New Highway Code: here’s how the penalties are changing – higher fines for dangerous behaviour

The fine for reversing on carriageways, slip roads, junctions and hard shoulders on motorways and major out-of-town roads has risen from 430–1,731 to 500–2,000 euros, with a ten-point penalty.

The tougher measures also apply to vehicles not permitted on cycle lanes: the technical report indicates an increase from 476–1,731 to 500–2,000 euros.

On motorways and major out-of-town roads, travelling with items that are not securely fastened or that protrude beyond the permitted limits carries a fine of 500 to 2,000 euros, compared with the previous 430–1,731. The same increase applies to vehicles that are not watertight or carrying uncovered loads liable to scatter. In such cases, the deduction of four penalty points remains in force.

Furthermore: reversing on carriageways, slip roads, junctions and hard shoulders on motorways and major non-urban roads is punishable by a fine of between 500 and 2,000 euros, compared with the previous fine of €430 to €1,731, with 10 penalty points deducted.

A specific fine of between 250 and 1,000 is also introduced, with the deduction of 5 points, for reversing on the carriageway of one-way streets where parking is prohibited.

For certain offences relating to right of way, the new regulations provide for a selective increase: for example, a right-of-way offence committed by a driver joining traffic, reversing or making a U-turn increases from 42–173 to 80–320 euros; Similarly, the penalty for a right-of-way offence committed whilst changing lanes increases from 42–173 to 80–320 euros.

A tough stance is also being taken against uninsured vehicles. Fines for this offence are set to rise from 866–3,464 to 1,000–4,000 euros, with an indefinite ban on the vehicle’s use and a 15-day driving ban.

If a false or forged insurance certificate is presented, the fine ranges from 1,400 to 5,600 euros and the driving ban lasts for thirty days. The owner who allows the vehicle to be driven without insurance cover is liable to a fine of between 1,000 and 4,000 euros.

The new provisions also cover less common behaviours not covered by the ‘old’ Code. For example, lighting fires or carrying out activities likely to produce smoke, mist or vapour that could impair visibility on the road is now punishable by a fine of between 250 and 1,000 euros; camping or pitching tents outside specially designated areas, with a fine of between 80 and 320 euros.

With regard to road traffic, the report specifies a fine of between 40 and 160 euros for breaching the ban on driving at less than 100 kilometres per hour in the left-hand lane adjacent to the central reservation. A fine of between 80 and 320 euros, along with two penalty points, for drivers who fail to leave the required space for emergency vehicles and motorcyclists to pass whilst in a traffic jam.

For cyclists and scooter riders, separate fines ranging from 40 to 160 euros apply: these cover sudden or zig-zag manoeuvres and failure to take due care when crossing the road. For e-scooters, this also includes riding on pavements and across pedestrian crossings.

The system of four universal speed brackets is being abandoned. The aim is to move away from the current approach whereby the same speeding offence is penalised in the same way even when it occurs on roads with different speed limits.

‘Under the current penalty system, a driver travelling at 60 km/h, exceeding the 30 km/h limit set for urban areas by 30 km, and a driver travelling at 160 km/h, also exceeding the 130 km/h limit on the motorway by 30 km, are penalised in the same way, with a fine of 173 euros», explains the Report.

The new reverse calculation assigns a fixed amount of five or ten euros to each offence, to be multiplied ‘by every km/h by which the speed limit was actually exceeded’. The penalty is thus linked to the actual extent of the speeding offence.