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These 3 highway code offenses are not fined in

While some traffic violations can cost you a lot of money, others are surprisingly not punished by law enforcement.

Every minute, law enforcement issues 57 fines in . This is what a Road Safety report reveals on 2023 fines. In a single year, 30 million fines were written. But among the dozens of reasons for offenses which could give rise to fines, some are simply not reported in France, whether due to lack of resources or educational desire. Le Journal du Net takes stock of three of them.

The first non-verbal offense is non-compliance with the “mountain law”. Since November 1, 2021, from late autumn until March, motorists must equip their tires for winter in most municipalities in the 34 departments concerned. And for the fourth year in a row, offenders will not be fined.

The objective is to focus on education and remind people that riding in mountain ranges without equipment can be very dangerous. If the police cannot issue fines, they can nevertheless prohibit traffic and block access to certain communities. Motorists should also keep in mind that in the event of an accident in the mountains (much more likely without suitable equipment) insurers may refuse to cover unequipped vehicles.

Second offense: driving without authorization in a low emissions zone (ZFE). An ZFE is an area where the circulation of the most polluting vehicles is restricted, on certain roads or throughout the entire city. Since January 1, 2025 alone, sixteen urban areas have set up an ZFE and others will follow during the year.

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If officially the fine amounts to 68 euros for cars, fines remain rare or non-existent. Firstly because not all EPZs are similar. Most towns decide which vehicles to ban or not. And many of them favor education and therefore do not issue fines for vehicles prohibited from driving.

Then, it is difficult to mobilize the police for this type of offense and in France there are no automated controls with radars – they should however arrive in 2026. Also, it is possible in or in for example, to have exemptions to continue driving.

Third offense: minor speeding. During a radar check, there is a margin of error generally around 5 km/h. “It is therefore impossible to be penalized for an “insignificant” excess speed, since this margin must always be added. Example: if you are recorded at a speed of 97 km/h, the figure retained is 92 km /h”, indicates the road safety site.

If this tolerance threshold exists, speed limits must be scrupulously respected. In a report published in 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that speed is an aggravating factor in all traffic accidents. “An increase of 1 km/h in the average speed of a vehicle leads to an increase of 4 to 5% in fatal accidents,” specifies the WHO.

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