Text tabled : A6-0371/2008

  Carl Lang and Fernand Le Rachinel (NI), in writing. – (FR) The taxation, penalisation and systematic swindling of motorists seems to know no bounds.

We know, in reality, that this is not a matter of penalising those who drive badly, but those who drive frequently. The sad and unfortunate obligation on police to meet ‘quotas’ and ‘turnover’ only exacerbates frequently excessive police clampdowns.

Furthermore, even though there are a great many differences in the conditions for confiscating a driving licence among the Member States, and the systems for the scale of offences and fines in the field of road safety vary from one country to another, Europe wants to establish an electronic system for Member States to exchange information relating to offences committed on their territory, and in order to penalise motorists even more.

While we can, of course, only welcome a reduction in the number of road accidents, it is important to ensure that these new legislative measures are not accompanied by attacks on freedoms, or unlawful, inappropriate or unfair measures.