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Welcome to the April edition of the SPARKS Programme online newsletter, which highlights issues local authorities face enforcing decriminalised and administrative penalty charges in the UK and other EU member states. We hope you find the contents interesting and useful in your job. Expand scope of road safety directive All traffic offences – civil, administrative and criminal - should be included in the proposed EU road safety directive, according to the SPARKS Programme. By limiting the directive to criminal offences the EU is overlooking the wider issue of unfair and unequal treatment of drivers. Breaches of traffic rules such as illegal parking, blocking a road junction and driving in a bus lane can also have a significant impact on road safety. However these are not covered in the proposed directive. SPARKS believes the EU should take a holistic approach to cross border enforcement, rather than introducing a hotch potch of initiatives to tackle road safety and traffic issues. SPARKS call to amend proposed directive to include all traffic offences Urban Mobility green paper should address cross-border enforcement The EU needs to resolve cross border enforcement for civil and administrative traffic offences to ensure green zones, local road pricing and congestion schemes are effective and fair for all users. In its submission to the EC Green Paper on Urban Mobility the SPARKS Programme said low emission zones and other pricing schemes that rely on camera enforcement and automatic number plate recognition are not enforceable against foreign registered vehicles. SPARKS called on the European Commission to include development of a common data sharing system and a legal enforcement framework in the upcoming Action Plan on Urban Mobility, so that local authorities can enforce urban traffic management schemes against all drivers. SPARKS submission to the Urban Mobility green paper SPARKS views debated in House of Commons Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs have used the second reading of the Local Transport Bill to raise concerns about foreign vehicles driving on UK roads and ignoring traffic laws. Stewart Jackson MP (Con, Peterborough) made extensive references to research carried out by the SPARKS Programme. He called on government to ensure the bill addresses the issue of foreign drivers who are repeat offenders or fail to re-register their vehicles after six months in the UK. Paul Rowen MP (Lib Dem, Rochdale) raised the issue of national road user pricing so foreign lorries contribute for their use of UK roads. Lee Scott MP (Con, Ilford North) raised problems with enforcing the congestion charge against foreign vehicles and safety. Summary of debate including link to YouTube video of Stewart Jackson’s speech and the Hansard transcript Politicians ask probing questions Recent questions raised in the House of Commons regarding foreign vehicles on UK roads, along with answers from ministers, underscore the higher political profile enforcement now has. Issues raised include:
Members of the House of Lords debated issues around enforcement of traffic offences against foreign vehicles on 22 April. House of Commons questions and answers European Parliament concerned about cross-border issues MEPs are also asking probing questions about enforcement of parking and driving laws across borders, in the European Parliament. Their questions and answers are now published on the SPARKS website. Recent topics include cross border enforcement, low emission zones, the Urban Transport green paper and the Prum Treaty. European Parliament questions and answers Eurosparks legal research available in seven languages The abstract of the Eurosparks legal research findings is now available in seven European languages – Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish. It contains an introduction to the project, summary of the full legal research report and the three recommendations for how EU law could be developed to improve enforcement. Eurosparks legal research abstract The SPARKS Programme is an initiative that enables local authorities in the UK and EU member states to collaborate in resolving the issue of cross-border enforcement of civil traffic contraventions. Our objective is for traffic enforcement to be equally effective against all vehicles irrespective of nationality. Aims include identifying legislative solutions, increasing awareness of the issues within government, working with local authorities to seek common solutions and gathering data to build a coherent picture of the size and impact of the issue. The SPARKS Programme works hard to ensure that information on our websites are up-to-date and accurate and that applications function correctly. The SPARKS Programme will treat any personal information that you provide to us in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. We will not share any of your personal information with third parties unless it is in response to a lawful request for information such as a court order, witness summons, or complaint from a government authority. Your personal information will also not be sold to third parties. We welcome your views on this ezine, which should be addressed to the editor Jo Ann Sweeney at jo.ann@sweeneyuk.com |
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