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DRIVING

Why Italian drivers are swapping their plates for Polish ones

If you’ve noticed more vehicles in Italy with a Polish licence plate, it may not be down to road trippers from eastern Europe.

A car with Italian licence plates at the Slovenia-Italy border
A car with Italian licence plates at the Slovenia-Italy border in June 2020. Photo by Jure Makovec / AFP

Foreign licence plates aren’t exactly a rare sight in Italy, but should you happen to see one or more cars with Polish licence plates in the country it may not be down to a wave of road trippers from eastern Europe. 

According to a recent report from public broadcaster Rai’s news programme Far West, a growing number of motorists in Italy are swapping their Italian plates with Polish ones, with the trend being particularly widespread in Naples, where some 35,000 vehicles have a foreign targa (that’s over 65 percent of the total number of foreign-plate vehicles in Italy).

But as Italian media have already dubbed Campania’s capital “Warsaw’s outskirts”, exactly what is behind the trend?

The surge in Polish-registered vehicles is reportedly down to an emerging insurance evasion tactic which sees motorists dodge Italy’s steep insurance costs by having their car or motorcycle registered in another EU country, with Poland being the most popular choice. 

According to data from Italy’s insurance supervisory authority IVASS, insurance costs in Italy have risen by some 7.6 percent over the past year, with Italian motorists currently paying 27 percent more than the average EU resident to insure their vehicle. 

And while a large number of Italians are not paying for insurance at all  – an estimated 2.6 million vehicles are currently circulating in the country without the mandatory RC (Responsabilita’ Civile) coverage – many have seemingly opted to outsource insurance to lower their yearly bill.

READ ALSO: How to pay Italian traffic fines from abroad

According to a report from Il Corriere della Sera, an increasing number of motorists are removing their cars from Italy’s Public Register of Motor Vehicles (PRA) and selling them to Poland-based rental companies only to then have them leased back to them as part of standard car lease agreements. 

This can lead to significant savings. For instance, while overall insurance costs for a scooter may exceed 1,500 euros a year in some parts of Italy, insurance on a scooter leased from Poland generally costs between 600 and 800 euros for the first year and from 300 to 350 euros a year for the following years.

But, while the tactic may be legal – as of March 2022 Italian residents can legally drive vehicles registered elsewhere in the EU as long as they’re not the owners and meet a number of conditions – it may potentially result in serious consequences further down the line, especially in the event of accidents.

READ ALSO: How can you lose your driving licence in Italy?

Insurance broker Salvatore Vitagliano told TV programme Far West that “it may take months if not years” for someone driving a vehicle with foreign insurance to receive compensation following an accident.

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For members

DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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