Advice needed please: UK Speeding fine on EU license

ForeverLearning

Need advise please! I lent my car to family members and they had a speeding fine of 6 points on a motorway. They were only in the UK for a while, what happens now? Will the police chase them in Portugal (where they reside), will this be transfered to a court there? Any info on what happens is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!! 

AdrianC

It's not "six points" yet. Not until the driver's had their day in court.

I presume you're at the stage of having received the s172 request to identify, sent to you as the keeper?
You nominate the driver, giving their details.
The police then look at that nomination, raise a serious eyebrow, and ask for proof they were insured, for a start...

"It wasn't me, it was my foreign-resident friend/relative" is a line that's been used many times by people trying to avoid the consequences. As a result, it's investigated... So I hope this relative is traceable and was definitely insured on a valid UK policy...?

Yes, they can be pursued for the penalty internationally.

ForeverLearning

Thank you for your reply 😊
As a Portuguese foreigner myself, all my relatives are Portuguese, it's not just an excuse 🙂 Yes, they are traceable. I just want to find out as much as possible as they're obviously freaking out as they never had any points even in Portugal. Their Portuguese insurance covers them in Europe, so I'm sure that's fine, but I'll triple check just in case. 
How/where can I find out how what happens in this type of scenarios? Can't find any relevant information online 😔

Car_54

Their Portugese insurance is VERY unlikely to cover them driving your car.

AdrianC

ForeverLearning said:

As a Portuguese foreigner myself, all my relatives are Portuguese, it's not just an excuse 🙂 Yes, they are traceable. I just want to find out as much as possible as they're obviously freaking out as they never had any points even in Portugal.

They will have a shadow UK licence set up by DVLA - and the points will go on that. Any penalty will be enforceable internationally. They won't get points on their Portuguese licence. Even if they're banned, the ban only affects them driving in the UK.

Their Portuguese insurance covers them in Europe

It will cover them driving THEIR PT-reg car, but almost certainly not cover them driving YOUR UK-reg car. UK "driving other car" clauses are very clear they only operate within the UK. This is where it gets tricky for you - because as well as opening them to being prosecuted for driving without insurance (IN10), you may be liable to permitting them to drive without insurance (IN14, same penalties as IN10). As RK, it's your legal duty to ensure that other drivers are insured before you hand them the keys.

Dr_Crypto

Are you sure their Portuguese insurance will cover them driving your car in the UK? That would be a very generous policy but I have no idea how Portuguese insurers operate. It would be worth confirming this unless you wanted to find yourself (potentially) dealing with a charge of permitting use of your car by an uninsured driver. 

In theory the UK can pursue the fine internationally but whether they’d bother is another matter, especially with the uncertainty after 31/12/20. 

ForeverLearning

Thank you all for your replies, I'll be checking the insurance documents these next few days. Naively we just assumed that Europe cover would suffice, so I'll double check how that bit is worded.