Road Safety Bill [HL]

The problem of drivers who do not hold a British driving licence is serious, be they truck or car drivers. We hear stories of them not paying the congestion charge because no one can catch up with them. It is extraordinary that after all these years the European Union does not have a common clearing house for sorting out these problems. However, clearly we do not have one. Perhaps it is something for the British presidency to take up next month. Many people are fed up with the fact that if you hold   a British driving licence you can be caught—admittedly quite rightly—for all kinds of offences, but if you have a foreign number plate or hold a foreign driving licence you can get away with it. Perhaps I may remind noble Lords that only a couple of weeks ago a report in the press described a famous person driving a very fast British car on the French motorway on the way to his second or third home in Tuscany. He was stopped by the police for doing 150 or 180 kilometres per hour. He had to pay the best part of a €1,000 fine and had his licence taken away on the spot. The report ended by saying that his wife carried on driving the car. Even so, it must have been quite a shock. I do not know whether the French police take credit cards. I do not believe that they do so and I do not know whether we plan to. The noble Earl, Lord Attlee, also asked that question. When it comes to things like this, we must ensure common treatment of everyone on the roads, be they British or foreigners. I hope that my noble friend can explain how that is to be done.