Foreign drivers will have a pay on-the-spot fines of up to ￡900 for breaking the traffic law to be carried out next month.
If they do not have enough cash or a working credit card, their vehicles will be clamped (扣留) until they pay and they will face an additional fee of ￡80 for getting back their vehicles.
The law will also apply to British citizens. The fines will be described officially as "deposits" when the traffic law takes effect, because the money would be returned if the driver went to court and was found not guilty. In practice, very few foreign drivers are likely to return to Britain to deal with their cases.
Foreign drivers are rarely charged because police cannot take action against them if they fail to appear in court. Instead, officers often merely give warnings.
Three million foreign-registered vehicles enter Britain each year. Polish vehicles make up 36 percent, French vehicles 10 percent and German vehicles 9 percent.
Foreign vehicles are 30 percent more likely to be in a crash than British-registered vehicles. The number of crashes caused by foreign vehicles rose by 47 percent between 2003 and 2008. There were almost 400 deaths and serious injuries and 3000 slight injuries from accidents caused by foreign vehicles in 2008.
The new law is partly intended to settle the problem of foreign lorry drivers who ignore limits on weight and hours at the wheel. Foreign Lorries are three times more likely to be in a crash than British Lorries. Recent spot checks found that three quarters of Lorries that failed safety tests were registered overseas.
The standard deposit for a careless driving offence—such as driving too close to the vehicle in front or reading a map at the wheel—will be ￡300. Deposits for speeding offences and using mobile phones will be ￡60. Foreign drivers will not get points as punishment added to their licenses, while British drivers will. What’s the meaning of the underline word in the third paragraph