Road traffic offences – sharing information between countries

SUMMARY OF:

Directive (EU) 2015/413 – sharing information on road traffic offences

SUMMARY

WHAT DOES THE DIRECTIVE DO?

It sets out rules to reduce the impunity of foreign drivers who commit dangerous traffic offences by making it easier for police authorities in different EU countries to share information to identify offenders.

KEY POINTS

The Directive applies to the following offences:

• speeding
• failing to use a seatbelt
• failing to stop at a traffic light
• drink-driving
• driving while under the influence of drugs
• failing to wear a safety helmet
• using a forbidden lane (e.g. a bus lane)
• using a mobile phone or other communication device while driving.

Every country must give any other country investigating an offence committed on its roads access to their national vehicle registration data, so they can identify vehicles and their owners or users.

If the country where the offence took place decides to take further action, they must notify the possible offender and inform them of the legal consequences, in a letter that states:

• the nature of the offence
• the location, date and time
• the law infringed and the penalty
• (if appropriate) the device used to detect the offence.

To monitor the performance of this arrangement, each country must send a report to the Commission by May 2016 and every 2 years after that, with details of searches made and of the number of notification letters subsequently sent out.

WHEN DOES THIS DIRECTIVE APPLY?

It entered into force on 17 March 2015.

It had to be incorporated into national law by 6 May 2015. This deadline was postponed until 6 May 2017 for Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (1).

BACKGROUND

The preceding Directive on this issue, Directive 2011/82/EU, was annulled by the EU Court of Justice in 2014 because it had the wrong legal basis.

ACT

Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences (OJ L 68, 13.3.2015, pp. 9–25)

last update 10.11.2015

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(1) The United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union and becomes a third country (non-EU country) as of 1 February 2020.