Welsh Police Release Numbers of Foreign Speeders 'Let Off'

MaFt

It's long been known that driving a foreign car in the UK generally means that you can flaunt the speed limits without fear of prosecution. Welsh police have released some figures under the Freedom of Information Act and the numbers are rather surprising and give a good reason as to why we should have Traffic Officers, and not machines, to police our roads.

This year 2,360 foreign vehicles were 'caught' by fixed speed cameras or Arrive Alive vans - more than 10% of all incidents in the year (based on 19,294 tickets issued in 2008). The police feel it is too expensive to trace the drivers so they are simply let off resulting in a loss of £140,000 to the governments coffers.

New legislation brought in in April 2009 allows police officers to give on the spot fines to foreign-plated speeders at the roadside; the emphasis here being on the words 'police' and 'officer' - the speeder MUST be seen by a police officer on duty. So, those caught by fixed cameras and Arrive Alive vans are still exempt. Only a paltry 150 or so fines have been given out in this manner in 2009!

This is dangerous, surely?! Foreign drivers, not used to driving on the left, are being let off for driving dangerously simply because councils and police have gotten used to relying on speed cameras to do their work. There's something to be said for having real people (traffic officers) watching our roads - if someone is breaking the law, whether a resident or a visitor, then they should be dealt with in exactly the same way and not let off just because they were caught by a Gatso instead of a real police officer.

Link: Daily Post North Wales article.

shires999 · Lifetime Member Joined: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 96

I wonder how many of these 'foreign' cars are actually British but have their number plates in a foreign style like German or French. I see an increasing number of these on my travels now.

Does anyone know if these can be detected by Gatsos and mobile cameras ?

Darren · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:53 am Post subject:

soweezy · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject:

there are quite a few cars/4x4s around my area with German D euro plates and spaced properly too, eg...

they're all right hand drive, so fairly obvious they're not likely to be German
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SW

Garmin Zumo 390LM

s3dbw · Regular Visitor Joined: May 07, 2004 Posts: 203

Yes, but it cuts both ways. I,m sure a lot of people who frequent this web site have taken their cars to Europe and have been snapped on similar cameras.
I,m not saying that its right (either way) but do you really want such cross-border cooperation on matters such as this?

Darren · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:32 pm Post subject:

DennisN · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 1:01 am Post subject:

Unfortunately, mine is a Cardiff plate, so I suppose they'll get me (or rather, they would if I did speeding). I'll make sure to get a foreign plate (Bristol) next time.
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Dennis

If it tastes good - it's fattening.

Two of them are obesiting!!

Philip · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:30 am Post subject:

Darren · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:36 am Post subject:

Philip · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:41 am Post subject:

DennisN · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:45 am Post subject:

Philip · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:07 am Post subject:

MaFt · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject:

Jeeeez come on, stay on topic please!

MaFt

MickyFinn · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 10:57 pm Post subject:

Surely Nick Freeman and his team of solicitors could use this to get you off a speeding ticket? Human Rights etc right to be treated fairly and equitably - clearly this is not happening.

Similar to the forward facing speed cameras (Truvelo) which can't catch motorbikes (as they don't have front number plates.)

I'm sure Nick and his team will try this argument for the next footballer caught in Wales.

It's quite well known that you're more likely to get off a speeding ticket in a foreign country (which is starting to change). Gumball being one example and another a chap from Japan who got the top speed on the UK roads (video is on youtube) - licences are often unendorsable so although they can hit you with a hefty fine your licence remains point free. So if you are wealthy you can speed abroad without losing your licence.

Mickyfinn Shocked

culzean · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 04, 2006 Posts: 54

I know a number of reps who work in the UK for European companies that deliberately choose to lease their (RHD) car from the country where the company is based for two main reasons, one of them is cost - the lease costs about half the UK price and the other is that they get a'foreign' numberplate which comes in very handy if you are caught by a UK speed camera!

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