Advertisement

Speed cameras in France now detect if your car has insurance

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Speed cameras in France now detect if your car has insurance
Photo AFP

French authorities want to crack down on bad drivers without insurance by using speed cameras to monitor them and then send them letters warning them of a potential €750 fine.

Advertisement

The next time a ‘radar’ in France snaps a photo of you at the wheel, it won’t just be the speed at which you’re driving that they monitor, your vehicle’s insurance - or lack thereof - will also be under scrutiny. 

This is part of a new law introduced in France on Tuesday by the country’s delegation for Road Safety (part of the Interior Ministry) which will use the country’s File of Insured Vehicles (FVA) to correlate whether a driver caught speeding actually has insurance.

Speed traps which take a photo of a car driving over the speed limit will automatically link the vehicle’s registration number to the insurance files.

READ MORE:

Police officers carrying out road checks will also have direct access to the FVA files.

As first, only "warning letters" will be sent to encourage drivers caught speeding to take out insurance.

“After a few months, those who still aren’t insured will receive a fixed fine of €750,” road safety ministry head Emmanuel Barbe told France Info.

"Driving uninsured carries first and foremost an extremely serious risk of ruining one's life" due to the cost of compensation and repairs.

"Uninsured drivers who have caused a road accident find themselves having to pay this debt they created for themselves for the rest of their lives."

In 2018, 175 people died in an accident involving an uninsured vehicle in France.

Authorities estimate that the total number of drivers without vehicle insurance in France numbers around 700,000 people.
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

Anonymous 2019/10/17 12:55
Wake up! UK has had this for years. A decade?

See Also