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New measures introduced to tackle foreign law-breakers

26/07/08

New laws to target non-UK drivers and hauliers who flout road safety rules have been proposed by the Department for Transport.

Road safety minister Jim Fitzpatrick published the new proposals, which would dictate that foreign drivers and hauliers face being fined and having their vehicles immobilised if they break road traffic laws.

Car insurance customers may be interested to know that the Vehicle Operator and Services Agency (VOSA) will have the power to charge offending drivers on-the-spot fines and will be able to issue penalty points against a non-UK driver's licence.

Offences that can attract a fixed penalty include overloading a vehicle, failing to produce evidence of a driver Certificate of Professional Competence and failing to hold an Operator's Licence.

Additionally, VOSA officers and the police will have the authority to immobilise any vehicle whose owner has been stopped from driving as a consequence of breaking road safety laws.

Jim Fitzpatrick said: "These tough new measures mean non-UK drivers who break our laws will find themselves in a similar position to UK drivers who are either issued with a fixed penalty or prosecuted in court."

He added that from next year, all drivers without a UK address who commit an offence "will have to pay a financial penalty".

Mr Fitzpatrick warned that government's message is clear and those who break the rules "will not get away with it" irrespective of whether they live in the UK.

In related news, the Daily Telegraph reports that foreign drivers escape paying 180,000 speeding fines every year because British authorities cannot trace them.

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