Commission cracks down on traffic offenders[fr][de] 

A key aim of the draft Directive, presented by Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot on 19 March, is to put a stop to the current situation, where drivers consistently go unpunished when committing offences in another member state because it is too difficult to identify them or to check the address to which their vehicle is registered. 

According to the Commission, non-resident drivers represent, on average, 5% of the road traffic in EU countries, whereas their share in speeding offences is around 15%, highlighting the fact that drivers from third countries "are relatively more involved in offences than resident drivers". 

The EU executive believes a better enforcement of traffic rules could help avert 14,000 fatalities and 680,000 injuries each year in the EU-15 alone. 

The new Directive therefore provides for the set-up of an electronic data-exchange network, enabling national traffic authorities to identify foreign vehicle owners thanks to their registration documents and to send them offence notifications. Member states will have two years to set up the system and start operating it. 

Speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, non-use of a seat belt and failing to stop at a red traffic light will be covered by the new scheme. But the Directive only allows authorities to issue financial penalties to foreigners; not to withdraw their driving licences or points linked to them. 

The Commission believes that, by ensuring equal treatment of foreign and resident drivers, the Directive will also increase public acceptance of enforcement. 

This renewed effort to cut down on traffic accidents in the bloc comes as the latest statistics reveal that, last year, no progress at all was made in reducing the number of road deaths in Europe. 43,000 people continue to be killed on EU roads each year – "equivalent to five medium-sized passenger aircraft crashing in Europe every week", the Commission points out – a far cry from the Union’s stated target of 25,000 road fatalities per year by 2010. 

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomed the new proposal but regretted that it did not include provisions to raise enforcement levels across the bloc. Executive Director Antonio Avenoso commented: "Although this proposal is a step in the right direction, it would have had an even greater life saving potential if it had included an EU wide reference framework for convergence of enforcement best practices, such as the use of fixed safety cameras in combination with mobile controls for speed or targeted alcohol breath testing."