Foreign Speeders Going Un-fined

If you are travelling down the motorway at over 90mph and suddenly see blue flashing lights in the rear view mirror you know you are in trouble. Being pulled over for speeding on the motorway usually results in the additions of penalty points to your licence (how many depends on the speed you were travelling) and a penalty fine. Having been pulled over and received you punishment you could be staring an increase in your online car insurance for the following year in the face.

With this in mind would it surprise you that some motorists on the UK roads are getting off without the penalty points and fines even though they are travelling at speeds in excess of 100mph?

This may seem surprising but hundreds of motorists are stopped on the UK roads each year travelling in excess of the stated speed limits and are driving away with a ticking off from the attending officer. These drivers all have one thing in common; they are driving foreign registered vehicles.

The problem lies in the fact that under current circumstances the police are almost powerless to act against these drivers. Unfortunately the costs associated with issuing these drivers with a speeding ticket exceed the cost that will actually be recovered from the fine itself. This is down to the fact that it would cost too much to track the individuals back in their own country to chase up the fine payment. The police are not completely powerless and can arrest a driver of a foreign registered vehicle if they have been caught performing a gross misdemeanour. These drivers can then be held until court appearance and dealt with accordingly, this however is a rare occurrence due to the costs associated with holding the driver.

I suppose it all works out when us Brits travel abroad and get off the speeding fines around Europe. The problem is you won't be let off Scott free on the continent; in fact most European police forces have the power to give you a fine requiring immediate payment.

With figures showing that foreign drivers in some parts of the UK are involved in up to a quarter of fatal or serious crashes maybe its time we followed Europe's lead and brought in legislation to give the UK police more powers in dealing with foreign registered vehicles.