This Tuesday, March 12, 2024, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of Europe reached an informal agreement on a better penalties for traffic violations committed abroad.

More offenses were punished

To date, about 40% of cross-border traffic offenses remain unpunished in Europe: MEPs want cooperation between member states to be more strict, with an obligation to help find the person guilty of violating traffic rules as soon as possible.
Thus, soon in Europe, stricter punishments for traffic violations will begin. Out-of-town drivers are now subject more severe sanctions on dangerous parking, dangerous overtaking, crossing a solid line, hit and run, not forgetting speeding, drunk driving or running a red light.
In addition, the country of residence of the violator may assume responsibility collection of penalty for traffic violations, if they exceed 70 euros and have not been paid after exhausting all legal actions. The country where the violation was committed must then issue a European traffic violation notice within ten months.

Until the end of impunity in Europe?

MEPs also agreed to an additional provision: two years after the new rules are transposed into national law, private individuals will be completely banned from helping EU countries collect fines from foreign drivers.
To better inform the public about the implementation of these new rules, a online portal will be created and will contain a list of rules, appeal options and details of traffic fines for European motorists.
“A foreign license plate is not a license for impunity on the road. The updated rules will facilitate the exchange of information on traffic offenders between Member States, while providing drivers with easy access to the necessary information through digital communication channels.explains speaker Kosma Zlotowski (ECR group, Poland).

The preliminary agreement still needs to be approved by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. Then the countries of the European Union will haveterm of 30 months transpose these provisions into their national legislation to implement the new sanctions.