Foreign Reg Cars & accidents

faceman

Altho Im a biker i feel this post will probably stir best response and opinions in this forum.

Driving home from work this evening i came to a large traffic light controlled junction and i had right of way. This oncoming polish reg car wanted to turn right and took a chance and nearly smashed into me. I had to jam on. Had he not braked, i would not be typing this post.

I pulled in after the junction to catch my breath and to calm down. It got me thinkin. Ive heard so much of accidents involvin foreign reg cars where they do a runner or have no insurance etc that i could have been the next victim.

Lets be honest, its a pile of bull. Its totally unacceptable to have those kind of loop holes in the law.

Where can I, and those with simliar views to me, go to highlight this issue in the EU?

Rowley Birkin QC

Start with your local TD, your first point of contact for Government.

peasant

What loopholes?

Every european registered car has to have insurance and any driver (irish or otherwise) could possibly do a runner after a severe accident.

It's just a matter of control and enforcement (and co-operation between european police forces)

I remember my first time on holidays here (German reg), coming towards a checkpoint.
Quite naturally I started rummaging for my ID card, my car documents and my proof of insurance, which I kept in a little folder in the glove compartment ...only to be waved through without as much of a glance.

This waving through of foreign reg vehicles still is a daily occurance (unless, of course it's a cutoms check looking for Vehicle REVENUE Tax )


I suggest you bring this up with your friendly keepers of the peace

Rags

Its a disgrace the amount of foreigners without any insurance going around and mostly all they get is a slap on the wrist. My father was involved in an accident recently, two lithuatians driving on the wrong side of the road.

They had NO INSURANCE as they just recently bought the car which is a wreck now along with my fathers car, Head on collision, luckily enough no one died. They pleaded guility and got a ban frr driving for 12months is all as far as I know which isnt much considering the situation.

Hes very nervous driving now. Just be careful especially when its a foreign reg.

faceman

peasant wrote:

What loopholes?

Every european registered car has to have insurance and any driver (irish or otherwise) could possibly do a runner after a severe accident.

the difference being that if you take down the irish reg you have a greater chance of catching the culprits then ringing that gardai with a foreign reg. Am im mistaken peasant?

peasant

No you're not mistaken ...

But as long as the gardai couldn't even be bothered to nail well known local joyriders, I wouldn't really expect great things out of them when it comes to following up on a foreigner.

I guess it's part of the price we pay for free inter-european movement.

You could head off to France tomorrow, seriously damage somebodies car there in a minor accident, do a runner home on the evening ferry and no-one would be any the wiser.

But I bet you, it would be a differnt story if you killed or injured someone and somebody got your reg ... the French police would catch up with you sooner or later ... a feat that I wouldn't necessarily expect from our police force.

I think it's high time that the gardai received some training in how foreign registrations and insurances work (not everybody uses these quaint old disks, you know) and started checking foreign cars (including obvious tourists) for insurance.

Once it was known that the gardai actually check vigourously, fewer people might be tempted to drive without it or to stretch the law when it comes to registering their cars here.

faceman

peasant wrote:

I think it's high time that the gardai received some training in how foreign registrations and insurances work (not everybody uses these quaint old disks, you know) and started checking foreign cars (including obvious tourists) for insurance.

Once it was known that the gardai actually check vigourously, fewer people might be tempted to drive without it or to stretch the law when it comes to registering their cars here.

this is my point, if enough of us petition it, then someone has to listen. the EU is usually good on this stuff

DonJose

Honest truth. Went for a walk today with wife and kids. Heard a car roaring down the road. It was a red coupe, lithuanian reg, both the driver and passenger were drinking cans. Didn't have my mobile with me otherwise I would have phoned the guards. That scumbag lithuanian who mowed down 3 people while drink driving only got 3 years, I hope to feck the DPP appeal the sentence.

peasant

faceman wrote:

this is my point, if enough of us petition it, then someone has to listen. the EU is usually good on this stuff

No need for the EU on this one, keep it local (there is an election coming up )

On the continent (i.e. in all other non-insular EU countries) police forces have been checking up on foreign cars for decades because they had them for decades as well.

On this little Island foreign cars only started to appear in numbers a few years ago (and "a few years" seems to be about standard Irish reaction time for any change )

JHMEG

I suspect many gardaí choose to avoid foreign nationals so as not to have to go through the pain that is the language barrier, especially when it is being milked to the max.

And if they do, there is a huge amount of admin work that has to be followed up upon. ie they can check quite easily if an Irish driver has valid insurance, but imagine phoning a call centre in Vilnius for example.

10% of the population is now foreign, and I would therefore expect at least 10% of convictions for motoring offences to be of foreign nationals. Anyone know if these stats are even being record, and if so, are they available?

This equally applies to our British neighbours up north who flout our traffic laws.

Turner

The Gardai have no poroblems dealing with foreign drivers.

If a foreign person is involved in an accident (whether they have insurance or not) your insurance company claims off the Irish MIBI, not their insurance company.

Our MIBI claim off the Lithuanian or Polish MIBI whos job it is to claim off the driver in questions insurance company.

If the person turns out to have no insurance it does not effect you in the slightest. MIBI is alot quicker to pay out than Irish insurance companies.

Contrary to all the posts above every Garda knows this and it involves one piece of paperwork and no contact with any foreign companies whatsoever.

*MIBI = Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland.

GerardKeating

peasant wrote:

Every european registered car has to have insurance and any driver (irish or otherwise) could possibly do a runner after a severe accident.

Yes, but an policy issued to an irish car is only valid while you live in Ireland, you can take your car abroad for vacation, but your policy does not cover you if you move abroad.

The same applies in most other jurisdiction, most of the British, Polish, Latvian, Czech, Lithuanian etc cars on Irish roads are driven by people whom are resident in Ireland, so the insurance policies from thier home countries are not valid. Also they are evading VRT, if you are resident in Ireland, you are reguired to pay the VRT the next working day after you import the car into Ireland.

I will accept that a portion of such foreign cars are drive by tourist and other short term visitors and i cannot prove or even accurately guess the percentage, but i would venture to suggest that it is a very very small percentage for the eastern european, higher for those countries closer to ireland.

My only problem with foreign registered cars been driven by irish residents is the same problem i have with cars using bus lanes, I follow the rules but see others gaining advantage over me by breaking the rules. This is not right.

JHMEG

Chief--- wrote:

The Gardai have no poroblems dealing with foreign drivers.

If a foreign person is involved in an accident (whether they have insurance or not) your insurance company claims off the Irish MIBI, not their insurance company.

Our MIBI claim off the Lithuanian or Polish MIBI whos job it is to claim off the driver in questions insurance company.

If the person turns out to have no insurance it does not effect you in the slightest. MIBI is alot quicker to pay out than Irish insurance companies.

Contrary to all the posts above every Garda knows this and it involves one piece of paperwork and no contact with any foreign companies whatsoever.

*MIBI = Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland.

Yeah, and this is *after* there has been an accident.

How does a garda check that a (insert nationality of choice) has valid insurance in this country before there has been an accident? Said garda can check if an Irish driver is insured very quickly and easily.

I personally know a woman who had her car smashed into by a Lithuanian who had no insurance. Two weeks later he skipped the country and she is out of pocket to the tune of €6000, and the gardaí told her there is sfa she can do about it.

dermot_sheehan

According to EU law insurance policies must have 3rd party cover in another EU state. If you are struck by a non-insured EU reg car you claim of MIBI and they claim of the motor insurance bureau in the state of registration.

Seth Brundle

You may have 3rd party insurance if you are travelling abroad for less than a certain period as long as you notify them. It does not usually permit you to emigrate with your car!

Turner

JHMEG wrote:

Yeah, and this is *after* there has been an accident.

How does a garda check that a (insert nationality of choice) has valid insurance in this country before there has been an accident? Said garda can check if an Irish driver is insured very quickly and easily.

I personally know a woman who had her car smashed into by a Lithuanian who had no insurance. Two weeks later he skipped the country and she is out of pocket to the tune of €6000, and the gardaí told her there is sfa she can do about it.

He looks at the certificate of insurance. They do have certificates of insurance you know. But just because you have a cert doesnt mean you are covered.

Same as any irish person who pays with quinn direct by direct debit. Pay the first month, get the cert showing cover for the year and then canel the direct debit. Only issue arises in the case of an accident.

Tell your friend to contact the garda and ask him/her if they have heard of the MIBI.

Victor_M

JHMEG wrote:

I suspect many gardaí choose to avoid foreign nationals so as not to have to go through the pain that is the language barrier, especially when it is being milked to the max.

And if they do, there is a huge amount of admin work that has to be followed up upon. ie they can check quite easily if an Irish driver has valid insurance, but imagine phoning a call centre in Vilnius for example.

10% of the population is now foreign, and I would therefore expect at least 10% of convictions for motoring offences to be of foreign nationals. Anyone know if these stats are even being record, and if so, are they available?

This equally applies to our British neighbours up north who flout our traffic laws.

This sore topic has come up in the past on boards.ie

In West Dublin, I have been told by the guards that approx 50% of all drink driving offenders in the Blanch district are Foreign nationals (the majority being Eastern Europeans)

Considering they only make up around 10% of the pop that's pretty scary, I've seen so many of them drinking whilst driving, getting out of cars obviously pi$$ed as farts, no tax, presumably no insurance, or a policy that isn't worth sh1te in Ireland.

Gardai have no authority over Foreign reg'd cars, it's up to customs and excise to enforce the registration of these cars. I've only ever seen 2 check points run by customs and excise.

Any time I pass through a gardai checkpoint I ask what they would do to me if I was behind the wheel of a eastern european vehicle. They never have an answer.

The VRT generated by registering 15 year old pimped up audi's mustn't be enough to warrant any enforcement.

That's the only thing that motivates this current government, cash generation!:mad: Sorry rant over

Toon--soldier

You cannot be extradited on traffic charges even if you killed someone, if i remember correctly a woman was killed in car crash with an eastern european car about a year ago and the driver returned home before he could be charged