Diplomatic Speeders to Be Given Opportunity to Come Clean
As of this week, cars with diplomatic plates no longer have immunity from radar cameras, although diplomats themselves still do.
Public officials had long maintained that it would not be legally possible to fine the registered owners of such vehicles for speeding - of which there are about 20 cases a month - but a solution has now been found, reported Postimees.
"It is not possible to automate the sending of warning fine notices to foreign embassies as it would require additional time- and resource-intensive developments," said Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karin Kangro, but announced that in the future, such notices would be sent by ordinary first-class mail.
"The embassies will be notified that their vehicle has exceeded the speed limit, and asked whether it was being driven by a person with diplomatic immunity. If so, the embassy will be requested to say whether it seeks misdemeanor proceedings applied in that person's regard."
Kangro noted that the category of legal action called "warning procedure" can only be applied at the request of a foreign country.
In the first two days, cameras have not caught any cars with the CD license plates speeding, so it is not yet possible to say whether there will be a new trend of embassies voluntarily throwing their staff on the pyre of Estonian traffic court.
Kristopher Rikken