Overview - European Speed Tickets and Police Reactions
The only complete Web reference on European speeding, speed tickets and police reactions
Data on this is difficult to find:
I will appreciate any hints or useful web links mailed to ROADMC. Right now, I am looking for more data on Greeece. And Finland is still a Social-Democratic Puzzle ... ( a Finn received a fine of more than 110 000? for driving with 75km/h in a 50-zone! )
Click the chart for a graphical comparison on European license withdrawals and jail sentences.
Note that Norway is a clear “winner”: This country will land you in jail before other countries even withdraw your license ...
Click the chart for a graphical comparison on deaths per billion km driven in different countries.
Educated assumption: There is no correlation whatsoever between vehicle speeds (or speed enforcement) and accident rate in different countries.
Are other factors more important in determining national accident rates than speed?
Wolfgang Metzele has another list on speeding in the EU (more countries, but not too many details). He also provides lots of links and still more info other types of verbrechungen.
Click here to read my reader’s letter to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten in January 2002 (in Norwegian).
It was, of course, refused. Anything related to speeding seems to be a no-topic in Norway.
Some interesting (and fact-based) speeding links:
- Canadian common sense
Canadian report (Review and Analysis of Posted Speed Limits and Speed Limit Setting Practices in British Columbia)
A Must Read : The normally careful and competent actions of a reasonable person should be considered legal ! - Aren Cambre’s Speed Limit Facts Database: Category Detail
Although American, lot’s of interesting details like " ...the safest motorists, in terms of avoiding accidents, are those who are driving 5 mph to 10 mph above the average speed of traffic. " - The Asscociation of British Drivers - Speed limits
A brilliant discussion on speed limits and their impact on human behavior and accidents. They have also published Submission for the Raising of the Motorway Speed Limit. - Wikipedia - Speeding
As almost always, Wikipedia has good stoff on this topic too.
This is no call for unlawful behavior:
Drive safely and remember that speed does not necessarily kill.
There is ONLY ONE WAY for drivers to set their speed at a safe level:
They must always choose a speed that allows them to stop comfortably, on their own side of the road, within the distance that they can guarantee to be clear.
Speed limits only provide very weak guidance and safe speeds are frequently far above or far below the speed limit.
Please visit Safe Speed. You can’t measure safe driving in miles per hour" for more reason.
The International Road Traffic Accident Database (IRTAD) has some interesting facts on road fatalities and injuries. Compare these facts to the different national speed limits and law enforcement behaviors ..
 The important numbers : | ||||
| Country | Type of road | town | country | motorway |
 | ||||
 Austria |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 100 | 130 |
| License withdrawn | 90 | 150 | 180 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Belgium |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 80 | 130 | 160 | |
| Jail sentence ( ? ) | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Denmark |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 80 | 130 |
| License withdrawn (by repeated offences only) |
80 | 128 | 160 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Finland |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 100 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 76 | 140 | 160 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 France |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 130 |
| License withdrawn | 90 | 130 | 170 | |
| Jail sentence (by repeated offences only) |
100 | 140 | 180 | |
| ||||
 Germany |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 100 | - |
| License withdrawn | 80 | 140 | - | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Great Britain |
Common speed-limit | 48 | 96 | 112 |
| License withdrawn | 95 | 145 | 160 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Ireland |
Common speed-limit | 48 | 96 | 112 |
| License withdrawn | - | - | - | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Italy |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 130 |
| License withdrawn | 90 | 130 | 170 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Luxembourg |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | - | - | - | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Netherlands |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 80 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 100 | 130 | 170 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Norway |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 80 | 90 |
| License withdrawn | 76 | 116 | 126 | |
| Jail sentence ( unconditional ) | 97 | 131 | 141 | |
| ||||
 Poland |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 130 |
| License withdrawn | - | - | - | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Portugal |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 80 | 120 | 150 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Spain |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 65 | 120 | 160 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Sweden |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 90 | 110 |
| License withdrawn | 80 | 120 | 140 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
 Switzerland |
Common speed-limit | 50 | 80 | 120 |
| License withdrawn | 75 | 110 | 155 | |
| Jail sentence | - | - | - | |
| ||||
| Speed limits and typical fine, by country : | ||||
| Country | limit town |
limit country |
limit motorway |
+20 km/h speeding fine (euro) |
| Austria | 50 | 100 | 130 | min 35 ? |
| Belgium | 50 | 90 | 120 | min 200 ? |
| Bulgaria | 50 | 90 | 120 | max 15 ? |
| Croatia | 50 | 80 | 120 | 15-30 ? |
| Denmark | 50 | 80 | 130 | 200 ? |
| Finland | 50 | 100 | 120 | 110 ? |
| France | 50 | 90 | 130 | min 90 ? |
| Germany | 50 | 100 | 130 | 30-40 ? |
| Great Britain | 48 | 96 | 112 | 160 ? |
| Greece | 50 | 110 | 120 | 30-60 ? |
| Hungary | 50 | 90 | 130 | max 120 ? |
| Ireland | 48 | 96 | 112 | 80 ? |
| Italy | 50 | 90 | 130 | min 125 ? |
| Luxembourg | 50 | 90 | 120 | 50 ? |
| Netherlands | 50 | 80 | 120 | 52-104 ? |
 Norway |
50 | 80 | 90/100 | 436-509 ? |
| Poland | 60 | 90 | 130 | min 35 ? |
| Portugal | 50 | 90 | 120 | min 50 ? |
| Rumania | 50 | 90 | 130 | 9-18 ? |
| Spain | 50 | 90 | 120 | 120-180 ? |
| Sweden | 50 | 90 | 110 | 125-150 ? |
| Switzerland | 50 | 80 | 120 | 120-305 ? |
| Turkey | 50 | 90 | 130 | 35 ? |
| ||||
| The limits/fines above, were first printed in ADAC magazine, June 2001 (later modified by ROADMC). : Best in Class! | ||||
| ||||
| Fines and reactions are known to change without any warnings in many countries. Please report any changes or errors to ROADMC. | ||||
