thousands of fines from these radar cars soon to be canceled because of an error?

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Good news for motorists? In a decision of November 18, 2024, the Council of State questions the precision of the geolocation of “PV sulphators”these radar cars which check the license plates of parked vehicles to verify whether the parking has indeed been paid for.

A lack of reliability of these PV sulphators, which circulate in many cities in France, paving the way for a multiplication of protests.

Devices with “a significant risk of error”

The Council of State was contacted by a Parisian motorist who wanted to contest a fine – the post-parking fee (FPS) – received by a PV sulphator.

Remember that these vehicles which control paid parking in cities are equipped with the LAPI control device, a “system which allows a car to circulate which will take photos of the registration plates of parked vehicles”, explained in a previous article our editorial staff news Strasbourg.

Once the photo of the parked vehicle is taken, a database is queried, making it possible to determine “whether such vehicle has paid its parking meter or not, or whether it has exceeded the parking time”.

Except that the Council of State, in its opinion, considers that these “geolocation control devices include a significant risk of error to establish the exact location of vehicle parking. In short, cars can be wrongly sanctioned.

According to the highest court, municipalities and intermunicipalities must “take all measures to ensure the reliability of geolocation”.

It also reminds that human intervention is necessary before issuing a fine. Officers must verify the location “based on photographs showing the location of the parked vehicle sufficiently clearly and precisely ».

Fines that can “be fully contested”

If these conditions are not respected or in case of doubt about the location, motorists “must be able to fully contest these FPS (the fine, Editor’s note)”.

The Council of State clearly defines how to contest a fine issued by these radar cars if the offense does not seem justified to you:

This implies in particular that the FPS is canceled if the motorist's challenge is sufficiently substantiated and if the control photographs do not make it possible to establish with certainty the exact location of the vehicle.

In the event of a dispute request, the appeal must first be made at the level of the municipality or intercommunality. As explained previously, they are responsible for verifying the location of the sanctioned cars. It is no longer up to the motorist to prove his good faith.

The appeal is then transmitted to the Paid Parking Litigation Commission. And the highest court reminds that the motorist must not provide this commission with “time-stamped photographs confirming geolocation” as proof. This is once again the role of the municipality.

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