Probably most drivers who drive a car on a daily basis have collected one or two traffic fines. Unfortunately, sometimes we can get a penalty when we are very late or having a bad day. Below we have gathered all the information you need to be aware of. And how we, as fleet managers, process the fines we receive and what our customers then have to do.
Motorway sticker fine
You can buy several types of motorway stickers in Hungary:
- • There are "seasonal" vignettes, which allow unlimited use of all Hungarian motorways during the validity period. You can buy a 10-day, monthly or annual sticker.
- • There are also county vignettes, which are valid for all toll sections in the county for one year.
Because there are so many options to choose from, there may be cases where you drive onto the highway without paying the toll and get fined (previous month's sticker expired and we forgot to buy a new one, accidentally crossed the county line without a valid sticker). Unfortunately, it is possible to buy a sticker and still receive a penalty. In this case, you probably bought it with the wrong data. You may have misspelled the registration number or chosen the wrong tariff category. In this case, it is possible to change the category and the registration number (up to 3 characters). There is an administrative cost for this, which can only be requested by the owner of the car. The National Toll Service also offers you the possibility to skip paying the fine:
- • You can avoid paying the penalty by buying an annual national vignette after the event, so if you know you will be using the motorways a lot, it is worth choosing this option.
- • Also, if you have driven on the motorway several times in a given period without a valid sticker, you can apply for a surcharge cap. In which case 2 fines will be paid and the rest (within the specified period) will be waived. Our colleagues keep track of the fines received and, if there is a possibility, automatically submit a request for a maximisation.
Amount of the fine: 16 220 HUF
+ Tip: If you realise after driving onto the motorway that you don't have a sticker for that section, buy one at the nearest petrol station or by phone. It is important that the purchase is made within 1 hour, as this will prevent the fine being issued.
Speeding fine
In all cases, the owner of the vehicle will be notified, and you will only be informed personally if the police stop the offending vehicle and inform the driver of the speeding offence on the spot.
Amount of the fine: 30 000 HUF – 300 000 HUF
Traffic fine
If you are parked under a "No stopping or waiting" sign, in a disabled parking space or in a green area, or if you continue on the road despite a "No entry" sign, you are committing a road traffic offence and may be fined.
In the case of an on-the-spot penalty (when you receive the fine straight away), it is advisable to pay the fine within a short time, as this is the least you will have to pay. If the payment is not received within a certain time, a notice is sent to the car owner, which already includes an administration fee. If the offence is committed while moving (for example driving in the wrong direction), the first notification is sent to the car operator.
Amount of the fine: 10 000 HUF – 50 000 HUF
Parking fine
For parking fines, as with traffic offences, it is best to pay the fine as early as possible. However, in addition to the administrative costs, there is also a surcharge if you wait too long to pay. If you have bought a parking ticket but have still been fined, you must contact the charging authority with proof of the ticket you bought. Our colleagues may also receive a notice in this case, so we would like to ask our customers to make sure that they inform us if this happens.
Amount of the fine: 5 000 HUF – 30 000 HUF
+ Tip: If you see your car being ticketed, it's a good idea to buy your parking ticket immediately (within 5 minutes on your mobile phone, within 10 minutes via a ticket machine) to avoid paying the fine.
Our staff monitor incoming fines, deal with enquiries and handle complaints on a daily basis. Since we are the owners of the cars, we receive the penalties. We handle the payments and invoice them to our customers. For this reason, it is also important that if our customers deal with fines in person (payments, complaints), they inform us so that we can avoid incorrect payments.