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Financial Penalties in Europe
Vacation, hired cars and fines
Many consumers, both Italians and other EU citizens, like to go on holiday in another EU country and explore it with a hired car. When they return home from their holidays however, some tourists get a letter which contains a rather unpleasant surprise: a fine for having infringed the road traffic regulations of the foreign country.
Tourists from abroad frequently turn to the European Consumer Centre (ECC) for information after their return from Italy, because they have received an administrative order imposing a fine - either an "advance notice" ("preavviso di contestazione") or a "ticket" ( "verbale di contestazione"). They often committed parking offences or used the lane reserved for buses and taxis, sometimes they had been caught speeding. Recently we get more and more reports form people who inadvertently entered a traffic restricted area (in Italian: "zona a traffico limitato" ZTL).
The municipal authorities of many towns and cities, in particular of those world-renowned for their art, which are favourite destinations of European tourists, created limited traffic zones with electronic gateways monitored by cameras. A lot of tourists do not know that by entering these zones they infringe the traffic regulations and that therefore they can be fined and might also be pursued abroad.
When infringing traffic regulations on board of a vehicle with a foreign number plate or on board of a vehicle with Italian plates, when the driver is not an Italian resident (for example a tourist steering an Italian hired car), the normal procedure followed by the authorities is to stop the car and fine the driver on the spot. The driver can alternatively decide to pay the penalty immediately (losing his right to appeal against it), or pay a deposit and thus appeal against the fine to the prefect or the magistrate. If the tourist refuses to pay both the fine and the deposit, the car can be confiscated.
However, if the breach is recorded using an automated system, such as a camera at an electronic gateway to a traffic restricted area, on-the-spot-fining is normally not possible. In such cases, certain procedures, both relating to the identification of the data of the holder of the foreign vehicle, as well as to the notification abroad, are provided. These procedures can, however, differ from state to state, depending on international conventions or agreements between the countries concerned.
If the offence was made driving a hired car, the service of the "ticket" to foreign citizens is easier, because the car rental company can forward the data of the driver at the investigating body's request.
In case of failure to pay, execution abroad is also possible, depending on the existing agreements between the concerned states, namely between the country in which the driver is domiciled and the country in which the offence occurred.
Besides, Italian citizens who were on holiday in another European country, might as well receive a "ticket" because of the infringement of foreign road traffic regulations. In fact - just as in Italy - in other EU countries a foreigner is normally fined on the spot or compelled to pay a deposit when reserving the right to appeal. If it is not possible to fine the driver on the spot, the fine is serviced to the country in which the traffic offender is domiciled.
You can turn to the ECC in Bolzano for further information. Opening hours are from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Telephone (+39) 0471/980939.
Bolzano-Bozen, 30.04.2008
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ECC
via Brennero 3
I - 39100 Bolzano
tel.: ++39 0471 980939
fax: ++39 0471 980239