Police across Europe urge foreign driver crackdown

[Silver993tt]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11423873

About time too.

[juansolo]

Will never happen. They would need hooks into the DVLA to get address info. The Data Protection Act will stop that dead in it's tracks.

[madala]

"....in the end it's down to human lifes....." same old....same old.....they won't be happy until we have the return of the man walking in front of every car with a red flag......

[davepoth]

You realise of course that if you are accused of a proper driving offence by a foreign policemean, you get "done" anyway don't you? Even if you skip the country you'll never be able to fly in again without paying the fine.

What this is about is making sure that all governments in Europe can swap info to get money for speeding tickets, nothing more, nothing less. DPA doesn't apply for this. What will happen is that you will speed in, say, Potsdam, and then when you get home there will be a NIP from your local constabulary, exactly like you would get for a normal speed camera pull in the UK, asking for the details of the driver.

You are compelled to provide those details by law.

[Silver993tt]

juansolo said:

Will never happen. They would need hooks into the DVLA to get address info. The Data Protection Act will stop that dead in it's tracks.

Well, it won't happen overnight or in one go. With the UK having probably the most open policy to personal data, it will be UK drivers that will be prosecuted for offences in other EU countries to start with. Germany has very tight rules, so they will take much longer.

However, any start to this will be good. I drive alot of kms across Europe each year and witness some very arrogant, selfish and very dangerous driving (much from UK drivers) who think they can get away with endangering other peoples lives because they think that they can simply drive away.

[Mr2Mike]

Silver993tt said:

However, any start to this will be good. I drive alot of kms across Europe each year and witness some very arrogant, selfish and very dangerous driving (much from UK drivers) who think they can get away with endangering other peoples lives because they think that they can simply drive away.

On the flip side, if you found a NIP for a serious speeding offence waiting for you after a trip abroad and you were certain it was issued incorrectly, how do you fancy your chances fighting it?

Edited by Mr2Mike on Tuesday 28th September 11:37

[Silver993tt]

Mr2Mike said:

Silver993tt said:

However, any start to this will be good. I drive alot of kms across Europe each year and witness some very arrogant, selfish and very dangerous driving (much from UK drivers) who think they can get away with endangering other peoples lives because they think that they can simply drive away.

On the flip side, if you found a NIP for a serious speeding offence waiting for you after a trip abroad and you were certain it was issued incorrectly, how do you fancy your chances fighting it?

Edited by Mr2Mike on Tuesday 28th September 11:37

Why are you assuming it would be issued incorrectly? Most would be correct and if in the rare case there was an issue such as a fine for a car that wasn't actually there, it would be easy to prove. Otherwise no system would ever be put in place if the focus was to have 100% reliability. With regards to speeding offences, which would make up the majority, a photo would always be available.

You also have to remember that many, many foreign cars speed with contempt in the UK and get away with it whilst endangering the citizens of that country. It would put a general stop to that practice aswell.

[GKP]

Silver993tt said:

Why are you assuming it would be issued incorrectly?

I know we moan about them, but our BiB are the best, most trustworthy police in the World. The same cannot be said for a lot of European police forces.

[Silver993tt]

GKP said:

Silver993tt said:

Why are you assuming it would be issued incorrectly?

I know we moan about them, but our BiB are the best, most trustworthy police in the World. The same cannot be said for a lot of European police forces.

So how do you work that out? My opinion differs to yours on this subject having lived in 4 Europen countries (minimum of 1 year maximum of 5 years per country). My experience was that the police forces in these countries (Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Norway) were way ahead in their professional approach than that of their colleagues in the UK. Sure there will be some variations on approach but it's not necessarily wrong and certainly not an excuse not to put in place to stop what is basically a free-for-all for foreign drivers.

[GKP]

Do you expect the police in Romania or Spain or even Italy to be 100% above doing something to make their life easier?

[Silver993tt]

GKP said:

Do you expect the police in Romania or Spain or even Italy to be 100% above doing something to make their life easier?

I've got no reason to believe they would not comply. I've never had a problem in Italy (there for a few weeks each year). It's very easy to pigeon hole a complete country based on hearsay/news papers etc. I never judge anyone, particularly a whole country on rumours or even experiences from people who've never been to certain places. It's a bit like the stupid thread on hear a while back about 'Eastern European women'. All that showed was hown many on here had never been to or experienced the very different countries that make up eastern Europe. It also highlighted the lack of education and inward looking mindsets that were posting.

[GKP]

naïve - 6 dictionary results
na·ive   /nɑˈiv/ Show Spelled
[nah-eev] Show IPA

–adjective
1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

[Silver993tt]

par·a·noi·a
   /ˌpærəˈnɔɪə/ Show Spelled[par-uh-noi-uh] Show IPA
–noun
1.
Psychiatry . a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.
2.
baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others.

[Dino D]

TISPOL quote figures for foreign drivers speeding and then says they can say 400 lives a year with this system. Nowhere does it say that foreign drivers speeding cause 400 deaths a year or am I reading it wrong?

[CraigyMc]

GKP said:

naïve - 6 dictionary results
na·ive   /nɑˈiv/ Show Spelled
[nah-eev] Show IPA

–adjective
1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

This, if you actually expect police in places like Sardinia and Greece to behave the same as Scandanavia.

[s3fella]

Will just mean foreign cars will use false or cloned plates abroad. Doesnt matter how bent the local plod is (and anyone going to Lemans will knwo what I mean!) if some other poor sap from yor country gets the bill/NIP.

If this comes in, I just wont bother going anywhere abroad.

[Silver993tt]

s3fella said:

Will just mean foreign cars will use false or cloned plates abroad. Doesnt matter how bent the local plod is (and anyone going to Lemans will knwo what I mean!) if some other poor sap from yor country gets the bill/NIP.

If this comes in, I just wont bother going anywhere abroad.

It's not hard to stick to the regulations/drive sensibly is it? After all, I don't understand why people drive like lunatics as soon as they get to France rather than driving in the same way as they do in the UK - they get what they deserve.

Edited by Silver993tt on Tuesday 28th September 16:52

[s3fella]

Silver993tt said:

s3fella said:

Will just mean foreign cars will use false or cloned plates abroad. Doesnt matter how bent the local plod is (and anyone going to Lemans will knwo what I mean!) if some other poor sap from yor country gets the bill/NIP.

If this comes in, I just wont bother going anywhere abroad.

It's not hard to stick to the regulations/drive sensibly is it? After all, I don't understand why people drive like lunatics as soon as they get to France rather than driving in the same way as they do in the UK - they get what they deserve.

Edited by Silver993tt on Tuesday 28th September 16:52

I drove 18k miles in Europe last year and had no accidents, set off no cameras and did not get stopped on either of my LeMans vists, but was in convoy with people in more expensive cars, (more money??) who were similarly not speeding and who DID get stopped.
If you think your Euro cops are all straight and above board, great, but I look forward to your whinging on here when you get done with a trumped up charge or someone clones your plate.

There is a lot of Xenophobia and Nationalism in Europe. Having had hard currency refused in Germany, because it was not "German Euros", (ie the ones with the X in the serial number) there is no way such rules will not be abused by both the citizens and police of the member states. Like it or not, currently such cloning DOES go on, I had some british plates stolen in Germany last year, and a fellow PHer did also (off a fezza IIRC). At least in the current regime, I may hear if the plate is used in a serious crime and I have opportunity to prove I was not there, but random speeding tickets, (whihc is most likely what it is nicked for to avoid), I do not receive. BUt the extra hassle of random tickets from all over Europe after a theft like this, just means I won't bother driving abroad and will limit my vists accordingly.

But enjoy your new laws, Euroboy.

[thenortherner]

Just what I want to read before a week long trip to the 'ring and beyond. I know that the french are particularly intolerant of British speeders.

Also read a few horror stories about people failing to pay fines in Holland and then some time later getting stopped at Schiphol, and subsequently missing their flight to the US.

[Silver993tt]

s3fella said:

Silver993tt said:

s3fella said:

Will just mean foreign cars will use false or cloned plates abroad. Doesnt matter how bent the local plod is (and anyone going to Lemans will knwo what I mean!) if some other poor sap from yor country gets the bill/NIP.

If this comes in, I just wont bother going anywhere abroad.

It's not hard to stick to the regulations/drive sensibly is it? After all, I don't understand why people drive like lunatics as soon as they get to France rather than driving in the same way as they do in the UK - they get what they deserve.

Edited by Silver993tt on Tuesday 28th September 16:52

I drove 18k miles in Europe last year and had no accidents, set off no cameras and did not get stopped on either of my LeMans vists, but was in convoy with people in more expensive cars, (more money??) who were similarly not speeding and who DID get stopped.
If you think your Euro cops are all straight and above board, great, but I look forward to your whinging on here when you get done with a trumped up charge or someone clones your plate.

There is a lot of Xenophobia and Nationalism in Europe. Having had hard currency refused in Germany, because it was not "German Euros", (ie the ones with the X in the serial number) there is no way such rules will not be abused by both the citizens and police of the member states. Like it or not, currently such cloning DOES go on, I had some british plates stolen in Germany last year, and a fellow PHer did also (off a fezza IIRC). At least in the current regime, I may hear if the plate is used in a serious crime and I have opportunity to prove I was not there, but random speeding tickets, (whihc is most likely what it is nicked for to avoid), I do not receive. BUt the extra hassle of random tickets from all over Europe after a theft like this, just means I won't bother driving abroad and will limit my vists accordingly.

But enjoy your new laws, Euroboy.

Over a period of 5 years I never had a single coin or note questioned in Germany. Nether have I ever been stopped, ticketed or fined. I did however make sure I understood the road regulations not simply as a common sense thing to do but also as a matter of courtesy. There's no more "abuse" of rules by these Police forces any more than those in the UK. Thinking otherwise is simply paranoia. As one chap just said here, they'll be using their powers (and quite rightly) to catch people at any point where an ID needs to be produced - airports, channel tunnel etc. As I said before it works both ways, so when a foreign driver abuses the UK system they'll getthe same treatment.