Bad Polish drivers send cost of court translations soaring
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- Created on Friday, 04 January 2008 14:45
They may be charming people and brilliant plumbers, but put them behind the wheel of a car and it seems that many Poles regard traffic regulations, if they regard them at all, as a challenge to be conquered.
You only have to look at the hair-raising Polish drivers’ video clips on YouTube to learn of their notoriety – and understand that there is something of a cultural chasm when it comes to road safety.
The growth in the number of Polish immigrants committing road traffic offences now appears to be the main reason behind a 300 per cent rise in the cost of supplying interpreters to the Scottish courts.
The biggest rise is in Aberdeen, where the cost of translating in court has risen by 1,200 per cent in the past three years, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Press and Journal.
The increase – from £2,000 in 2003-04 to £26,000 last year – was described as astonishing by the Tories. The translation service for court appearances now costs taxpayers £653,000 a year, compared with £167,000 three years ago.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that traffic offences are the most common cases requiring interpreters.
Bill Aitken, the Tories’ Scottish justice spokesman, said: “It’s clear that the road traffic laws in Poland and elsewhere are not nearly so strict as in the UK. Our guests from Eastern Europe in particular are going to have to learn that the laws apply just as much to them as they do to the rest of us.”
Other Scottish cities have also exeprienced large rises in translation costs. In Inverness, which has a high number of Polish immigrants, there has been almost a 360 per cent rise in court costs, from £12,000 to £43,000; in Dundee there has been a similar leap, from £11,000 to £43,000 in three years; and Perth Sheriff Court’s costs have risen from £3,000 to £27,000.
Dingwall, in Rossshire, was one of only two courts in Scotland where the costs fell – from £5,000 to £4,000.
Last summer The Times revealed figures on the growing problem of unsafe foreign drivers, showing that more than a tenth of the motorists sent on a drink-drive rehabilitation course were from Eastern Europe.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), which handles claims from crashes caused by uninsured drivers, recorded that the number of claims against Polish drivers had more than tripled in the past two years.
The MIB said the number of crashes involving uninsured Polish vehicles had risen from 938 in 2004 to 3,312 last year. The organisation is lobbying for a Europe-wide database of insurance policies to allow police to check instantly whether a foreign vehicle is insured.
Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, said: “I suppose it is almost inevitable that, since we have increases in the number of migrants, we get increases in appearances at court. People are entitled to justice even if it does cost a lot. However, £20,000 for interpreters does seem a trifle excessive.”
The Government is planning to give police new powers to issue on-the-spot fines to foreign drivers caught committing traffic offences.
In an article entitled published on the British Polish Chamber of Commerce website, Michael Dembinski writes: “It’s the first thing anyone coming from Britain to Poland notices – the appalling standard of driving.”
He advises drivers new to Poland to treat each drive as a survival exercise. “Assume that every driver is either suicidal or homicidal.”
The fees
— Attendance at court earns an interpreter a minimum of £40 and £22 per hour after that
— There is also a £20 per day admin fee Overnight stays, including dinner, bed and breakfast, cost £70 per night
— Transport costs must also be paid The amount spent by Grampian Police on interpreters has increased from £13,500 in 2003-04 to £63,000 in 2006-07
You only have to look at the hair-raising Polish drivers’ video clips on YouTube to learn of their notoriety – and understand that there is something of a cultural chasm when it comes to road safety.
The growth in the number of Polish immigrants committing road traffic offences now appears to be the main reason behind a 300 per cent rise in the cost of supplying interpreters to the Scottish courts.
The biggest rise is in Aberdeen, where the cost of translating in court has risen by 1,200 per cent in the past three years, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Press and Journal.
The increase – from £2,000 in 2003-04 to £26,000 last year – was described as astonishing by the Tories. The translation service for court appearances now costs taxpayers £653,000 a year, compared with £167,000 three years ago.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that traffic offences are the most common cases requiring interpreters.
Bill Aitken, the Tories’ Scottish justice spokesman, said: “It’s clear that the road traffic laws in Poland and elsewhere are not nearly so strict as in the UK. Our guests from Eastern Europe in particular are going to have to learn that the laws apply just as much to them as they do to the rest of us.”
Other Scottish cities have also exeprienced large rises in translation costs. In Inverness, which has a high number of Polish immigrants, there has been almost a 360 per cent rise in court costs, from £12,000 to £43,000; in Dundee there has been a similar leap, from £11,000 to £43,000 in three years; and Perth Sheriff Court’s costs have risen from £3,000 to £27,000.
Dingwall, in Rossshire, was one of only two courts in Scotland where the costs fell – from £5,000 to £4,000.
Last summer The Times revealed figures on the growing problem of unsafe foreign drivers, showing that more than a tenth of the motorists sent on a drink-drive rehabilitation course were from Eastern Europe.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), which handles claims from crashes caused by uninsured drivers, recorded that the number of claims against Polish drivers had more than tripled in the past two years.
The MIB said the number of crashes involving uninsured Polish vehicles had risen from 938 in 2004 to 3,312 last year. The organisation is lobbying for a Europe-wide database of insurance policies to allow police to check instantly whether a foreign vehicle is insured.
Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, said: “I suppose it is almost inevitable that, since we have increases in the number of migrants, we get increases in appearances at court. People are entitled to justice even if it does cost a lot. However, £20,000 for interpreters does seem a trifle excessive.”
The Government is planning to give police new powers to issue on-the-spot fines to foreign drivers caught committing traffic offences.
In an article entitled published on the British Polish Chamber of Commerce website, Michael Dembinski writes: “It’s the first thing anyone coming from Britain to Poland notices – the appalling standard of driving.”
He advises drivers new to Poland to treat each drive as a survival exercise. “Assume that every driver is either suicidal or homicidal.”
The fees
— Attendance at court earns an interpreter a minimum of £40 and £22 per hour after that
— There is also a £20 per day admin fee Overnight stays, including dinner, bed and breakfast, cost £70 per night
— Transport costs must also be paid The amount spent by Grampian Police on interpreters has increased from £13,500 in 2003-04 to £63,000 in 2006-07
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