The new fines are already in force and NLF director Geir A. Mo has implied that the higher financial penalties will do little to improve road safety.
The NLF adds that this year’s noticeable increase in fines comes just a year after the last rise. The fine for driving while using a mobile phone, for example, has risen to 10,000 NOK (€918).
In a statement on its website, the NLF even asked why the Norwegian government was bothering to consult with industry when industry concerns are seemingly not taken into account.
According to the NLF, it is not just hauliers and drivers who disagree with the higher fines either. The organisation claims that neither the Norwegian emergency services, police, Attorney General, Legal Association, Safe Traffic Association or Norwegian Motorcycle Union support the proposal for increased fines.
The NLF believes its member companies had already been dealing with high enough fines even before this month’s increase.
“The level of fines for many offenses is already considered very high. We are therefore not sure what effect the increased fine rates will have on traffic safety, while at the same time they will be in danger of becoming so high that they lose their legitimacy among road users,” says NLF director Geir A. Mo.
Moreover, the NLF argues that the fines are also higher than in neighbouring Scandinavian countries.
“The increased rates appear to be a hasty decision which boils down to the fact that the only motive for setting up the fine rates in this round is to fill up the treasury,” bemoans Mo.
Photo: Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
