Foreign drivers 'not prosecuted'

A new operation will target foreign-registered drivers

Hundreds of motorists registered abroad are not being prosecuted for driving offences because they cannot be traced, the Metropolitan Police have said.

Met figures show speed cameras were activated by foreign-registered vehicles 8,880 times in 2007-8.

But the force says the "majority" are not punished because officers are unable to identify offenders due to a lack of access to foreign databases.

The Met says it is working with other countries to tackle the problem.

The force blames the fact driver summons papers are not enforceable abroad for the low number of prosecutions as well as the lack of access to overseas databases.

Drivers avoiding fines are costing London millions in lost revenue, but more importantly it means that these foreign drivers are ignoring the rules of the road Jenny Jones Metropolitan Police Authority

Jenny Jones, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said as well as speeding crimes, a further 100,000 unpunished offences by foreign-registered drivers were recorded by Transport for London last year.

These included driving in bus lanes and a failure to pay the congestion charge, she said.

Mrs Jones called for vehicle information to be freely available across borders.

Operation launched

"Drivers avoiding fines are costing London millions in lost revenue, but more importantly it means that these foreign drivers are ignoring the rules of the road," she said.

"If drivers know they cannot be traced they will not bother to obey the rules and that has important safety implications for everyone."

The Met is working with its partners... to develop more effective enforcement measures Met Police spokeswoman

She added that some drivers were deliberately registering their cars abroad to avoid being caught.

A Met spokeswoman said the force was tackling the problem.

Operation Tripper, the first of its kind in the UK, has been launched to increase the number of foreign-registered drivers prosecuted for offences.

"Police are restricted in pursuing penalties for the majority of driving offences by foreign-registered vehicles due to the different laws and requirements outside the UK," the spokeswoman said.

"However, the Met is working with its partners including the Crown Prosecution Service, UK Immigration and other countries to develop more effective enforcement measures to ensure more of these offenders can be brought to justice."

Foreign-registered drivers could be tried in their absence and amass penalty points that lead to a UK driving ban, she added.

New legislation

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said where drivers had incorrect documentation, police already had the authority to seize a vehicle whether the motorist was registered abroad or not.

But a spokeswoman said legislation was to be introduced to better help authorities deal with non-UK residents who commit other driving offences.

"When enacted this will enable police to issue fixed penalty notices, take on-the-spot deposits for fine payment and give foreign drivers penalty points to disqualify them if they persist in bad driver behaviour," she added.

According to the Met, a German, a Slovakian, a Pole and a Dutchman, were fined up to £385 and given up to eight penalty points last year for driving without due care.

Another two foreign drivers were waiting to appear in court, the force added.

Elsewhere in the UK, Northamptonshire Police are seizing vehicles registered abroad if they have been in Britain for longer than six months and not registered with the DVLA.

The force said the operation was in response to an increasing number of foreign-registered vehicles being driven on the roads.

In 2008 in Northamptonshire safety camera spotted 1,361 foreign vehicles that could not be pursued because they were not registered with the DVLA.