When a motorist drives on foreign roads, he must comply with the traffic regulations in force there. As the driving regulations are not the same all over the world, it is convenient to know what are the regulations in force in the country through which you will travel. Thus, road safety will be guaranteed and fines will be avoided. Those who think that the sanctions imposed by the authorities of other European States will not reach their homes are wrong, since the EU approved a directive that facilitates the cross-border exchange of information on traffic offenses in terms of road safety.
This means that European countries share the data that makes it possible to identify drivers who do not comply with the regulations, so that sanctioning procedures can be instituted for the commission of offenses with a vehicle registered in a Member State other than the one in which the offense is committed. infringement.
In the last year, the DGT has initiated more than 250,000 disciplinary proceedings against non-resident drivers who were driving on Spanish roads and who had infringed any of the eight offenses specified in the European cross-border directive.
As explained in the Iberley legal portal, if a Spanish citizen receives a fine imposed in another member state at his home, he must inquire -via the web or consulate- at the National Administration of the country where he has been fined about how he can pay the fine or make the allegations that it deems appropriate. It should be remembered that traffic penalties imposed abroad only involve a financial fine; In no case do they entail the deduction of points because this type of card is not implemented in all EU countries.
"In some cases the admonished depends on the voluntary nature of covering the amount filed or not, since in Europe there are no laws that require payment," they say from RACE. Also, generally speaking, a debt in a foreign account cannot be attached for this reason.
In any case, it should be remembered that our driver's license abroad can be withdrawn. As reported by the lawyers of Pyramid Consulting, the Court of Justice of the European Union established that a Member State has the right to suspend the driving license of a citizen of another European country within its territory if the motorist has committed an offense that can be deemed, based on the laws of the host country, unfit to drive.
"In other words, the community motorist who commits serious offenses abroad may suffer, after police control, the suspension of his driving license, thus denying the right to circulate in said territory, maintaining ownership of the European driving license that allows you to continue driving in another place without problems", they explain from the aforementioned legal advice, specialized in traffic fines.
