FRV non-compliance an issue across Europe

Item Added 27 April 2009

Non-compliance with traffic laws by FRVs is as much an issue in Europe as it is in the UK, SPARKS Network manager Bill Blakemore told a packed audience at the Parkex 2009 exhibition in Birmingham. Joining the SPARKS Network will help keep the pressure on for new laws to fix the problem.

He quoted the examples of the cities of Bruges and Dublin. Bruges issues a quarter of its penalty charge notices to foreign vehicles; the majority are French. France and Belgium are in the process of ratifying a treaty to resolve this issue by sharing vehicle keeper details.

Dublin has problems with motorists from Northern Ireland who know they can use the M50 motorway without paying the €3 daily electronic toll. Last year when the barriers were still in place they spent more than €3 million on road tolls – income which is at risk now that the barriers have been removed.

“We do not want to discourage foreign vehicles from visiting other places,” said Bill Blakemore. “In these difficult financial times no-one wants to create new obstacles to tourism or business generally. But we want to encourage drivers to comply with local driving and parking laws.

“To do this we need changes to national and EU rules. Through SPARKS our members can persuade the EU and their own governments to develop fair but effective compliance regulations for all vehicles that drive on European roads, no matter what the driver’s nationality or where the vehicle is registered.”

SPARKS is calling for:

• Fast and easy access to registration data to identify owners
• An end-to-end legal process to get penalties paid cost effectively
• A fair enforcement system that all vehicles are subject to.

In introducing the seminar BPA Chief Executive Patrick Troy said “Now we recognise how important this issue is across the whole of the UK. For me it has always been an issue of fairness. The majority of FRV’s comply with our laws, but some also contravene; the difference is that we don’t have powers in the UK or in EU law to deal with them.

“SPARKS came into being to deal with this issue that affects all members of the BPA and the parking industry. The issue is immensely solvable, the question is how we get the UK government on board to help us.”

How can we accelerate cross border traffic enforcement, presentation at Parkex 2009 (PDF - 200K)

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