EP-commissie transport dringt aan op boetes bij schending regels werktijden door vrachtwagenchauffeurs (en)

Lorry drivers who break rules on working time, rest periods or working conditions should pay clear and comparable penalties for any given offence, no matter where it takes place in the EU, Transport Committee MEPs i insisted today. MEPs criticized wide disparities in EU Member States' fines for similar offences, and said they should be harmonised, in the interests of road safety and fair competition.

Fines for exceeding the daily driving time by more than two hours are currently ten times higher in Spain (EUR 4,600) than in Greece (EUR 400). The methods used to determine the seriousness of an offence also vary among Member States. In Belgium, for instance, both daily driving hours and the total uninterrupted driving time are taken in account. The gravity of an offence may also be treated very differently, depending on where it is committed. For example, in some Member States, holding more than one valid driver's card is treated as a minor offence, even though it is defined as a "very serious" one by EU legislation.

Harmonising penalties

In a resolution drafted by Hella Ranner (EPP, Austria) and approved on Wednesday morning, Transport Committee MEPs call on Member States to find "legislative and practical ways" of reducing the differences in the types and levels of penalties applied. Minimum and maximum penalties should be laid down for each offence against these rules, and "a categorization of fines linked to a categorization of penalties" should be established, they say.

Some MEPs stressed the need to take account of the economic disparities among Member States, so as to avoid imposing disproportionate fines in poorer countries, but the agreed text clearly states that the levels of fines must remain an "effective deterrent against serious infringements".

More frequent checks and better cross-border coordination needed

"Road safety can be guaranteed only by consistent enforcement of rules on working time and conditions", says the resolution. The frequency of checks carried out by national authorities therefore needs to be increased, both at the roadside and at the road hauliers' premises.

MEPs call on the Commission "to develop and promote harmonised approaches to checks and to take regulatory action so as to remove obstacles to the European single market and improve road safety".

Rather than advocate the creation of a European Road Transport Agency, as some MEPs wished, the resolution recommends setting up "an effective and appropriate coordination instrument at the European level", to training and coordinate inspection bodies and gather statistical information.

Safe parking spaces for drivers to rest

If drivers are to respect working time rules, they need to be able to park their lorries and rest in safe parking spaces, noted MEPs, who urged Member States to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure is established on the European road network.

Finally, MEPs want the Commission to make information available to drivers, "in the most appropriate format", on available parking spaces and rest facilities across the road network.