Grace period over: police to fine drivers of non-compliant vehicles

At the end of last year, there were more than a hundred thousand vehicles on the nation's roads operating without valid safety (STK) or emission certificates (ETK), with police giving all owners until the end of February this year to correct the issues or deregister the vehicles altogether. As of the first of March, with the grace period over, drivers of vehicles without current inspection or emission control stickers will be sent fines automatically: a €165 fine for not having a current roadworthiness certificate and €165 for not having a current vehicle emissions certificate. If a vehicle has neither, the owner can expect a combined fine of up to €335. Ladislav Jelínek from the National Association of Technical Inspectors said that most motorists have left their inspections to the very last minute. "With STKs, we had a huge rush. People left it till six o'clock, even later. Some did it on Saturday. It's a beautiful example of Slovak nature; like leaving gift-buying until the day before Christmas", said Jelínek. According to spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport Martin Kona, vehicle owners who are enlisted into the system are warned twice before their vehicle's certificates expire: once 30 days beforehand, and again 14 days beforehand.