Driving in France: Government to reduce penalties for speeding
France's interior minister has announced plans to reduce penalties for certain types of speeding offences.
Speeding violations of less than 5 kilometres per hour above the limit will no longer be punished by points deducted from your driving licence, starting in January 2024, interior minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Wednesday.
A la demande du Président de la République, à partir du 1er janvier 2024, il n’y aura plus de retrait de points pour les excès de vitesse inférieurs à 5 km/h. L’amende bien sûr sera maintenue.
Une mesure de bon sens pour nos concitoyens.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) April 19, 2023
The offence will continue to be punishable by fine, however, usually of €135 depending on the circumstances.
According to reporting by Le Figaro, Darmanin was hoping to create a recognition of a failure to "pay attention" versus "a deliberate desire to break the (speed) rule".
When the plan was first announced in May, some road safety organisations said they worried that removing the penalty of point reduction could encourage more people to speed.
In 2020, 12.5 million speeding tickets were issued in France, with 58 percent being for speeding violations of less than 5 km per hour over the limit. Many came from automated speed camaras.
READ MORE: What to do if you get a speeding ticket while driving in France
Currently, the rule for minor speeding violations is already a bit flexible, depending on where the incident occurs.
If the violation happens in an urban area or low-speed zone (under 50 km per hour limit), then it is considered a 4th class offence, which involves a fixed fine of €135. Drivers can also lose a point on their licences as a penalty for this offence.
Whereas, on highways and high-speed roads, the consequences of speeding by 5 km per hour are less severe. The offence is only considered 3rd class, which means the fixed fine is €68. There is still the possibility of losing a point on your licence, however.
A French driver's licence (permis de conduire) is made up of a maximum of 12 points - if you lose 12 or more points through accumulated offences then you lose your licence.
Driving in France: What are the offences that lose you points on your licence?
You can recover your points after six months of driving without committing any other offences, and there are also awareness training courses that allow you to gain your points back. It should be noted, however, that these training days typically cost between €150 and €250, and they do not allow you to regain more than four points.
You can check how many points you have on your licence by going onto the government website "Service Télépoints" (HERE). In order to access the service, you will need to have your file number and confidential code on hand.
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Speeding violations of less than 5 kilometres per hour above the limit will no longer be punished by points deducted from your driving licence, starting in January 2024, interior minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Wednesday.
A la demande du Président de la République, à partir du 1er janvier 2024, il n’y aura plus de retrait de points pour les excès de vitesse inférieurs à 5 km/h. L’amende bien sûr sera maintenue.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) April 19, 2023
Une mesure de bon sens pour nos concitoyens.
The offence will continue to be punishable by fine, however, usually of €135 depending on the circumstances.
According to reporting by Le Figaro, Darmanin was hoping to create a recognition of a failure to "pay attention" versus "a deliberate desire to break the (speed) rule".
When the plan was first announced in May, some road safety organisations said they worried that removing the penalty of point reduction could encourage more people to speed.
In 2020, 12.5 million speeding tickets were issued in France, with 58 percent being for speeding violations of less than 5 km per hour over the limit. Many came from automated speed camaras.
READ MORE: What to do if you get a speeding ticket while driving in France
Currently, the rule for minor speeding violations is already a bit flexible, depending on where the incident occurs.
If the violation happens in an urban area or low-speed zone (under 50 km per hour limit), then it is considered a 4th class offence, which involves a fixed fine of €135. Drivers can also lose a point on their licences as a penalty for this offence.
Whereas, on highways and high-speed roads, the consequences of speeding by 5 km per hour are less severe. The offence is only considered 3rd class, which means the fixed fine is €68. There is still the possibility of losing a point on your licence, however.
A French driver's licence (permis de conduire) is made up of a maximum of 12 points - if you lose 12 or more points through accumulated offences then you lose your licence.
Driving in France: What are the offences that lose you points on your licence?
You can recover your points after six months of driving without committing any other offences, and there are also awareness training courses that allow you to gain your points back. It should be noted, however, that these training days typically cost between €150 and €250, and they do not allow you to regain more than four points.
You can check how many points you have on your licence by going onto the government website "Service Télépoints" (HERE). In order to access the service, you will need to have your file number and confidential code on hand.
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