Case C-639/11 - The Court of Justice of the European Union has stated that the Republic of Poland has failed to fulfil the obligations of a Member State to register motor vehicles by establishing for the purposes of registration an obligation to transfer to the left of the steering system of a passenger car placed on the right.
Poland, as well as its support in the course of the proceedings, pointed to the very high risk of travelling in cars with the steering wheel on the right. The arguments that the position of the steering wheel in the vehicle on the same side as the direction of road traffic reduces the driver's visibility and make overtaking and other manoeuvres much more difficult, in particular on two-way single-road roads, such as those that account for most of the Polish road network, thus increasing the risk of accidents did not reach the Court's ruling.
The Court of Justice of the European Union argued by stating that the use for a certain period of time of vehicles in Poland, as well as the statistics cited by the Polish side, do not show sufficient link between the number of accidents raised and the number of vehicles in which the steering wheel is on the right.
The Court of Justice of the European Union argued by stating that the use for a certain period of time of vehicles in Poland (e.g.
travel for tourist purposes) and the statistics cited by the Polish side do not sufficiently show the link between the number of accidents raised and the share of vehicles in which the steering wheel is on the right.
The Court also noted that 22 The registration of vehicles in which the driver's seat is on the same side as the road traffic direction, even if the state of the roads is comparable to that in Poland, is explicitly allowed in the Member States, and thus the vast majority of the European Union.
According to Article 260(1) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union if the Court of Justice of the European Union finds that a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations one of the obligations incumbent upon it by that Member State shall take measures to ensure that the judgment of the Court is implemented.
Therefore, in view of the unfavourable judgment for Poland, it is necessary to amend the provisions as soon as possible so that cars with a driver's seat on the right can be based on existing regulations registered in our country.
Otherwise, the Commission may refer the matter back to the Court of Justice of the European Union, together with a proposal for a penalty which the Commission will recognise as appropriate to the circumstances.