While some travelers between the UK and Europe (once again separate) have had to endure long customs lines and loss of sandwiches, other with a tendency to speed may be benefiting from the break.
Before the end of the UK’s ties with the EU on January 1, British motorists caught by speed cameras in France, Spain and elsewhere, could count on having tickets and fines mailed home, and so could continental speedsters spotted in Britain—and ignoring the tickets could lead to loss of license.
However, the mechanism for that has now expired, and unless a gendarme delivers the ticket in person, the driver goes scot-free. It’s expected that there may soon be attempts at agreements to restore the joint process; it’s not only an issue of road safety, there’s cash being left on the table. France alone was collecting €30-60 million in fines from British motorists.
Another change in travel, post-Brexit, is food crossing borders. When the UK was an EU member, its residents faced no restrictions for personal food and drink, but that exemption is no longer in force, and Dutch customs officials have been barring sandwiches and coffee brought by tourists and truck drivers.
