General mechanisms of effective police enforcement in EU
Police enforcement is based on the principle that people try to avoid penalty. Therefore, the applied enforcement activities are:
- Applying both visible and hidden enforcement activities
- Publicity about specific enforcement activities (e.g. in national or regional media)
- Feedback on the results of enforcement activities (e.g. in national or regional media)
When drivers are caught for a speeding violation, the specific penalties differ in different countries. Generally, the fines are related to the level of speeding: the larger the speed violation, the higher the fine. Speeding at motorways is generally seen to warrant lower fines than speeding on other road types; speeding at working zones is generally given higher fines. All of these systems are only effective in so far as the fines are paid. In countries that apply a penalty point system, penalty points are assigned for the more severe speed violations in addition to a monetary fine. If a speed violation exceeds a certain threshold, the driving license can be suspended for a particular period of time. In some countries convicted drivers can or must follow a driver improvement course after a serious speed limit violation.
Tools and methods available for speed enforcement
A main distinction can be made between automatic and non-automatic speed enforcement. With non-automatic speed enforcement a speed violation is detected and the violator is immediately afterwards stopped by a police officer who can either warn or fine the driver. With automatic speed enforcement, the license plate number of a speed-violating vehicle is registered, and several weeks later the license plate holder will receive a fine by mail.
Non-automatic speed enforcement:
- Spot control: radar or laser gun equipment alongside the road (visible or hidden)- Distance control: conspicuous or inconspicuous police cars
Automatic speed enforcement
- Spot control: fixed or mobile speed cameras- Distance control: trajectory or section control (control between two points)
Which automatic speed enforcement tools can be used partly depends on the legal system in a particular country and, more particularly, on liability and privacy legislation related to the identification of the license plate holder.