Belgian residents who commit a traffic offence in another European country will be more likely to effectively have to pay their fines from 2027; EU Member States will start passing more license plate data to each other.
When people are caught red-handed committing traffic offences in another Member States, the police can make them pay immediately. If the offence is recorded by a camera, however, the EU country in question must ask the driver's home country for information before sending the fine.
Until now, that was only done for a limited number of offences. But from 2027, that list will be expanded.
"Europe chose to focus first on the biggest killers in traffic," Edward Landtsheere of the Federal Public Justice Department told VRT. "This is why data was already exchanged for speeding fines and fines on alcohol and drugs in traffic, for example. But to improve road safety, that list will now be expanded from eight to 18 offences."
Taking some time
The fine will also have to come in the country's official language(s), and the Member States will no longer be allowed to use a collection agency to collect that fine – it will have to be done by the government itself to avoid extra costs.
"But it does mean, therefore, that it will take some time to get there. Belgium already sends out fines in all the languages of the EU, but some countries have yet to develop such a system," said Landtsheere. "Although we will also be able to use that period of more than two years to transpose everything into Belgian legislation."
Other legislation, which will allow Member States to see that someone has been issued a driving ban in another country, is also underway. If a judge issues a driving ban currently, it is not visible to foreign police forces – something that should change.
Until now, drivers were fined if they were caught abroad for:
speeding;
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
driving without a seatbelt;
driving through a red light;
driving in a prohibited lane;
driving without a safety helmet;
mobile phone use while driving.
In 2027, the list will be expanded to include:
insufficient distance keeping;
dangerous overtaking;
dangerous parking;
driving over a continuous white line;
driving against the direction;
failing to clear an emergency lane in a traffic jam;
driving an overloaded vehicle;
ignoring an access restriction;
driving through or away after an accident;
ignoring the rules at a level crossing.
