Traffic penalty fee

For offences committed in road or waterway traffic you may be imposed a traffic penalty fee. The traffic penalty fee replaces the summary penal traffic fee used earlier. 

Typically, the police impose traffic penalty fees for minor violations detected during traffic surveillance. The police resolve the matter on the spot and issue a traffic penalty fee to the offender.

The traffic penalty fee is not a fine

The amount of a traffic penalty fee is fixed. The amounts of penalty fees are defined in the laws on the particular violations. The penalty fees on individual violations range from EUR 20 to 200. 

The traffic penalty fee is not a fine, but an administrative pecuniary penalty for illegal action. 

If there are two or more violations at the same time, the amount payable is the amount of the traffic penalty fee for the most serious violation increased by EUR 40. The increase is of a one-time nature. 

For example, if the driver of a motor vehicle 

• fails to follow the traffic rules for a low-speed residential road and 
• illegally uses a mobile phone while driving by holding it in his or her hand 
• he or she would be imposed a single combined traffic penalty fee of EUR 140, in which the traffic penalty fee of EUR 100 would be increased by EUR 40.

Vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee

You may also be imposed a traffic penalty fee based on an offence detected through automatic traffic surveillance. In such a case, the traffic penalty fee is vehicle specific. It means that the person held responsible for the traffic penalty fee is the owner, holder, temporary user or person in charge of the use of the vehicle. Thus, the sanction is addressed to the person who is assumed to have driven the vehicle when the offence was committed. 

You will be able to see any traffic penalty fees that you have been charged for violations committed while operating a specific motor vehicle along with your facial image in the Police’s online services portal as of 12 June 2020.

Exemption of liability

As the owner, holder or temporary user of the vehicle you can be exempted from liability by showing it as likely

•  that you did not commit the traffic violation or 
• that there were no grounds for the imposition of a traffic penalty fee.

This means that you have to show that you did not drive the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. There being no grounds for penalty refers to a factual error or procedural fault, such as an offence resulting from a falsely installed traffic sign. Also, in this case, you must prove your case. Furthermore, if you so wish, you can report who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed. 

The person in charge of the use of the vehicle can be exempted from liability

• by reporting who was using the vehicle at the time the offence was committed or 
• by reporting the vehicle or its licence plate as having been stolen. 

In such a case, the liability for showing their innocence lies with the owner, holder, temporary user or person in charge of the use of the vehicle. Report the matters described above in your request for an administrative review. 

For which violations can I be ordered a traffic penalty fee?

The violations for which a traffic penalty fee can be imposed have been defined by law. 

A traffic penalty fee can be imposed on

•  a pedestrian;
• a cyclist;
• a driver of some other non-motorised vehicle;
• a driver of a motor-driven vehicle;
• a passenger; or
• a boatmaster.

In addition to the police, traffic penalty fees can be issued by the Customs and the Border Guard in their respective duties. 

A vehicle-specific traffic penalty fee can be imposed by the police only. In the police, this task is carried out by the Police Traffic Safety Centre. 

Repeat offences may lead to a driving ban

If you repeatedly commit traffic violations, the police may impose a driving ban on you.
A driving ban will be imposed on you if you commit one of the following traffic offences four times in two years or three times in a year:

• use of a communications device while driving; 
• exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 k/h if the speed limit is 60 km/h or less;
• exceeding the speed limit by more than 15 k/h if the speed limit is over 60 km/h; or
• failure to observe a red traffic light.

The number of repeat offences leading to a driving ban is lower for two years from the date when you were issued your driving licence 

• if you were issued the right to drive a car for the first time; or 
• if you only have the right to drive a motorcycle. 

With an exception to the above, your driver’s licence will be suspended if you commit three offences during the two first years calculated from the date in which you got the licence, or twice in one year. This also applies to the two years following the date in which you got motorcycle licence, if you have no right to drive a car. 

In addition to the traffic penalty fees ordered for repeat offences, sanctions ordered or imposed for other traffic violations are also taken into account in the calculations. 

How do I pay the traffic penalty fee?

You can pay the traffic penalty fee like an ordinary invoice using the account details provided in the decision. Make the payment within 30 days of the receipt of the traffic penalty fee decision. 

If you have filed a request for an administrative review of the decision, you do not need to pay the fee. If the request for an administrative review is not approved and the decision includes an obligation to pay, you must pay the traffic penalty fee. 

If you do not pay the traffic penalty fee by the due date, you will receive a payment reminder from the Legal Register Centre. You may apply for extension to the payment period from the Legal Register Centre using a separate application form. The payment will be moved to enforced collection if you still fail to make the payment even after having been sent the reminder. 

How can I file a request for an administrative review?

You may file a request for an administrative review with the authority that issued the penalty fee decision. File your request for an administrative review in writing and submit it within the time specified for the purpose. In your request for an administrative review, specify what kind of a rectification you are requesting and on what grounds. 

You will be able to challenge any traffic penalty fees that you have been charged for violations committed while operating a specific motor vehicle through the Police’s online services portal as of 12 June 2020.