Due to the increasing number of unpaid road tolls in Denmark, the Danish police have intensified their checks in this respect. Since March, they have been using a new system for this purpose, which can detect unpaid toll in a few seconds.
Recently, the Danish police have reported an increased number of cases of unpaid truck tolls. The services have therefore stepped up their checks in this respect and, importantly, since March this year they have had a new tool that has clearly improved the performance of officers, according to the Danish transport portals.
The updated information system allows the police to check in a matter of seconds whether a toll has been paid for a given vehicle. If not, the system automatically issues a fine.
The Danish transport organisation ITD is pleased with the new solution used by the police.
It’s really positive that the police have now been given better tools to hunt companies that fail to pay tolls. The number of such companies seems to be growing. This is totally unacceptable and unfair competition and we believe that such violations must be sanctioned quickly and consistently and that fines must be severe. It should not be worthwhile not to pay the toll,” Mads Røddik Christensen, ITD’s political consultant, comments for lastbilmagasinet.dk.
Only during an inspection last Sunday, the East Jutland Police caught 7 trucks in the parking lots, whose drivers failed to pay toll. The police have issued fines of 123,000 Danish kroner.
In March this year, just after the toll control system was updated, the Danish police stopped e.g. a German truck. The inspection revealed that during the last 28 days, the vehicle had been driving on Danish roads for at least 22 days without paying any toll. As the carrier has not been fined for this infringement during the last three years, the fine was 2,500 Danish kroner (approx 335 euros) per day, i.e. a total of 55,000 Danish kroner (approx 7371 euros), reported the Danish police in a press release.
If this had been another offence during the last two years, correspondingly higher fines would have been charged under the Danish Toll Act: – for the second time, Danish kroner 5,000,
– for the third time: 7,500 Danish kroner (approx 1000 euros),
– for the fourth time: 10,000 Danish kroner (approx 1340 euros),
– for the fifth time: 12,500 Danish kroner (approx 1675 euros),
– for the sixth time and every other time: 15,000 Danish kroner (approx 2000 euros).
Photo: politi.dk