To enhance accountability for road traffic offences committed by drivers of vehicles registered in third countries, the Saeima on Thursday, 24 October, passed amendments in the third and final reading requiring that a vehicle registered in a third country must be declared for road traffic use in Latvia.
According to the draft law's explanatory note, tens of thousands of road traffic offences committed by vehicles registered in third countries were recorded from 2020 to May 2023. Due to difficulties in reaching the offenders, enforcing penalties has often proven unfeasible. With the declaration requirement, the owner, holder, or driver of a third-country registered vehicle must provide their identification details, making them reachable for enforcement purposes.
The declaration can be made electronically via the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) e-services. It does not require authentication but instead verifies the email address provided, as previously explained by representatives from the CSDD in a meeting of the Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee responsible for the amendments. The Ministry of the Interior has previously noted that vehicles must be declared before entering Latvia’s territory.
The declaration will require details such as the vehicle’s make, model, registration country, registration number, owner or holder information, the period during which the vehicle will be used on Latvian roads, and other pertinent information.
In cases where a vehicle registered in a third country commits an administrative offence, the decision will be sent to the person who declared the vehicle, as noted by the CSDD. For using an undeclared third-country vehicle on Latvian roads, the driver may be fined between EUR 55 and EUR 140.
The amendments specify that municipal police, under the relevant laws and regulations, will be authorised to monitor road procedures, manage vehicle and pedestrian movement, oversee traffic control, and inspect road and traffic infrastructure conditions and vehicles’ technical status.
As part of these changes, starting next year, the validity period sticker for roadworthiness tests will be discontinued. Information on road traffic eligibility will be accessible in the Road Traffic Safety Directorate's register and in the roadworthiness test report. Tractors, however, will still receive roadworthiness stickers.
Additionally, a Belarusian citizens who have obtained refugee or alternative status in Latvia will be permitted to register a Belarus-registered vehicle in Latvia without a conformity assessment for up to three years.
The amendments also introduce procedures for evacuating vehicles from high-speed roads and specify that vehicles obstructing public transport movement may be removed. Further, the use of an unregistered electric scooter on the roads will incur a fine of EUR 30 to EUR 70 for the driver.
Saeima Press Service