An unpleasant situation that could occur while travelling in Romania is to get a ticket for violating traffic laws and to have to pay a fine. Most of the times the traffic-law violator does not know where to pay the fine or which are his/her rights and duties in such cases.
First of all, in Romania, if the fine is paid in 48 hours after it was issued, then only 50% of its minimum value may be paid. This must be included in the ticket written by the police officer. Otherwise, the ticket may be annulled by the court.
Second of all, when the ticket is written by the police officer must also indicate the places where the traffic-law violator can pay the fine. Sometimes traffic laws are violated during the week-end, when all these places are closed, and the driver may have to go farther to pay the fine, thus wasting time. In such cases, the traffic-law violator will ask himself: “what’s the worse that could happen if I don’t pay the fine?”.
If the driver is from another EU member state, such violations are clearly regulated since 2014. In their case, tickets are sent to their address of residence in the state of origin, a service that is facilitated by the cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences. Consequently, the competent authorities from the offender’s state of origin shall be authorized to take measures, including the forced execution (retention of bank accounts etc.).
This procedure applies only for certain traffic violations such as: speeding, not using seat belt, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failing to comply with a road traffic sign (traffic light or other), not using a helmet, driving on a late or road with restricted access, illegal use of a mobile phone or other devices while driving.
Moreover, this procedure applies to all UE member states, except Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark. The citizens of these States, as well as those in the States that are not members of the EU, shall usually pay the fine on the spot.
On the other hand, anybody can, no matter its citizenship, dispute the traffic ticket in 15 days after it was received, by filing a complaint of violation with at the court that has jurisdiction over the region where the violation occurred. This is a pretty simple procedure, but in order to make sure that all legal deadlines and specific procedures are complied with, it is recommended that you contact a lawyer. Until the complaint of violation is solved, the fine should not be paid.
Publisher: Budușan & Associates