Road safety: Norbert Pirault, spokesperson for the “Victimes and Citizens” association ensures that “radar saves lives”

The first automatic radar was put into service on October 27, 2003. “It’s been controversial for quite a few years, but we can say one thing: radar saves lives. (…) We went from almost 8,000 deaths before 2003, to between 4,000 – 5,000 deaths today. (…) We at ‘Victimes and Citizens’, we try to take care of what is happening around the radars, and the radars are rather beneficial”assures Norbert Pirault, spokesperson for the “Victimes and Citizens” association.

700 million euros collected

However, for Pierre Chasseray, general delegate and spokesperson for the “40 million motorists” association, “no, the radar didn’t save anyone.” “A radar is not there to save lives, it is there to raise awareness of the imperative need for speed limits. Let’s keep this virtue. Let’s not create hygienic speeches like that to give ourselves the smart look”, insists the spokesperson who advocates “a margin of tolerance”.

Asked about the use of the money collected, Pierre Lagache, vice-president of the league against road violence, replied: “I find that there is a form of childishness in considering radar as a money pump. (…) Roughly speaking, radars represent 700 million to a billion euros collected per year. Half of it is used to maintain the system.”