Brexit might have divided the country like nothing else, but here’s a bit of Brexity news that’ll put a smile on the faces of all you law breakers out there. It looks as though many of the European Union states might be forced to ram their foreign speeding fines up their arses (well some of them, anyway). This is all thanks to the UK government sacking off the EU Cross Boarder Enforcement directive which requires the EU nations to share driving license data with each other.
On the 1st January 2021, the UK stopped sharing vehicle and driver information with EU states. That means any rider (or driver) photographed speeding on a UK registered bike (or car) will be virtually impossible for the foreign authorities to track down, and therefore fine. But that’s not a free pass to ride flat out whenever you are on the continent, and you’re not completely immune to the law. If you’re stopped by the coppers, you can still be issued with on the spot fines which, depending on how fast you were going and how much money you’ve got, can be into the thousands. Ooh, ya fucker.
It’s also worth remembering that although we won’t be automatically sharing vehicle and driver info with the foreigners, the UK can still exchange criminal evidence with other countries where it sees fit. That’s all thanks to the 1959 Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. We’d expect you’d have to be being really naughty for them to get you on that one, though.
We’re not sure whether or not there will be a reinstatement of the EU Cross Border Enforcement directive at any time soon. Hopefully, with everything else going on in the country today, foreign speeding fines won’t be too high on Whitehall’s list of priorities. That said, the new rules work both ways, so foreign drivers double-flashed in the UK will now be immune to prosecution too. It might not be long before the UK authorities decide they’re missing out on too much foreign cash and strike a deal to start sharing license info once again. Whatever happens, remember you can still get done for any motoring offence the coppers see fit, should they actually pull you over. And if they do pull you over and there’s a photo in their database of you doing a 150mph wheelie past a Gatso, they’re probably not going to see the funny side of it.
