21-03-2025
Camera error: Sund & Bælt cancels fines on North Jutland stretch
By Sund & Bælt is now canceling fines issued in connection with the collection of tolls on
It concerns the stretch of the E45 at Ellidshøj in the southbound direction approximately 15 kilometers south of Aalborg in the period from February 4 to March 11.
The cancellation is due to an incorrect time setting in the camera in question, according to Sund & Bælt and the hauliers’ organization DTL.
If you have received a fine from the camera during this period, you will receive a letter stating that the fine will be canceled. If you have already paid the fine, the amount will be refunded automatically, Sund & Bælt informs DTL and adds that the error has been corrected.
https://borsen.dk/nyheder/virksomheder/ny-vejafgift-vognmaend-oversvommes-af-boder
13. feb. 2025
Danish hauliers are flooded with penalty notices following the introduction of a new road tax. Almost 3000 have been issued in just five days, according to ITD.
Danish hauliers are being inundated with fines after they have to pay a new kilometer-based toll from 1 January. 2978 fines have been issued for incorrect payment in just five days in January.
https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2025-02-14-nyt-system-giver-vognmaend-masser-af-boeder-selvom-de-har-betalt
Feb 14 at 18:05
New system gives hauliers lots of fines even though they’ve paid
A new tolling system is flawed, and it’s affecting hauliers.
Prepared by TV Syd
John Agervig Skovrup is chairman of the hauliers’ trade association, International Transport Denmark, and here he shows where the new toll booth is located. Photo: Frank Blauenfeldt / tvSyd
On January 1, 2025, a new road tax for trucks in Denmark came into effect.
If the tax is not paid, a fine of DKK 4,500 can be imposed. But according to the trade association International Transport Denmark (ITD), the system is flawed and a number of truck drivers have already received incorrect fines.
One of them is haulier Lars Matzen Petersen.
– “We’re a bit nervous. The level of fines is completely disproportionate, says the haulier, who has his own company.
On January 5, he received the first five fines, even though he had paid for the tax.
– They have been canceled, but I got a fine on Friday, which is 14 days old, which we have paid, he says.Lars Matzen Petersen received the first five fines on January 5, but the tax had already been paid. Photo: Private photo / Lars Matzen Petersen
At least 300 fines
The new toll is calculated based on the number of kilometers driven, the weight of the truck, its CO₂ emissions and whether it drives in environmental zones. Hauliers can pay the tax by installing a toll box in the truck.
But there are errors in the system, according to ITD, which has received 300 fines as examples from their members. More are coming in daily, they say.
– We can see that many of our members receive a lot of fines for not paying tolls, despite the fact that the boxes they have installed in their trucks actually show that they work, says John Agervig Skovrup, Chairman of ITD.
Dozens of complaints
It is not only ITD’s own statement that shows that haulier Lars Matzen is far from alone in receiving fines.
This is according to a document access to fines and complaints in cases of non-payment of tolls that tvSyd has received from the Danish Road Traffic Agency.
As of February 10, 4,632 fines had been issued for “failure to pay correct mileage-based tolls” between January 1 and 17.
https://www.transportmagasinet.dk/article/view/1152848/lige_nuitd_anklager_staten_for_ulovlig_vejafgiftsbode_kraever_handling_fra_eu?ref=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily
March 18, 2025
ITD accuses state of illegal toll fine – demands action from the EU
Since the kilometer-based toll came into effect on January 1, 2025, more than 17,000 fines have been issued to hauliers.
This equates to fines of over 76 million DKK in less than two months.
ITD believes that the fining practice violates EU law and has therefore filed a formal complaint with the European Commission.
ITD writes this in a press release.
According to ITD, all fines are issued at an indicative rate of 4,500 DKK – regardless of the circumstances of the offense.
According to the organization, this is contrary to EU Directive 1999/62/E, which states that fines must be proportionate to the nature and gravity of the infringement.
– In its eagerness to impose yet another tax on the haulage industry, the Danish government has completely overlooked or ignored the fact that their fining practices are illegal, says ITD Director Stefan K. Schou. Schou.
He emphasizes that ITD does not want to protect systematic culprits, but believes that authorities should take into account both systemic and human error.
Lack of conduct from the authorities
ITD has previously highlighted the issues to the authorities and called for a suspension of fines until the system errors are fixed.
According to ITD, Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen has tried to find solutions, but the organization calls for greater understanding from Sund & Bælt.
– We have seen that the Minister of Transport is working for the best conditions for the haulage industry and is also trying to show good conduct. Now we have yet to see the conduct in practice from Sund & Bælt, which so far has not shown the hauliers much understanding and has repeatedly denied errors, even though we have presented the evidence in black and white,” says Stefan K. Schou.
ITD is now demanding that the Danish state stops the current fining practice and that illegally issued fines are canceled.
The organization also promises its members that they will follow the case through to the end.
March 17, 2025
Skovrup on tax chaos: “We hauliers must be able to trust the system”
Incorrect reading of license plates leads to unlawful fines
John Agervig Skovrup, Chairman ITD. Photo: ITD
By Jakob Bargmann
March 17, 2025 10:09
Road hauliers receive erroneous fines for incorrectly paid tolls due to system errors in the new toll system.
The issues include misregistering vehicles and issuing fines to hauliers for cars they no longer own or have never owned. The errors are mainly due to incorrect reading of license plates and are not limited to a specific checkpoint.
ITD announces this in a press release.
– In some specific cases, the system has read the license plate of trucks incorrectly. This results in hauliers receiving fines for cars they don’t own because the system swaps numbers and letters on license plates. In some cases it’s due to bad pictures, and in other cases we simply cannot figure out why the error occurs, as the license plate is clearly visible in the photo, says John Agervig Skovrup, Chairman of ITD.
The issue is deeply problematic, according to the ITD President, as hauliers cannot trust the toll system and are forced to spend time and resources on a cumbersome appeals process.
– At this stage, we do not see any pattern as to why the error occurs. Therefore, I strongly urge all hauliers to pay attention to the details in their penalty notices. Are the time, license plate and location correct? If there is any doubt at all, it is important that you don’t just pay, but that you object. We hauliers must be able to trust the toll system,” says John Agervig Skovrup.
ITD is following the case closely and encourages all members and customers who have Telepass via VIALTIS to send their toll fines to ITD’s General Counsel for legal assessment and possible appeal.
March 17, 2025
Haulier chairman on fine chaos: “It’s crazy, but the biggest challenge is the uncertainty in the world”
One challenge is the biggest right now, he says
Haulier Henrik Lund Kristiansen, Hundested. Private photo
By Jakob Bargmann
March 17, 2025 05:00
– Right now, I’m thinking that nothing new is good news.
In recent days, stories have emerged about hauliers who have mistakenly received fines for non-payment of tolls.
The latest example is a haulier in Simested, Himmerland, who received six fines on cars – that were stationary!
– Completely unreasonable
But in North Zealand, the chairman of Nordre Birks Vognmandsforening, haulier Henrik Lund Kristiansen from Hundested, has not yet heard of anyone in the area who has received an erroneous fine for missing tolls.
He told Lastbil Magasinet ahead of the association’s general meeting on Saturday.
– If anyone has received any incorrect fines, I’ll probably hear about it on Saturday. But I haven’t heard anything. Should the opposite be the case, I will probably find out,” says Henrik Lund Kristiansen.
– But these are completely unreasonable fines that have nothing to do with anything. It’s completely insane that a haulier could get six fines of DKK 4,500 for cars that are stationary,” says Henrik Lund Kristiansen, whose own company, Svend Kristiansen & Søn Hundested, has a fleet of four scrap cars.
When you say that you haven’t heard of anyone in your area receiving fines, could this be because many DTL members are smaller hauliers who may not drive as much on toll roads?
– No, our cars drive everywhere, even on toll roads. We’ve held some meetings in our associations, and we’ve had Brobizz out to talk about these boxes. It may be that our members have taken on board the fact that you have to remember to key in correctly. What I hear is that some hauliers have sometimes entered a registration number incorrectly. But we’ve certainly had some good meetings. That may be part of the explanation, but I can’t say,” the Hundested haulier points out.
Biggest challenge since the Cuban Missile Crisis
Nordre Birks Vognmandsforening currently has around 85 members, and when they meet on Saturday at Skævinge Kro, it is with the knowledge that the wheels are turning.
– All I’m hearing is that the hauliers have enough to go around. I haven’t heard about the slowdown that some are talking about,” says Henrik Lund Kristiansen.
Despite tolls, green transition, transition to electricity and other typical challenges for the industry, this year there is one topic that is particularly important to the local chairman.
– It’s actually not something that has much to do with the trucking industry, but it’s the uncertainty in the world that can cause problems for all of us. I’m so old that I actually think it’s the biggest challenge the world has faced since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Of course, it is for me to say so, but it is a world situation that can hurt us all – that we see some men in power who do not know what they are doing.
Morten Bach received six fines in one day – even though the trucks were stationary: “It’s very good night”
– You lose trust in the system.
Morten Bach from Simested Vognmandsforretning first thought it was a mistake when he saw six fines from the Danish Road Safety Agency in his e-Boks.
Each fine amounted to DKK 4,500 for non-payment of tolls.
However, according to tachograph data, the trucks had not been driving at all at the times the fines had been registered.
– “It’s a complete nightmare. All the cars have stopped,” says Morten Bach.
Simested Vognmandsforretning has 17 trucks and transports everything from scrap and metal to live animals.
According to Morten Bach, it is particularly strange that the fines apply on a Sunday evening when they have no activity at all.
– According to the fines, our cars have driven between 19:45 and 00:27 on a Sunday. But we never have a single car on the road on Sundays, let alone at night. I have Tacho online extracts that show that the cars have not been on the road,” he explains.
It can’t be because the cars have been driving without your knowledge?
– No, because the cars are here with me. I can sit and look out at them at night.
Together with his organization, DTL, he has submitted a formal complaint.
Camera setting error
In a written response to Transportmagasinet, Sund & Bælt, the company behind the toll system, acknowledges an error in the setting of a license plate camera on the E45 south of Aalborg.
The error meant that trucks were registered at times when they had not traveled on the route.
This has resulted in hundreds of unjustified fines for hauliers who have passed the camera in North Jutland.
A report shows that 647 fines may have been issued on an incorrect basis, according to Sund & Bælt.
They state that all these fines are now canceled and that fines already paid will be refunded.
– The system works as intended, but a time stamp on one camera has been incorrect for a period of time, which has led to unjustified fines. We have solved the problem and we apologize for the inconvenience it has caused the hauliers, Sund & Bælt writes in their response to Transportmagasinet.
At the same time, they assure that initiatives have been taken to prevent similar errors from happening again.
More hauliers affected
Morten Bach is far from the only one who has experienced problems with unjustified fines.
Svend Dahl, a haulier at Fjelsø Tanktransport, has also been fined even though his vehicles were correctly registered to pay tolls via a telepass box.
– “We haven’t been fined while the cars have been stationary, but we have been fined while the cars were registered with a telepass box. We were told that the system would automatically register that we had paid, but we still received fines,” he says.
Svend Dahl has sent objections to the fines he has received, but he now has to wait up to three months for a decision. At the time of writing, he does not know if he is one of the 647.
However, the payment is suspended until a decision has been made.
Fear of more errors
Hauliers like Morten Bach fear that more errors may occur in the system.
– If they can send us fines for driving we didn’t do, how can we trust that we won’t be double billed for the trips we actually make?” he asks.
The Ministry of Transport has been presented with the case, but has not yet answered whether political action will be taken to investigate the toll system’s failure rate.
For now, Morten Bach is waiting for the official cancellation of their fines – but doubts about the reliability of the system remain.
Transport Magazine follows up on the case with a comment from the Ministry of Transport and DTL on Thursday.
March 13, 2025 08:24 am
Hundreds of erroneous toll fines: ITD demands action
A checkpoint in North Jutland has issued erroneous fines to trucks that were not even on site. ITD fears more errors.
ITD’s chairman, John Agervig Skovrup, calls on Sund & Bælt to take greater responsibility. Photo: ITD
By Mark Bøje
March 13, 2025 08:24
647 tolls.
Almost DKK 3 million in fines.
That’s how much a checkpoint in North Jutland has issued to trucks that were demonstrably not on site at the time of the alleged violation.
This is a serious concern for ITD, which is now demanding greater transparency from Sund & Bælt.
ITD writes this in a press release.
Since the kilometer-based toll came into force at the turn of the year, Danish hauliers have experienced a wave of fines, several of which have been unjustified.
ITD alone has received over 900 fines for legal assessment.
As Transportmagasinet revealed yesterday, it turns out that a specific checkpoint in North Jutland generated erroneous fines for at least a month before Sund & Bælt reacted.
– I am deeply disgusted that errors of this nature occur – and continue for so long without being corrected, says ITD’s Chairman, John Agervig Skovrup.
Fear of more errors
ITD fears that the problem may be more widespread and points out that hauliers must discover the errors themselves and fight for cancellation.
– “It’s unacceptable that we hauliers are made responsible for discovering a defective checkpoint and then have to use our resources to cancel fines issued on a completely inexplicable basis,” says John Agervig Skovrup and calls on Sund & Bælt to take greater responsibility.
ITD now encourages all hauliers to check their fines thoroughly and send documentation to ITD’s General Counsel if they discover irregularities.
March 14, 2025 10:22 am
Transport Minister after 647 incorrect fines: “No system is flawless”
Last week’s revelations about fine chaos have prompted DTL to demand action.
Ove Holm, DTL, is “on the verge of saying” that the fining machine must be stopped until they are sure that similar cases are not on the way. Graphic: Mark Bøje
By Mark Bøje
March 14, 2025 10:22
647 erroneous fines were canceled by Sund & Bælt on Wednesday.
Now both DTL and Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen react to the case.
DTL fears more errors, while the minister maintains that the system works.
Trust is shaken
Ove Holm, Deputy Director and head of DTL’s business policy department, has followed the case closely and calls the course of events “annoying” – especially because the error has undermined confidence in the toll system.
-“Sound & Belt has been pretty confident that they had a good system. They have laid down flat and admitted the error, and that was very important to me,” he says, emphasizing that DTL expected the fines to be cancelled automatically without the individual hauliers having to submit objections.
-“And we now understand that the hauliers are being accommodated.
Holm believes that the error should have consequences for how the system is handled in the future.
-“It just can’t happen again. I’m on the verge of saying that they need to stop the fining machine until we’re sure there won’t be another one of these cases. The question is, will there be more? We hope not.
I’m on the verge of saying that they need to stop the fining machine until we’re sure there won’t be another one of these cases
Ove Holm, DTL
He also points out that the system should have had a running-in period that could have caught the errors:
-It would have been good to have had a running-in period of three months or similar, so we could have avoided this. In retrospect, there should probably have been a proper running-in period like many other IT systems.
Holm also mentions that the problem will become even more serious when the fine for missing tolls is raised from 4500 to 9000 kroner on July 1.
No system is flawless
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen (V) acknowledges that the system is not flawless, but he believes that Sund & Bælt has handled the error correctly.
He states this in a written response to Transportmagasinet.
-There is no system that is flawless, and we can also see this with the tolls. It’s an unfortunate error that happened with the camera in Aalborg, but I understand that Sund & Bælt has corrected it, that they will cancel the fines and that those who have already paid the fines will get their money back.
The Minister of Transport has not commented on Transport Magazine’s question about whether there should be a political investigation into the system’s flaws.
DTL has not lost faith in the system completely. Ove Holm believes that the toll system has the potential to function smoothly:
-It has to work. We can’t live with a system that doesn’t work. And it can work. It’s been working in Germany since 2005, so I wonder if it’s possible. It’s just a shame that we in DTL and the hauliers have to spend so much time on it.” While DTL wants a break in fines, the Minister’s statement is that the system will continue, but that errors will be handled continuously.
The question now is whether hauliers will regain confidence in the toll system – or whether new errors will occur as the penalty rate doubles this summer.