Driving in France traffic offences · Traffic offences in Driving in France
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Traffic offences in Driving in France
Traffic offences in Driving in France
Law enforcement forces (Police Nationale or Gendarmerie depending on the area) may stop you in order to check that you have a valid driving license, valid insurance and that your vehicle has passed safety tests. In the case of rental cars, the insurance and safety documents are provided by the rental company. If you have your own motor vehicle, you may have to show the European "green card" (this is not always necessary) proving you have insurance. If you are driving your own vehicle from a country where the minimum legal requirement for 'third party' insurance is in force, you do not need a 'green card': you will however need to provide an insurance certificate to prove that the vehicle is insured.
If you park illegally, law enforcement forces or traffic wardens will put a ticket under your windscreen or windshield wiper. You can pay it by personal check drawn from a French bank (not very useful for tourists) or buying a timbre fiscal (tax stamp) from a tobacconist, sticking it on the ticket, and mailing it to the authorities. If you actually see the law enforcement agent, you can also pay him directly in cash on by check to the Public Treasury in exchange for a receipt. Technically, you can also challenge the fine in court if inappropriate, but this is probably to be left to people with lots of time on their hands. If you commit a traffic offense using a rental car and you do not pay it directly (like speeding tickets by photo radar), the rental car company may bill you for them and may apply a surcharge.
Law enforcement sometimes read your ticket at the toll station to see how long you took since joining the autoroute: they are not allowed to use that info to give you a speeding ticket. On the other hand, be aware that there is a new automatic photo-radar system that is being implemented throughout France. For now, this system is most commonly found along major highways, and near major cities, but it expands quickly. Large brown rectangular signs warn when you are entering an automatic photo radar area.
Here a few tips about photo-radar area:
If you find that the average speed of French cars is surprisingly lower than 5 min before, then you must have entered such an area.
Law enforcement forces may install mobile photo-radar system. You will be warned but the sign is much smaller than for permanent area.
Your speed may also be controlled virtually anywhere without warning. In such a case, you will be directly intercepted and fined if you committed a speeding offense. Very often, these controls are less strict than photo-radar: for example, if the speed limit is 110 km/h, you will be intercepted only if you exceed, say, 120 km/h. But this is not always the case.
When not otherwise specified, the speed limit is 130 km/h on freeways motorways (reduced to 110 km/h in urban areas), 110 km/h on divided highways (always specified), 90 km/h otherwise, and 50 km/h in city areas. In wet conditions, these limits are reduced to respectively, 110 km/h, 100 km/h, 80 km/h, and 50 km/h. In case of snow, ice, or heavy fog, the speed is limited to 50 km/h on all roads.
As of October 2005, the typical fines for speeding are:
lss than 20 km/h above limit: 68€ (90€ in city area), 1 demerit point�;
20 to 50km/h above limit: 90€ to 250€, 2 to 4 demerit points�;
more than 50km/h above limit: 1500€, minimum 6 demerit points.
Drunk driving is a very serious offense. The tolerated limit is 0.50 g/L (0.05% BAC) in blood: being above this limit is thus illegal and can entitle you a fine up to 750€ and 6 demerit points. If you are found above 0.80 g/L (0.08% BAC) or refuse to pass the test, the fine may reach 4500€ followed by an immediate withdrawal of your driving license; jail sentences and confiscation of the vehicle are also possible.
All passengers are required to wear their seat belt and children under 10 must use the back seat unless there are no rear seats or the they are all occupied by children under 10 (the fine is 135€ per persons not wearing a seat belt as well as 1 demerit point if the offender is the driver). For more information visit .
Being caught with a radar detector, even in your luggage, is a serious offense and will result in the device being confiscated and a fine of at least €2000
Talking on a hand held mobile phone while driving in France is forbidden.
In theory, motor vehicles have to yield to pedestrians that have started crossing the street and are encouraged to stop for those who have not started. In practice, though, many French drive more aggressively. Keep in mind, though, that they are more used to local conditions than you are.
Many pedestrians cross the street outside of marked crossings or when they have a red light but they feel they have sufficient time, especially in large cities such as Paris. Cyclists also engage in daring maneuvers. Remember that even if a pedestrian or a cyclist should not have crossed your road according to traffic rules, if you harm him, you will always be held responsible for damages (in practice, your insurance will pay) and may also be prosecuted for failing to control your vehicle.
The kind of "creative" driving commonly found in Mediterranean countries is not accepted in France and is likely to lead to either accidents or arrest by law enforcement.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Driving in France
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Driving in France Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.