Skip to main content

The wrong stuff?

Holidaymakers to Spain are realising to their cost that driving a vehicle while not carrying their license risks a fine from the police if caught. Meanwhile in France, drivers can be fined by police for not carrying a reflective jacket or a hazard warning triangle in their vehicles. Exactly how these measures are expected to tackle factors that provide a major source of road accidents in both countries, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or overtaking dangerously, remains to be seen.
July 19, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Holidaymakers to Spain are realising to their cost that driving a vehicle while not carrying their license risks a fine from the police if caught. Meanwhile in France, drivers can be fined by police for not carrying a reflective jacket or a hazard warning triangle in their vehicles. Exactly how these measures are expected to tackle factors that provide a major source of road accidents in both countries, such as driving under the influence of alcohol or overtaking dangerously, remains to be seen.

Related Content

  • Phone use at the wheel not smart
    July 13, 2017
    Research carried out for the UK driver’s association the RAC shows that even tougher new penalties are failing to dissuade those at the wheel from using phones. The research has shown that 60% of drivers believe being the cause of a crash would make them stop using phones while driving. According to the RAC, too many drivers remain unaware of the dangers of cell phone use while behind the wheel. And 86% of drivers admitting phone use at the wheel said they would stop doing so.
  • TISPOL Conference 2013 refocuses road death reduction aim
    January 27, 2014
    Themed ‘Improving Road Safety – Solutions that Work’, the recent TISPOL (European Traffic Police Network) Conference 2013 in Manchester refocused efforts to improve road safety across Europe, while outlining future initiatives to drive down road accident levels even further – Guy Woodford reports Better cross-Europe cooperation between roads policing officers and thorough use of existing roads policing laws are the best way to ensure good road safety across Europe, according to the chair of the European Pa
  • NHTSA moving to tackle drink driving in US
    March 24, 2015
    A move by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US could help reduce the risks of drink driving in the country. The NHTSA is working with a group of major automakers (the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety) and this has resulted in the establishment of the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS). The aim is to develop devices that can detect and prevent drunk driving by the use of infrared breath analysis or biometric readings using fingerprints. The technology is
  • Finnish fine fury
    May 20, 2015
    A driver reacted with fury following a fine in Finland for a speeding offence. The millionaire was hit with a fine of €54,000 (around £40,000) for driving at 22.4km/h (14mph) over the posted speed limit of 80km/h (50mph). In Finland a national database allows police to view the income of speeding offenders and to set fines in proportion. With the man earning a healthy €6.5 million/year, the fine was deemed appropriate by the authorities. The man however was less than impressed and posted his complaints onli