Response to interpellation 2025/26:64 on measures against reckless driving
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M believes that the government is taking systematic measures through information sharing between municipalities and the police 1 2 3 4. M argues that the penalties for reckless driving are not in parity with the severity of the crime and that these should be reviewed 1 2 3 4. MP considers the information sharing to be a necessary but insufficient measure 5 6. MP argues that the police lack legal support for tangible consequences, that the fines are too low and that the police should be able to seize cars immediately 5 6. MP believes that the government has not come far enough and that the work should have progressed faster 6 7. MP welcomes the changes that are underway 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! Good evening! Malte Tängmark Roos has asked me how I and the government will act to combat the reckless driving and why there is a delay in presenting measures against them.
I am very well aware of the problem described, that is, that vehicles are used in a way that disturbs and affects other citizens in a negative way. I have therefore previously tasked the Ministry of Justice to map out which police tools exist to handle noise disturbances from vehicles and analyze whether additional such tools are needed to address the problem. The work of analyzing the issue has been carried out in close dialogue with the Swedish Police Authority.
The analysis shows that there are, in and of themselves, certain tools for the police to use already today. Firstly, it is punishable to let one's vehicle roar unnecessarily much. If a police officer considers that a person has committed that offense, the police can directly issue a fine of 1,000 kronor or initiate a preliminary investigation which can lead to a prosecution. Secondly, a vehicle that roars can become the subject of a flying inspection. The police can then issue an order for a control inspection, and if such an order is not followed, a driving ban applies to the vehicle.
During the time the analysis work has been ongoing, I have noted that Malmö municipality has also worked creatively with its tools. It is a work that the Ministry of Justice has followed closely. Malmö has, among other things, introduced nightly driving bans on the most vulnerable streets and installed noise cameras. We have also noted that the nightly driving bans have generally received a positive response from Malmö residents and that the proportion of residents disturbed by loud noises from traffic during the nights has decreased drastically.
At the same time, it is a reality that this type of nightly driving ban restricts other citizens' freedom of movement and that they are not a permanent solution. Even though the police already have certain tools today and have received expanded resources to use them, the government, just like the interpellor and many other politicians in Malmö, sees the need to sharpen these further.
On December 1, a change in the law will enter into force that is important in this context. It means that important confidentiality barriers will be torn down. According to the new rule, there is a presumption, i.e., a starting point, to share information if it is needed to investigate, prevent, deter or detect criminal activity. This is a change in the law that will give Malmö municipality and the police new opportunities to cooperate, not least by making it possible to share information from the municipality's noise cameras with the police.
It is also clear, I mean, that today's sanctions are not sufficiently deterrent. The government will therefore review the penalties for this type of recurring and disruptive crime. The government continues to monitor the situation in Malmö, and I also do not rule out that it may become relevant to take further measures.
Malte Tängmark Roos (MP)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for Justice for the opening response!
As Minister of Justice, I have seen that reckless driving has become a serious and recurring problem in cities across Sweden, not least in my hometown Malmö. Drivers who drive well over the speed limits inside the cities and who have modified their cars specifically to allow extra loud noise spread great concern among residents and disturb the night's sleep for thousands. Media have even reported on groups that have arranged unauthorized nightly races on Malmö's streets.
Both residents, local politicians, and the police are in complete agreement that this must come to an end. Everyone should be able to sleep well in their own home, and no one should have to feel afraid to cross the street. Unfortunately, neither the municipalities nor the police have sufficient tools to truly deal with the reckless driving.
We can take Malmö as an example. As the minister pointed out, the municipality has lowered the speed limit on the streets in question and introduced night-time driving bans on certain streets. These are measures that are appreciated by the residents and which have reduced the problems on those specific streets, which is good. But as the minister also pointed out, it has partially shifted the problems to other streets and caused difficulties for some residents and businesses in the areas.
The municipality has also installed special noise cameras that, with special technology, can detect exactly which car is driving too fast or making illegally loud noise and can then check the registration number against the Swedish Transport Administration's registers. The municipality may, however, not use the information for anything other than to see if the noise has decreased and may also not share these data with the police.
I am very pleased to hear from the Minister for Justice that the legislative changes from December 1 will make it possible for the municipalities to share these data with the police. It is a very positive and long-awaited change. But the police and the municipalities agree that this alone is not enough.
The police say that in many cases they already know who the dangerous drivers are but lack legal support for measures that could lead to tangible consequences for the drivers. The fines for traffic offenses are so low that they do not deter repeated offenses. The police's ability to seize cars is very limited. And if the driver cannot be identified at a speed camera, for example because they have covered their head, no fines or other penalties can be issued at all because it is only the driver who can be punished. It is unreasonable.
Madam Speaker! During the general motion period, I submitted a motion with proposals for measures to address the problem of reckless driving in our cities. These include increasing the fines for repeated and serious traffic offenses, giving the police the right, as in Denmark, to immediately seize cars used in an unauthorized manner, as well as several other measures.
This is a proposal that Gunnar Strömmer has already seen, as the Minister for Justice has received very similar wish lists both from the police in the south and from the City of Malmö.
More than a year ago, in September 2024, the Minister for Justice promised to investigate the issue and return with proposals for measures during the first quarter of 2025. Today is November 2025, and the government's only measure so far is, therefore, to enable information exchange. It is, as said, very good, but it is not enough. During the time we wait, the sleep and safety of the people of Malmö continue to be affected.
Madam Speaker! The police, the municipalities and the citizens are demanding more measures, and there are many measures proposed. My question to the Minister of Justice then becomes: Will the government present any more concrete measures against reckless driving, and if so, which ones and when?
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank you for the opportunity to discuss this important issue today. It is important for the people of Malmö, and it is important for the citizens in many other places in Sweden where they experience the same problems.
That we are now enabling information sharing is a large and very essential step. It applies to all crime fighting. That we can link up, for example, the cameras that the police have with cameras that are installed by municipalities and by other actors means that we will be able to jointly create a systemic force against various types of crime in a completely different way.
When so much has been invested in modern, efficient noise cameras as has been done in Malmö, it is clear that it is a decisive change that it is now also becoming possible to use the camera content in an effective way and direct it towards those who are responsible for these disturbances so that they can be reached in different ways. It is an incredibly important change.
The second part I want to highlight is that the economic consequences of, in particular, repeated crime – I agree on this – must be in parity with the severity of the crime and the great consequences of the disturbances for the residents. In that regard, one can only state that a fine of 1,000 kronor does not reflect the consequences of this type of reckless driving. That is why I have now signaled that we will review the penalties, which naturally in practice means that it shall become much more expensive to engage in such crime and do so in a repeated manner.
As for additional tools, it is a discussion that we are having with the Police Authority both nationally and locally in Skåne and in Malmö. It is a fact that there are tools in the form of, for example, flying inspections or orders for inspection, and if such orders are not followed, there will be consequences. In that case, there will be a driving ban on the vehicle in question.
I am aware of the discussion being held regarding the possibility of seizing vehicles by analogy with Denmark and so on. It also relates to some extent to the severity of the penalties. There must be a kind of proportionality, one could say, between the level of punishment that is considered appropriate for the crime and what additional tools the police should have. That discussion is, as mentioned, still ongoing, and I can assure the interpellor that it is also being conducted with the police in Malmö.
Malte Tängmark Roos (MP)
Madam Speaker! As said, I think it is very good that the municipalities now get the opportunity to share data from noise cameras with the police. It is a measure that has been highly requested and which has the potential to lead to more reckless drivers being fined. It is a very good and completely necessary measure.
It is, however, worth pointing out that this change is a consequence of legislative changes that were already underway and not specifically a result of the government's work against reckless driving and traffic offenses. It is also not a sufficient measure to address the problem as a whole.
Increased fine amounts are an important part. I am very happy to hear that the government is considering it, even though we from Miljöpartiet's side think that part could have become relevant much earlier.
Both the municipalities and the police are very clear that the tools they have today to combat reckless driving are too limited. If we compare their wish lists with the government's list of concrete measures, which the minister detailed in his posts, it is obvious that even more needs to be done.
I do not think it is strange that legislative work takes time, but it should not have to take more than a year of internal analysis work at the Ministry of Justice for the government to come up with what they want to do – especially not when there are already concrete measures to take a position on, and in particular when those measures are already being implemented successfully in other Nordic and European countries.
For example, the police in Denmark can immediately seize cars that have been modified illegally or used in serious traffic offenses, which has led to thousands of cars being confiscated. It is a measure that both acts as a deterrent to those who are considering modifying their cars or driving like maniacs through the cities and disarms those who actually do it. It is therefore not revolutionary or advanced measures that the police in the south and the municipalities are requesting, and it should not be so difficult for the government to determine if and how measures such as these could be implemented here in Sweden as well.
Madam Speaker! The Minister for Justice says that the government will review the penalties for this type of crime, which is good, that they are following the situation in Malmö, which is also good, and that they do not rule out that more measures may become relevant – also good. But that the government, more than a year after the problem became apparent, has not progressed further than that they will now begin to review the penalties shows, I think, that the commitment to the issue may not be at its peak. That Gunnar Strömmer in October declined an interview with TV4 regarding what measures the government intends to implement also points a bit towards the fact that the Minister for Justice himself realizes that the government is not doing enough on the issue.
There are concrete measures that the government could take. One only needs to read my motion or the requests from the police in Malmö city if one needs inspiration. Even though things are being done, far too little is being done, far too late. The government should have come further by this point.
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! Reckless driving is not a new problem or something we have gained new insights about. If we are to be like that, Miljöpartiet had eight years to take measures, but nothing happened. It is clear that everything depends on what one compares it with. I only observe that in relation to a problem picture that was well-known during the eight – or if it was seven – years Miljöpartiet sat in government, nothing happened.
Now we will tackle this, and we will do it systematically. We begin by ensuring that information can be shared. It is a quite crucial change if the type of investments that occur locally, including in Malmö, are to have some kind of practical effect. They will have it from December 1st onwards. Speaking of the timeline this year, it is quite true that we placed this legislation on the Riksdag's table very close to the first quarter.
We note that the penalties are not in parity with the severity of the crime and that we will now ensure that a review of the penalties is conducted. One can already see that we have taken two more measures than the Miljöpartiet achieved in eight years.
I also signal that a discussion is ongoing with the Police Authority nationally and locally in Malmö regarding to what extent we should add new tools to the toolbox. To the extent that there would be such measures, there are three times as many measures in half as much time during this mandate period compared to the previous one.
I take the situation in Malmöborna very seriously. That attentiveness is confirmed, among other things, by the two announcements I make today. We will continue to follow the developments closely.
I can also assure you that the analysis process is not being delayed internally in any corner of the Ministry of Justice. It is taking place in the field in immediate dialogue with the police officers who are working on the issues on-site. The local problem picture and the local needs are taken into account in that work. I promise to get back to you as soon as that dialogue is concluded.
Malte Tängmark Roos (MP)
Madam Speaker! Thank you to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer for a good debate! It has been very informative. I perceive that the Minister of Justice has a commitment, even though I believe the work could have proceeded even faster.
Some of the problems were, of course, known previously, and actions were also taken during the red-green government's time. But it is clear that the problem has become much larger during this mandate period. The measures we are requesting have been in place in, for example, Denmark since 2021–2022. They could have been looked at and implemented much faster.
There are already tools today that the police can use. The Minister for Justice refers, for example, to flying inspections and summons for mandatory inspections. But if the police cannot immediately take a car for inspection, it is quite simple for the officers to dismantle the modifications that are the problem.
There is a lot that needs to be done now. I feel that the government could have worked harder, but I welcome the changes that are underway. I perceive that we have a similar view on where we want to go, even though I believe the level of ambition is somewhat higher on this side. But thank you very much, Gunnar Strömmer!
Justitieministern Gunnar Strömmer (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, once again, to Malte Tängmark Roos for the opportunity to discuss this important issue today!
I state, as I have said, that we are delivering something very essential, namely the possibility of sharing information between Malmö stad – Malmö kommun, that is – and the police. This means that the investment that the taxpayers in Malmö have provided regarding noise cameras can now receive proper exchange, that is, that the information collected can also be put to concrete use in crime fighting. It is an extraordinarily important step. It will be taken within a few weeks, on December 1.
The second thing I note is that the penalties or consequences must stand in reasonable parity with the severity of the crimes for the residents of Malmö. The fines must be raised, and we are reviewing them. I ask to return to that part. We are maintaining a close dialogue with the police in Malmö regarding to what extent the toolbox should be sharpened further. I promise to return to the citizens in Malmö and to the chamber when we have new information to provide.
I would like to conclude by thanking all the representatives for Malmö who have raised these questions, not least the opposition councillor Helena Nanne who has pursued the issue very purposefully both locally and nationally in relation to the government.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.