Small speeding violations, less than 5 km/h, could soon result in only a fine. Indeed, the Ministry of the Interior is considering the possibility of removing the withdrawal of points from the driving license for these minor offences. A project that comes after years of stagnation for Road Safety, but also in the middle of an election period.
“We will hit much less on small speeding tickets”. This is what a source from the Interior Ministry told AFP about the future of driving licenses. For the moment nothing is done, but the idea is simple: stop the withdrawal of points for speeding less than 5 km/h. An enticing proposition for many motorists, at a time when the general uproar is mounting in the face of the various reforms concerning French roads.
Indeed, it is very difficult for the government to get its measures in this area accepted. We remember the fiasco that was the 80 km/h limit on country roads, and the controversial proposal of the Citizens’ Climate Convention to lower the speed limit to 110 km/h on motorways. Especially since from a security point of view, many consider it to be the right way to go.
An increasingly contested points license
Nowadays, more than half of allowable withdrawals result from loss of points, most often attributed to minor speeding, notes the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (Onisr). A figure to be put into perspective with the fact 80% of motorists still have all of their pointswhile barely 5% of them have less than six.
Still, road safety has seen its efficiency stagnate for almost 10 years, as noted in a recent report by the Court of Auditors. Again, not everyone agrees. In 2017, the Road Safety Delegation recalled that in 25 years of existence, the penalty points license has considerably reduced the number of deaths on our roads. From more than 9000 in 1992, this figure has fallen below 3000 in 2021.
The reason for this project could therefore be found elsewhere, especially since excesses of less than 5 km / h are probably not the most deadly driving. What’s more, the government does not seem particularly inclined to give up on motorists, according to the development of speed cameras and the many innovations to which they are subject. On the contrary, the lens might just be more popular.
The abolition of the point withdrawal, a political strategy?
In its 2021 report, the Court of Auditors thus considers that in order to increase the effectiveness of road safety, the main objective is now to obtain “citizen support“. “The lack of readability of the doctrine for the use of automated sanction control fuels criticism in public opinion, often unjustified, but to which appropriate responses are not always provided”according to senior officials.
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only a few weeks of the legislative elections, and in a much less favorable context than five years ago for Renaissance, formerly the Republic in March, the party could seek other means of currying favor with the French. The license with points is indeed far from having unanimous support since its creation, especially among far-right voters. In addition, Marine Le Pen (RN) and Eric Zemmour (Reconquest) had both promised to remove it during their respective campaigns.
The abolition of point deduction for small excesses therefore promises to divide public opinion. The League Against Road Violence has already reacted by declaring that “it is by fighting against minor speeding that there will be a drop in mortality”. For his part, Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of the 40 million motorists association, is delighted with this prospect and hopes that the government will subsequently propose “to adjust the financial sanctions”.
Source: AFP