joy of motorists, concern of road safety associations

The Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday May 25 that it was considering no longer deducting points “if you are 5 km/h above” authorized speed. The fines sanctioning these offenses will however be retained. For the moment, this is a reflection, there is no timetable or experimentation planned at this stage.

But already the association 40 million motorists is delighted with a message that goes in the right direction, according to her.

Last minute !

The Ministry of the Interior would consider no longer deducting points from the driving license for minor speeding ‼https://t.co/vtHlvs4nxm

— 40 million motorists (@40MA) May 25, 2022

A month ago, she stepped up to ask for more flexibility because nearly 6 out of 10 fines relate to speeding less than 10 km / h above the limit. In 2020, of the 12.5 million tickets sent for speeding checked by radar, 58% concerned excesses of less than 5 km / h, confirm figures from the Ministry of the Interior.

“We can think that there may be a risk that the French, suddenly, say to themselves: ‘Five kilometers an hour more, I can drive! concedes Yves Carra, spokesperson for the Automobile Club Association (ACA). “To cut short this potential risk”he proposes to experiment for a year with this non-removal of points for minor speeding violations. “We must not forget that if this measure is envisaged, it is because 58% of French people are caught at less than five kilometers an hour”. “We often have our noses glued to the counter so as not to exceed the limit which goes from 70 to 50, to 30, etc. And it has happened to all of us to lose a point through negligence. We are not always in the process of to try to flirt with the limit to win the small seconds”, he points out.

“In one day, I can lose twelve points”exasperated Moher, a Parisian motorist who has a hard time respecting speed limits and multiplies small overruns.

“We are already struggling with the highway code, with the limitation, with the stress of driving, with the traffic jams… We are confronted every day with the systematic loss of points.”

Moher, a Parisian motorist

at franceinfo

“It’s hardadds Hakim, taxi driver. We have twelve hours to do on the road. The end of the withdrawal of points on small speeding tickets would therefore be a good thing for him. “I would like them to put 10km / h of tolerance”he suggests with a smile.

225 kilometers away, in the small town of Vauclerc, in the Marne. Its mayor, Jean-Luc Guillot, sees all this with a very bad eye. He worked to install two radars for the safety of his constituents and fears that motorists press the accelerator. “I think the French will be less serious. What makes it possible to be more incisive is still the withdrawal of points. It’s scary. Much more than the fine”assures the mayor.

This is a very bad signal sent to motorists, support several associations such as the League against road violence. “It is obvious that we are with fully electoral measuresdenounces its president, Chantal Perrichon. This is not to show any interest in road safety. You have to kneel down in front of the speeding lobby, which keeps yelling that it’s a financial blow for all those who don’t respect or for a moment of inattention.

“Do we have to remember for the umpteenth time that speed is the first cause of death on the road?”

Chantal Perrichon, president of the League against road violence

at franceinfo

For Anne Lavaud of the Prévention Routière association, such a measure would be like an invitation to drive faster at a time when road safety figures are on the rise again. “For us, there are no minor speeding violations. There are maximum authorized speeds, which means that the competent authorities have analyzed the accidentology in the territories in question. If there is a collision with a pedestrian, at 30 km/h, the most frequent injuries are minor bruises and the probability of being killed is 15%.If you are at 40 km/h in the same case of impact, the risk of being killed is 30%.

Automobile: towards the end of the points less for small speeding?

“There are no small speeding tickets, but overruns of the maximum authorized speeds”, denounces Anne Lavaud, director general of the Road Prevention association pic.twitter.com/YIbnIO2zy2

— franceinfo (@franceinfo) May 26, 2022

The point license is 30 years old, recalls Anne Lauvaud. A device rather “praised, appreciated in its pedagogical dimension“, she insists.