Wayward drivers who commit offences abroad may soon have to pay the fines when they get home thanks to new European data-sharing system.

Focus: Traffic Offences - fines without borders?

Fines incurred while abroad in the EU  will be mailed to your home.

This is part of a new EU Directive on road  safety aimed at saving many lives.

Foreign drivers account for  only 5% of traffic on the EU’s roads,

not to mention  the consequences for road safety.

Hugues Wajnsztok reports on this new  Directive, and whether it will be effective.

We'll stay here until  twenty to or quarter to, OK?

Keep moving.  Please turn off the engine.

This is the case on  the Belgo-French border

where Belgian police are trying  to catch offenders in the act.

When we focus checks on the roads  connecting France and Belgium,

let's say that for  every 20 speeding offences,

10-12 acts are committed by  French drivers.

We get the feeling that drivers think  they'll get away scot-free.

A growing and justified belief,  most recorded offences,

mainly by speed cameras,  go unpunished.

Police forces  don't always manage to pursue

this category of offender  once they get back home.

a lack of credibility and  a policy that is becoming discriminatory

insofar as we can pursue and sanction  an offender who lives in Belgium

but we're not always able  to go after foreign offenders,

principally for speeding,  which is a very sensitive offence.

Ending the impunity of non-resident  offenders is the goal of a draft EU law

adopted by Europe's transport ministers.

and guarantee the same treatment for  all drivers irrespective of where they live.

An electronic exchange network  should be put into place by police forces.

Its objective is to identify and sanction  offenders from other EU countries.

Once identified wayward drivers receive  the fine by post in their own language.

Seven offences are covered:  speeding, failure to wear a seat belt,

running a red light, driving under  the influence of drink or drugs,

failure to wear a helmet,  driving on an unauthorised road,

EU driving penalties  will not be harmonised,

so the law of the country where  the offence was committed would prevail.

If offenders don't pay,  a previous agreement between states

stipulates that penalties can be imposed  by the country where the driver resides.

Ideally things would go further and enable  the offender who doesn't pay...

Let's take the example of  a French offender in Belgium

They could be pursued in France  for the offence committed in Belgium.

That's the dream of those on the front  line, the police, magistrates and judges.

The text of the future directive is currently  under negotiation in the Parliament.

35,000 people died on  Europe's roads in 2009.

The European Commission wants to  halve that number by 2020.

To discuss how to put an end  to the lack of police power on our roads,

I have with me,  Hella Ranner of the EPP,

the commissioner, Koen Ricour, from  the European Traffic Police Network

and Jacques Duhayon, from the  Federation of Road Traffic Victims.

Your family experienced  a tragic road traffic accident.

I haven't been affected directly  by an accident concerning my children

but, more than 30 years ago, we lost  a young niece who was two and a half,

and was killed on the road  near the border with France.

Was it a Belgian driver?  -A French driver,

an older lady, who had just got  her licence at the age of 60 or over.

So, lots of unnecessary deaths.  - Exactly.

Ms Ranner, this new legislation  is under discussion,

on the cross-border  prosecution of traffic offences.

It's a new regulation  which wasn't in place before.

Give us an idea of the background to this.

share information  on serious traffic offences.

So, an exchange of information?  -Yes, between the police organisations.

Mr Ricour, it's a directive  for you, the police.

Is it really going to facilitate your work?

It will greatly facilitate our work but it's a  directive for the people, to save lives,

not to administer tickets  so we can get more money in our...

To fill the police coffers.  - It's not that, it's to save lives.

It's an initial step  because there are always problems.

I come from Austria, a country of transit.

We have lots of problems with drivers  who break traffic laws and then leave.

They disappear and we don't  have the chance to catch them.

This is a first step  towards preventing that.

Will it have the means  to be effective?

It will definitely be  more effective that what we have now.

Currently, there are countries  for whom it's easy to exchange data.

we can exchange data with only  13 countries, and not with the rest.

The directive will allow full access.  -Does that involve bilateral agreements?

Yes, we exchange data either  on the basis of those agreements

But it still involves lengthy  and difficult procedures.

With this directive, things will be quicker

and not only will we save lives  but the police will regain the power

to control the roads again  and guarantee road safety.

What will be the advantage  of this legislation?

A driver from any country will know  the risks before starting out.

When our French friends,  who respect the rules of the road now,