Almost two-thirds of foreign hauliers’ parking fines in Denmark remain unpaid
The issue of foreign hauliers continuing to ignore parking fines in Denmark has surfaced yet again after new figures were published concerning unpaid fines.
The issue of foreign hauliers continuing to ignore parking fines in Denmark has surfaced yet again after new figures were published concerning unpaid fines.
As reported by Mobility Watch, in a response to the Transport Committee, Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen obtained information from the Danish Transport Agency regarding unpaid fines.
The data showed that of the 11,116 instances in which foreign vehicles were fined for parking violations between 1 January 2019 and 2 May 2023, 7,115 have not yet been paid.
This means that 64% of the fines covering a period spanning almost 3 and a half years remain unpaid.
The unpaid fines amount to a sum of over DKK 14.5 million (roughly €1.94m), and Danielsen has reportedly called for action to be taken to recoup the money.
“This cannot happen anywhere and [the situation] is subject to all criticism. That is why I have gathered all parties in the Danish Parliament to present some proposals on what we can do to sanction,” the Minister was quoted as saying by Mobility Watch.
As we have previously reported on trans.iNFO, the Danish Transport Agency has a contract with UK firm Euro Parking Collection (EPC), whose responsibility is to collect fines from foreign vehicles. However, as the figures above show, they have only managed to recover just over a third of what is possible.
Danish hauliers are predictably unhappy with the figures. Erik Østergaard, director of the DTL, a Danish haulage association, told Mobility Watch:
“We had a meeting with the Minister of Transport in January, where he promised that he would focus on it. So did his predecessor, but nothing really happens. It has been going on for years, and it is money that is disappearing from the Danish treasury.”
Østergaard described the money secured by EPC as a “drop in the ocean”.
According to Østergaard, one possible solution is that when a foreign driver receives a parking fine and has a previously unpaid fine on his/her record, the Danish Transport Agency should be able to clamp the vehicle until the money is paid.
Danielsen is also quoted as saying that clamping is one tool the government is investigating, with the other being more cooperation with other countries to facilitate the collection of unpaid fines.