Danish motoring incident law help

[newmoses]

Don't know whether you can help or not, and whether you know anything about Danish law.

 

Just before Christmas last year, XXX was going to work on his bike but didn't have the back light on it as he couldn't find it.

 

Instead of going on the bike path, he decided to go down the back streets. A policeman on a motorbike pulled him up, and wrote a ticket for XXX for 46 euros. He told XXX the paperwork for it would be sent to him in the post so he could pay the fine.

 

He finally received the paperwork a week ago, this time the fine has increased to 128 euros.

The reason being he didn't have the paperwork to pay it straight away.

Because the police have only just sent him the paperwork, he has to pay the increase.

 

He did have a reflector on the back of his bike, I don't know whether that would make any difference.

 

He's told the police that he has a young baby, but they said he still has to pay it in one go.

He's told me that 128 euros, is four days wages.

 

I would be very grateful if you could offer any advice that might help him.

If it had happened over here, he would probably have just got a warnin

[gerson]

Hi Newmoses,

 

I am not an expert but have a little bit of cycling knowledge from Amsterdam (try looking at www/amsterdam.angloinfo.com/information/37/cycling.asp).

 

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be along later......

 

It is compulsory to have front and rear lights fitted in Denmark and must be used in 'bad visibility' or at night. Cyclists must use the cycle path (if there is one) at all times (unless it has a blue sign - optional). If there is no path then a cyclist can use the road.

 

Has your friend tried talking with the local police about the fine increase and lack of paperwork being provided?

 

Good luck

 

G

[marmaris30]

They don't use Euros in Denmark do they?

 

Either way, Danes mostly speak excellent English and I'm sure they'd explain everything very clearly to your friend if he asks at the town hall or a police station, as suggested. He should do this without further delay.

 

I'm not sure they'd have much discretion after seven months though - European traffic fines are often payable immediately and if he was given a ticket at the time, why has he left it so long? A fine will almost certainly still be payable at one level or another.

 

You might get away with a warning for a cycling offence in the UK but you could still just as easily be given a penalty, and if it wasn't paid within a fairly short time, you'd get a summons to see your friendly local magistrates about paying a higher penalty.

[oleg]

Of course they use euros in Denmark and I.m sure Moses that's hardly your main concern.

 

If you want help in English from ppl familiar with the system in Denmark, try

http://www.foreignersindenmark.dk/forum

 

I am sure there must be a way of ensuring that the person in question is not subjected to further penalties if the delay was the police's fault.

[newmoses]

Many thanks for the advice.I messed up with the country though.It was Holland, so Dutch law, not Danish.Don't know if this will have any bearing on the advice given.My friend apparently was given a ticket for a 46 Euro fine,but was told that he had to wait for the paperwork to arrive so he could pay the fine.It was not received until last week,some near 7 months since the incident took place, and because it hadn't been paid earlier, the fine was increased to 128 Euros.It was the fault of the police because they delayed sending the paperwork out.

[ScarletPimpernel]

In the Netherlands the police can administer a fine on the spot which can be a lower amount it's paid immediately, when they issue a receipt. If it's not paid at once the full amount becomes payable when the paperwork is sent through.

 

When I lived in Germany it wasn't unusual for Dutch fines to take weeks or months to appear, though I don't know if the same applied to domestic cases.