The French government is looking to introduce more efficient speed cameras which will be able to pick up on other driving offences, according to Franceinfo.
Using artificial intelligence, these new generation cameras will be able to detect if someone is using their phone while driving, not wearing their seatbelt, or failing to keep a safe distance between their vehicle and others on the road.
These are not new offences, they are already punishable by a fine of €135, as well as a removal of three points from your driving licence.
READ MORE: Driving in France: What are the offences that cost you penalty points on your French licence?
The plan is part of a larger 'Road Safety' campaign, which is outlined in the draft finance bill that is currently being debated in France's parliament.
It would allocate €46.3 million to maintaining existing speed cameras and installing new equipment.
According to the text, there is no exact date for when these new AI-enabled cameras could be rolled out, though it could be sometime in 2025.
The draft budget also plans to add 160 more speed cameras to French roads in 2025. Ultimately, it will depend on whether or not parliament supports these measures.
The association 40 millions d'automobilistes, which represents motorists in France, has denounced the plans as "an excessive use of automated speed cameras".
In a press release, the group said: "These provisions are cause for concern, as the government is already anticipating an avalanche of fines - as evidenced by the 2025 Finance Bill, which has a provision planning for ‘an increase in printing and postage costs attributable to the production and dispatch of fines notices'".
Outside of France, other countries have begun experimenting with AI-enabled speed cameras. In the UK, 'intelligent radar' devices were tested in 2023 on a motorway in southwest England, connecting London to Cornwall.
The BBC reported that within 72 hours, the devices fined nearly 300 motorists, with 117 of the offences related to phone use and 180 for a failure to wear seatbelts.
What about France's existing speed cameras?
Currently, there are several different types of speed cameras on French roads, including fixed cameras, red-light cameras, and more. You can see a map of French speed cameras HERE.
There are also gendarmes operating speed checks, and recently France began using another higher-tech type of camera called 'mobile radar cars'.
France's head of road safety, Florence Guillaume told Le Parisien that at the start of 2023 there were 381 mobile radar cars in circulation on French roads.
READ MORE: France's speed camera cars: Where are they and how can you spot them?
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