about time. There must be as many bad foreign drivers in England as bad English drivers in Europe.
Anything that can be done to make people more responsible can only be a good thing!

They can even find their way into other parts of the UK too

I agree it's a good idea as long as it's reciprocal.

Dave

[tractorman]

Ah yes, the Tory press pushing the anti-EU propaganda again. I wonder if there's an election coming up sometime where, should the Tories get in, we are promised a vote on our continued membership of the EU and the Tories are the only party that will guarantee this vote (the UKIP nutters will just take us out of the union)

I'm not saying which party I will vote for - I have voted for all the major ones in past elections: we were in a safe Tory seat and now in a safe Labour one - though we didn't move! I vote against the sitting MP on principle - and even voted for one of the "mad" candidates on a couple of elections!

I notice Dave didn't press his point home by suggesting that there are some bad drivers who are from Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland too!! However, after seeing what some foreign wagon drivers do while driving (including watching videos on their computers), I suspect that relatively few British drivers would be quite so bad!

[TerryG]

They can even find their way into other parts of the UK too

There are other parts of the UK?