British drivers caught on speed cameras in other EU countries are increasingly likely to be fined from 2017.
A fresh EU road safety directive is set to come into force later this year after having been approved unanimously in February.
Britain, Ireland and Denmark opted out of the previous directive from 2011. This made it difficult for authorities to track down the identity of offending drivers from those countries.
Now the trio have until May 2017 to enforce the new directive. It will give police elsewhere in the EU the right to access British motorists’ info from the DVLA.
At the same time, British authorities will be able to identify European drivers who commit traffic violations in the UK.
British drivers who commit offences in rental cars already face fines, which can be taken from the credit card they used to rent the car.
Half-a-million British motorists are caught by speed cameras in France each year. Foreign drivers are responsible for about 25% of all speeding offences in France and the percentage shoots up during the summer.
French police do not currently try to collect fines, but they will demand a fine on the spot if they stop speeding motorists.
The rules will be reviewed in 2016 and the possibility of foreign police deducting points from British drivers could also be included.
It is not yet known how motorists will be pursued for these fines. It likely that every country will have its own methods which the AA fears could lead to a bureaucratic nightmare.
