The culmination of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union at the beginning of the year has been accompanied by a myriad of effects at all levels, both for the former member state itself and for those that continue to be. The consequences cover a wide variety of terms, including the traffic fines control system itself.
And is that the situation has changed in this area and the EU will now have more difficult to ensure that residents of that state end up paying the traffic penalties generated because of the speed cameras of its member countries. The main reason is that Directive (EU) 2015/413, which facilitates the cross-border exchange of information on traffic offenses in terms of road safety, no longer affects the United Kingdom.
Point near the border between France and the United Kingdom.
This directive, introduced less than six years ago, is what currently allows any European Union country to sanction the driver of any vehicle registered in another member state of the entity for speeding.
Due to Brexit, with the United Kingdom out of the Union, its vehicles are no longer registered for administrative prosecution when the violation has been registered by radars without instant notification by the authorities.
60 million euros in penalties
More than 500,000 UK drivers are ‘hunted’ every year by radars on French roads
This situation is not exactly insignificant, as it will mean a significant reduction in revenue for the public coffers of all countries in which a vehicle registered in the United Kingdom commits one of these offenses. If an imminent agreement is not created in this regard, of all the member states the one that will probably be most affected is France, due to its busy border by road.
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And it is that more than half a million drivers in the United Kingdom are “hunted” each year by radars located on the French roads. It is estimated that the amount of these sanctions would be around 60 million euros, a figure with which the French government could stop charging, at least for the moment.
Obviously, this situation is two-way, so the UK could not collect any speeding fines for drivers of vehicles registered in EU member countries at the moment. Of course, it must be borne in mind that this circumstance refers only to when there is no immediate notification by the authorities.
The French and British authorities are seeking a bilateral agreement.
The agents of some countries may require drivers who do not have a demonstrable address in their territory to pay the fine on the spot. Therefore, the end of the aforementioned European directive due to Brexit does not affect any fine for speeding, only the fact of the transfer of information between countries.
Instant notification
The agents of some EU countries can require drivers without a domicile in their territory to pay the fine on the spot
It should be noted that the French and British authorities are currently seeking to reach a bilateral agreement to normalize the situation and to resume a collaboration similar to that which existed in this area until 31 December.
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