This deliverable displays the results of work package 1 “Methodology and Data Collection” of the EU Bestpoint project (“Criteria for BEST Practice Demerit POINT Systems”) funded under Grant Agreement Number MOVE/SUB/2010/D3/300-1/S12.569987-BestPoint by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport. It aims at collecting detailed information about implemented DPS and the general framework in different EU countries. At the moment, 21 out of 27 EU countries have a DPS installed. Most countries use the DPS as a prevention tool, some also for the correction of offenders’ behaviour and the selection of habitual offenders. DPS were introduced to provide higher road safety. Most of the countries add the points, only some subtract points. Four of the countries count every offence equally as one point. In the other countries, offences and number of points are weighted on the basis of seriousness of the offence. The experts prefer the criterion of seriousness for pointing, but also point out that the system should be simple and clear. In most of the countries, the DPS targets licence holders only and it does not include pedestrians and cyclists. The experts differ widely in their opinion; some say that persons without a licence should not be included because drivers of motor vehicles are main violators. Many countries treat novice drivers differently; some DPS even apply only to novice drivers. After 3-39 points there is a licence withdrawal, meaning that 1-4 offences minimum may lead to licence withdrawal. The licence withdrawal may last from one to twelve months, in most countries the period is 6 months. Most of the experts say that the withdrawal period should not be too short, because a shorter period would degrade the deterrence effect of the system. As an intermediate measure, 13 countries provide driver improvement courses which focus mostly on driving knowledge; although most of the experts see the importance of attitude change in a rehabilitation course. Further topics which are discussed in the deliverable concern the issues “Transparency and Information”, “Acceptance”, “Enforcement”, “Administration” and “Monitoring and Evaluating DPS”. The content of this deliverable will serve as input to Bestpoint WP2 “Analysis and Evaluation” where the collected data will be analysed in detail. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting