Representatives of 20 European cities are asking the EU to help them collect fines from drivers who violate congestion, noise and pollution rules and then head home out of reach of fines.
They’ve asked the Transport Committee of the European Parliament to add the rules for so-called Urban Vehicle Access Regulations to the bill the European Commission has proposed to update the Cross-Border Enforcement Directive to make it easier to fine foreign drivers for breaking local traffic rules such as speeding and driving dangerously. A vote on the bill is due tomorrow.
More and more cities are implementing rules to control how many and what kind of vehicles are permitted in designated zones, but are frustrated because there’s no mechanism to enforce tickets or other penalties except where two countries have bilateral agreements.
A report cited in news articles on the subject gives examples of the problem: In Milan, Italy, 75% of foreign drivers ignored fines in 2020, in Aachen, Germany 69% of unpaid low-emission zone tickets were for foreign vehicles, and Denmark is owed over a half-million Euros in unpaid emission fines.
