The police can now also send the traffic penalty fee they have imposed in the field by post or electronically, via the Suomi.fi service.
From now on, a traffic penalty fee imposed for a traffic offence committed with a motorised vehicle can also be served by post or electronically instead of personal service of documents by hand. The police first verify the identity of the offender in the field and offer them the opportunity to express a view on the matter. After that, the police will send the decision to offender as a message to the suomi.fi service or as regular mail, depending on whether the recipient of the traffic penalty fee has taken the Suomi.fi Messages service into use.
Chief Superintendent Tuomo Katajisto at the National Police Board points out that these are situations where the police establish an offence and identity on the spot. In other words, the new service is not applicable to automatic surveillance, within the framework of which vehicle-specific traffic penalty fees have already been sent by post.
Katajisto says that under section 174(2) of the Road Traffic Act, this method of service may be used in situations where traffic offences committed with a motorised vehicle are committed and the identity of the offender has been immediately established at the scene. In this case, the offender already has the opportunity to express their views on the matter, and the decision taken after that, including appeal instructions, will be sent to the offender as a Suomi.fi message or regular letter.
“In practice, this procedure is likely to contribute to reducing customer waiting times, for example, in the control of safety devices or inattention while facilitating the work of the police by enabling more flexible use of mobile devices in surveillance situations," Katajisto concludes.
