Motorway fee evasion easy for foreigners in Hungary

Foreign-licensed cars can easily evade paying motorway fees in Hungary, because state motorway operator ÁAK cannot access their data if they are only caught on camera, writes daily Népszabadság. Experience shows that one-third of those trying to evade payment are foreigners.

Since January 2008, highway stickers are no longer used in Hungary but license plates are monitored in order to check whether motorists have paid the fees. If a Hungarian-licensed car is caught on camera using a road without paying the fee, the ÁAK can retrieve personal data on the owner from the central motor vehicle registry and mail the fine. However, there are no international agreements in effect in Europe which would make it possible to access personal data on the owner in case of a foreign license plate. This problem might be solved by the end of this year if an agreement is made with the National Transport Authority (NKH).

Foreign-licensed vehicles trying to evade fees can currently be fined only if they are caught on the roads by one of the mobile control groups of the ÁAK. However, there is a way to avoid getting a fine if the driver stops in the stopping lane and purchases a virtual "sticker" with their mobile phone before controllers have a chance to check them.

Due to shortcomings in the system, foreign drivers might be suspected of trying to evade the fees even if they are not. It is enough to pay the fee at the wrong gas station where the attendant takes the money from the register and erases the data of the purchase from the system. Cashiers have 10 minutes to do this as the system waits that long before returning a confirmation in order to allow time for erasing erroneous data. Of course, the ÁAK is likely to notice if several purchases are erased at the same gas station every day.

Not only motorway but also parking fees can be evaded with a foreign-licensed car, which is one reason many Hungarians register their cars in Slovakia. Parking companies are in a difficult situation when trying to mail a fine to the owner of a car with a foreign license plate, because this process is not unified even within the EU. According to József Tóth, chairman of the Hungarian Parking Alliance, they are rarely successful when trying to fine the owner of a foreign-licensed car for parking illegally.

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