Foreigners do not drive through the Netherlands with impunity, fines are increasingly handed out.
It’s raining fines and not only among Dutch motorists. Even visitors to our country are not always aware of the strict rules. A maximum speed of 100 km/h on the highway, well, that takes some getting used to for foreigners. In many European countries around us you are allowed to go a bit faster than that during the day.
It is therefore not a surprise that foreigners are the most often caught speeding. In 2022, 815,000 fines were issued for speeding offences. 18,091 fines were for illegal parking and 12,049 were fines for ignoring a red traffic light. All these fines were issued for a car with a non-Dutch license plate. This is evident from figures Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB).
A CJIB spokesperson told De Telegraaf that more people are visiting the Netherlands after the corona crisis, which explains the increased number of fines. It won’t surprise you that our neighbors are screwed most of the time.
Of the fines, 312,848 were for Germans and 234,000 for Belgians. Poland is also well represented with 93,000 fines, but these are mainly migrant workers and not tourists.
Special position for Ukraine
Since 2022, more Ukrainians are also driving in the Netherlands. These groups have fled the war and are temporarily seeking refuge in the Netherlands. An exception has been made for these people that is valid until at least June 1, 2023. In the four major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, no fines are issued for Ukrainians who park incorrectly. For all other offenses related to traffic, uncle cop will draw the ticket book. The Hague has already stopped the rule on January 1, 2023.
Defaulters
The Romanians are the highest in the list of defaulters. Figures for 2021 show that only 42.2% of Romanians actually paid the Dutch fine. The top 10 also consists of France (50.6%), Ireland (50.6%), Greece (54.8%), Spain (57.3%), Latvia (64.5%), Portugal (69, 3%), Estonia (72.3%), Lithuania (72.5%) and Cyprus (74.3%).
Photo: Croatian Rimac Nevera in a hurry in the Netherlands via Autoblog Spots
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