EU drivers to avoid speeding fines unless caught in the act

WITH the Brexit transition period over, drivers from the EU will escape fines for speeding on British roads unless they are caught “there and then”, a police chief has admitted.

Chief Constable Sir David Thompson said: “If we do enforce speeding fines they are going to need to be done by traffic officers on the road – and where a ticket or prosecution takes place – there and then, at the time.”

Sir David, who heads West Midlands Police – one of the largest forces in England – added: “From now onwards we are unable to do that (issue a speeding ticket) without actually catching people there and then.”

He was answering questions from the West Midlands’ Labour police and crime commissioner (PCC) on postbrexit policing arrangements, following the end of the transition agreement on January 1.

David Jamieson, the PCC, said the new arrangements reminded him of concerns held in the early 2000s about “large numbers of EU drivers” escaping UK speeding fines, when he was a transport minister in Tony’s Blair’s government. Mr Jamieson said: “It does look as though we are moving back into that zone now, where these fines can’t be enforced and I think that’s very unfortunate indeed.”

The European Union crossborder enforcement directive had allowed information-sharing between the UK and the EU, which meant speeding drivers could be contacted when they left the country in which the offence happened.

The directive meant drivers caught speeding in a different member state could be fined up to a year afterwards.

But the rule is no longer in place after the end of the transition period, meaning it is unlikely speeding drivers from EU states will be fined once they leave the UK. Likewise, British drivers are unlikely to be given a ticket for speeding in an EU country, once they leave a member state.