MPs support SPARKS calls for changes in the Local Transport Bill during its second reading in the House of Commons
Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have used the second reading of the Local Transport Bill to raise concerns about foreign vehicles driving on UK roads and ignoring traffic laws.
Making extensive references to research carried out by SPARKS, Stewart Jackson MP (Con, Peterborough) called on the House of Commons to ensure the bill addresses the issue of foreign drivers who are repeat offenders or fail to re-register their vehicles after six months in the UK.
He said: “Such vehicles are difficult to trace and it is often impractical to impose penalties for traffic or parking violations, or tax evasion, for example. There is concern that some – not all – drivers of foreign-registered vehicles are aware of the loopholes in the system, particularly the inability to enforce penalties, and are therefore more likely to drive dangerously and take risks.”
He went on to say: “SPARKS has stated that we need a holistic, equal and fair system for all drivers, because the present system is breeding a culture of complacency that leads some foreign residents to ignore our traffic laws. Indeed, the system appears actively to encourage some drivers of foreign registered vehicles to avoid registration”.
During his fifteen-minute speech he also highlighted the lack of robust data on foreign vehicles, lost revenues, unequal treatment of foreign and resident drivers, safety issues, and the potential for minor offences that go unpunished to escalate into more serious traffic violations.
In his speech he acknowledged the contribution SPARKS has made to increase understanding about the impact of foreign registered vehicles in the UK. “I am indebted to the SPARKS Programme, which is the cross-border civil traffic enforcement group, for its assistance to me in, I hope, putting the case to the House this afternoon. I commend to honourable members its report of July 2007 entitled Foreign Registered Vehicles on UK Roads.”
Theresa Villiers MP (Con, Chipping Barnet) said she thought “powers to enable the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to share with local authorities information about foreign registered vehicles” contained in the proposed bill seemed broadly sensible.
Paul Rowen MP (Lib Dem, Rochdale) raised the issue of national road user pricing so foreign lorries contribute for their use of UK roads. He called on the government to introduce a beacon system similar to those operating in Austria and the Czech Republic.
Lee Scott MP (Con, Ilford North) raised problems with enforcing the congestion charge against foreign vehicles and safety. “There are increasing numbers of foreign vehicles on our roads. In some cases they are not fit to be on our roads because they have not had the equivalent of our MOT done in their own country and they cause a variety of hazards. Yet their owners do not pay fines and do not obey our laws, which surely need to be enforced.
“If it could be carried out, enforcement would make a vast difference across our country. It would contribute more income and would help to make the congestion charge fair for owners of all vehicles.”
Bill Blakemore, SPARKS Programme manager said: “We are pleased to see MPs taking note of our concerns about data transfer and cross border enforcement and raising them in the house.
“In the UK we need improved data sharing between the DVLA and other EU licensing authorities, as well as a clear legal framework for enforcing decriminalised contraventions across borders. SPARKS will continue to highlight these issues at UK and European Parliament levels until local authorities have the powers they need to enforce traffic laws against all drivers regardless of where their vehicle is registered.”
YouTube video of Stewart Jackson speaking in the House of Commons on 26 March 2008
