Gone are the days of getting off scot free from careless driving abroad. The EU is stepping up cross-border efforts to save lives lost needlessly to traffic offences.

Road hogs be warned!

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11927325/v007-0021-en.srt

If you tend to turn into  a road hog once abroad,

if you choose not to wear a seatbelt  or jump red lights in foreign cities,

if you tend to forget all about traffic  regulations when you cross the border,

then you should take a good look at  yourself and do something about it

because getting off scot free  is rapidly becoming a thing of the past!

Strong language I know,  but cross-border traffic infringements

are a huge problem  in all EU Member states.

Careless motorists  who commit traffic offences

when driving outside their home country  often avoid financial sanctions

because national enforcement agencies  cannot identify them.

So, you might wonder whether the EU  is doing anything about this.

The 28 EU Member States will soon be able  to exchange data on traffic offenders

even when the offence has been  committed in another country.

Tailgaters, speeders,  mobile phone abusers,

drug users and alcohol drinkers  will all be targeted.

Once the driver's name  and address are known,

a notification will be sent to him or her.

Now we know that you know  what information exchange entails.

But these tools are another  piece of the puzzle

towards safer roads  and fewer traffic victims.

Worst-case scenario:  you get a speeding ticket next summer.

The best-case:  500 lives could be saved every year.

This is going to be a good one and you  won't regret it, not for a single second,

especially not if you want to cut road deaths  by half by 2020 compared to 2011.

And, frankly,  you don't wanna break laws, do you?