Security Systems

Speeding abroad. Why is a speed camera photo dangerous?

Speeding abroad. Why is a speed camera photo dangerous? If a speed camera in Austria or the Netherlands takes a picture of you, you will not be fined. The countries of the European Union are increasingly demanding from our courts the enforcement of tickets.

Speeding abroad. Why is a speed camera photo dangerous?

“I skied in the Alps,” says a resident Nysa. - On the track, I saw a speed camera flash, which took a picture of me. I was driving too fast. A few months later I received in the mail a demand for payment of a fine from Austria, written in German, with the number of the account to which I should transfer the money.

I paid because I don't want to have any problems, but I keep wondering if I somehow could have avoided paying 100 euros.

There is no shortage of advice on online forums on how to avoid fines abroad. It's obvious if a policeman catches us for an offense. We pay in cash on the spot, or the police will escort us to the nearest ATM.

If we don't have money, in some countries they may even leave our car until the debt is paid off. However, if we are photographed by a speed camera, most drivers are convinced that they can avoid responsibility after returning to the country.

- Write explanations that you rode in several people and changed clothes while driving. You don’t know who was driving then, Internet users advise. – Avoid trips to Austria with the same car for ten years until the statute of limitations expires. Don't pay at all, they have no reason to harass you.

However, Internet users are wrong here.

Since 2010, Austrian and less commonly Dutch police have been successful in collecting speeding tickets even in Poland.

– Every year we receive about ten applications for the enforcement of a financial penalty, submitted by the competent authority of a Member State of the European Union. These are mainly statements from the Austrian police, and fines were imposed for speeding, explains Marek Kendzierski, chairman of the district court in Prudnik. The court summons the defendant to a hearing and orders the execution. If he does not pay the fine voluntarily, the case is transferred to the bailiff.

The grounds for the application of financial sanctions imposed by the authorities of other countries are given. Framework Decision of the Council of the European Union 2005/214/JHA.

In Poland, his recordings were transferred to Article 611 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, knowledge of these provisions leaves much to be desired.

Even among the police, we heard the opinion that there is no reason to collect Austrian tickets.

In accordance with the above provisions, the authority imposing a fine (court or police) may apply for its execution to a Polish court.

This gate is used in practice only by the Austrians and the Dutch. Writing such a statement is quite difficult and it is necessary to determine in which judicial district the defendant lives. In addition, the collected fine is transferred to the cashier of the Polish court, so there is no financial incentive for foreign institutions to prosecute foreigners.

Nevertheless, the Austrians felt that they would do it to the end, and the police in Vienna are particularly consistent. In practice, the Polish court does not even consider the case, does not determine who was the culprit, what was the evidence of guilt. It only checks if the action is also a crime under Polish law and if the driver was informed of the legal proceedings in Austria. He then converts the exchange rate from euro to zloty.

Polish institutions can also take advantage of this legal loophole, but have not yet done so.

- If our speed camera takes a picture of a driver from the Czech Republic, we will not proceed with the execution. Unless he pays himself, admits Tomasz Dziedzinski, head of the municipal police in Glukholazy.

Krzysztof Strauchmann

Add a comment