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Defendants (criminal proceedings)

Estonia

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Estonia

How are minor traffic offences dealt with?

Punishments for exceeding the speed limit and breaking parking and other traffic rules are imposed in misdemeanour proceedings.

The misdemeanour is dealt with by the police either at the location where the offence is discovered or at a police station.

There is no obligation to punish you on the spot. Instead you may be issued with a warning, or a cautionary fine may be imposed (up to EUR 15). It is also possible that a decision is made in the expedited procedure on-the-spot and a fine of up to EUR 400 is imposed. The on-the-spot procedure can be carried out only with your consent. Audio or video recordings may be made of statements made by the person regarding the crime.

If you break the speed limit and are caught by a speed camera, a cautionary fine can be imposed on the owner or registered user of the vehicle. The maximum cautionary fine is EUR 190. The fine notice is sent to you by post. If you do not agree with the fine notice, you have the right to challenge it within 30 days of receipt. The complaint should be submitted to the police station which sent the fine notice to you. If the natural person responsible for a motor vehicle disputes the imposition of a fine because the vehicle was being used by someone else, he or she must state in the complaint the first name and surname of the person using the car at the time noted in the fine notice, as well as that person's address, driving licence number and date of birth or personal ID number.

If you do not agree with the opinions of the police about the alleged offence, you have the right to object to the on-the-spot procedure. In that case the police will draw up documents about the offence on the spot, but the punishment will not be imposed immediately.

The documents will be forwarded to the police station whose officials must collect evidence regarding the offence. If you are questioned, you have the right to remain silent. You have the right to have a lawyer and an interpreter present. You have the right to review the material collected during the misdemeanour proceedings and object to the charges.

You can submit your objections within 15 days of receiving the misdemeanour report. You will be told when it is possible for you to get a copy of the decision made on the misdemeanour from the police. In order to obtain a copy, you or your lawyer must go to the police station. It will not be sent by post.

Traffic offences may be punished by a maximum fine of EUR 1 200. For a serious traffic offence you may be arrested for up to 30 days. A decision on arrest can only be made by a court. You may also be banned from driving for up to 2 years.

If you do not agree with the police's decision, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the county court. You must lodge the complaint within 15 days of the date when the decision first became available.

Citizens of other Member States of the European Union can also be punished for traffic offences.

Will misdemeanours appear on my criminal record?

Punishments for traffic offences will be entered in the punishment register, except for information about cautionary fines. Information on offences is deleted from the register and is archived one year after the fine imposed for the misdemeanour is paid, the custodial sentence is served, the community service is performed or the driving ban is imposed as a main sanction;

Related links

Traffic Act #_ftn1

Traffic Act in English (may not contain all the amendments)#_ftn2

Code of Misdemeanour Procedure #_ftn3

Code of Misdemeanour Procedure in English (may not contain all the amendments)

Last update: 01/10/2020

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