Even your decent parents-in-law once received a speeding fine in Zeeland when they went for a weekend walk in the dunes of the Dishoek. Bad luck, but that doesn’t mean they have to do everything on the e-bike from now on. But if they’re receiving a traffic ticket every month, it might be time to take action. This sounds like an exaggerated example, but it is the reality for 31,000 Dutch people. And they can just keep driving.
According to research by BNR There are 31,000 people in the Netherlands who received more than ten traffic fines last year. As many as 286 people even received 50 or more. To be clear: these are people, not companies. These people can continue to drive and collect fines. And yet the Institute for Scientific Research on Road Safety (SWOV) proved that the chance of an accident is much greater for repeat offenders.
Not just a danger to himself
If these repeat offenders wrap themselves around a tree, that’s their problem (although there are costs for the state), but the problem is that they are not the only road users. That is why it is strange that these regular customers of the CJIB are allowed to continue driving. “Especially when you consider that we have a points driving license in the Netherlands, but that this is currently not used against avid speed drivers.
The Dutch points driving license only applies to people who drive under the influence. If you are caught twice within five years, you will lose your driver’s license. If you get ten speeding tickets, you will not get a single point on your driver’s license. On to number eleven! It feels like a no-brainer, but why wouldn’t you intervene with people who are making such a fuss? Why not extend the points driving license for the heaviest repeat offenders?
A stricter points driving license is more difficult than it sounds
BNR reports that this has been a discussion in the House of Representatives for some time, but that there is ‘little they can do’. The lesser offenses fall within the ‘Mulder Act’. A spokesperson for the ministry said: BNR that the ‘system needs to be changed’. Perhaps very naive of us: but if there is one authority in the Netherlands that can change a law, it is the government, right? It won’t happen next week, but it sounds like a good resolution to have.
However, there is a difficult issue with the points driving license when it comes to speed cameras. You have to be sure who was behind the wheel of the car to award a point. If you lend your car to your parents-in-law and they drive off to Zeeland, then you should not get the points. Now the car owner has to pay the fines, regardless of who was behind the wheel. Finding the driver for each fine would be a huge job for the government.
