Traffic fine and driving ban in Luxembourg with a foreign licence

The cross-border driver caught on camera receives the fixed fine at home, normally within four weeks, with 75 days to pay. Payment closes the matter and deducts points from the Luxembourg virtual licence. Not paying erases nothing: the file goes to the prosecutor, who may cite you before the police court, and the fine, once imposed by judgment, is enforceable at home through mutual recognition of financial penalties (Framework Decision 2005/214). Contesting is possible, in writing within the period stated on the notice, where the driver was not at the wheel, the signage was defective or the measurement is questionable; the notice names the plate holder, not the driver, and the driver's identity can be specified.

The limit is 0.5 g/l of blood (0.2 g/l for novice and professional drivers). Between 0.5 and 0.8 g/l: fixed fine and 2 points deducted; between 0.8 and 1.2 g/l: serious contravention tried by the police court, fine and 4 points deducted; from 1.2 g/l, or on refusing the test: misdemeanour, immediate licence withdrawal, correctional chamber, fine and driving ban. For drugs, mere detected presence suffices. A foreign licence retained on the spot is returned or forwarded to the prosecutor; a driving ban imposed in Luxembourg applies only on its territory, but a cross-border worker who works there feels its effects every day.

The summons arrives by post or bailiff, in French or German. The hearing is held at the Cité judiciaire in Luxembourg or at the Diekirch court; the defendant may be represented by a lawyer admitted to a Luxembourg Bar. The stakes are argued on three fronts: the regularity of the check (notification of rights, approved device, interval between the two breath samples), the classification retained, and the sentence, in particular the length of the driving ban and the possibility of a ban limited to non-working days or suspended, which is decisive for anyone crossing the border every morning.

An offence committed in Luxembourg deducts no points from a French licence and triggers no administrative measure by the French prefect. A Luxembourg criminal conviction (drink-driving misdemeanour, hit-and-run, involuntary injury) is, however, transmitted to the home State's criminal record through ECRIS and may be entered there, with possible consequences for certain jobs and for declarations to the insurer. Conversely, a Luxembourg resident stopped in France falls under French law: no points can be deducted from a Luxembourg licence, but a fine, an administrative suspension valid on French territory and criminal proceedings apply depending on severity.