Drivers who have committed serious traffic offences in an EU country will no longer dodge a driving ban in another EU country. 

Under the current system, when a serious traffic offence such as drink- or drug-driving, causing death or serious injury, or speeding by 50 km/h or more above the limit is committed in a country different from the one that issued the licence, a sanction may apply only in the country of the offence. At the same time, the driver can continue to use the licence elsewhere, reports the Local.  
 

With the new rule, when the “Member State of the offence” issues a driving disqualification of at least three months and no further appeal is possible, it must inform the “Member State of issuance” of the licence. That issuing country must then enforce a corresponding suspension, withdrawal or restriction of the licence, thereby making the ban effective throughout the EU.

The new legislation is part of the EU’s broader road-safety package and aims to close the gap that left around 40% of cross-border serious traffic offences without full enforcement.

Such a practice will be implemented only by 2029. According to euronews, once published in the Official Journal of the EU, Member States will have three years to transpose the directive into national law, plus an additional year to prepare for implementation. 

The rules are part of a package designed to enhance road safety, especially since last year nearly 20,000 lives were lost in EU road accidents. The EU has set an ambitious goal to achieve zero fatalities by 2050. 

Recent data from the European Commission shows that Sweden and Denmark are the safest countries for drivers, with 20 and 24 deaths per million people annually. Austria marked a 13% decline in road fatalities last year to 349, the international report said. This is equivalent to 38 deaths per million inhabitants. 

In contrast, Romania and Bulgaria report the highest fatality rates, with respectively 78 and 74 deaths per million inhabitants each year.