New radars to reconnect with record revenue

Economic crisis, social crisis, health crisis: critical episodes follow one another, severely affecting the economy, morale and health of the French … Sign of the gravity of the situation: even radars are no longer successful ! Fortunately, the State is preparing the response … Explanations.

789 million in 2015, 920 million in 2016 and 1.013 billion euros (!) In 2017: the receipts of automatic radars showed until 2018 a growth as insolent as hopeless. Then the souffle falls with "only" 864 million euros, followed by a second disappointment in 2019 with a "small" … 

• MNC of May 24, 2020 : Automatic speed cameras, the state no longer has the right recipe
• MNC file : All the latest automatic speed cameras
• MNC file :

The cause ? Social movements according to the government, very upset against the yellow vests – born of the popular rejection of 80 km / h and the price of fuel – which would have put out of order to harm three quarters of the precious boxes cash flashes. "75% of the radar fleet was either destroyed, damaged, attacked, or neutralized", raged at the end of 2019 the former Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner.

No question of continuing this momentum, especially since the cash needs of the State explode with the Covid-19 between hospital care, aid, support for partial unemployment and postponements – no cancellation: nuance! – taxes. Not to mention the collapse of taxed income: production, consumption and travel reduced by confinement are all less taxations for Bercy. 

Not enough cash? Quick, no more flashes !

The solution ? Reinvest heavily in road enforcement, as provided for in the 2020 Finance Bill and its program entitled "Road safety structures and devices". In short: the government will intensify its investments in new radars that are increasingly sophisticated and therefore more expensive. Short-term objective: "900 million" in revenue !

Turret radars (1,200 units), discriminating radars capable of differentiating between categories of vehicles, section radars (62) or even unmarked cars with on-board radars (480): all means are good for trap verbalize drivers, regardless of their real or supposed dangerousness! Without forgetting the 1000 or so fixed radars, autonomous radars (known as "worksite radars") or even red light and level crossing radars..

In all, “4,400” devices must be deployed by the end of 2020, including new “urban radars” currently in the test phase in the south of France and in the Paris region. These small boxes – discreetly perched high up – would be able to pick up speeding, non-compliance with red lights but also ultimately non-compliance with priorities, crossing white lines, etc.. 

 

Cost of this new investment: around 150 million euros divided between two suppliers: juicy! This new item of expenditure precisely raises the question of where the necessary funds will come from to renew but also maintain this technological arsenal….

Speed ​​camera money is used … to buy and maintain speed cameras !

Simple: most of the speed camera recipe is actually self-consumed … by the speed cameras themselves! Of the 760 million revenue last year, no less than "238 million euros" were allocated "for the proper functioning of automatic control and the national driver’s license file", details the Road Safety Delegation ( DSR). 

Added to this are the "100 million euros" paid back under "State debt relief", an amount added to almost 340 million euros. Almost half of 2019 revenue: far from the rhetoric according to which the money from speed cameras would mainly benefit road safety ! 

Only "231 million" were actually used to "improve the road network and its safety" describes the DSR which adds, however, to have also allocated "120 million" to "road safety projects" as well as a – modest – envelope of "26 million euros "to the new fund to improve" the treatment of road injuries "(in accordance with Edouard Philippe’s commitment to increase the speed of 80 km / h).

In short: the radar station – which the DSR modestly calls "Park adaptation" – devours more resources than the maintenance of roads, neglected or almost on almost the entire secondary network. Resealing a pothole to avoid a fall on a motorcycle or an exit from the road by car nevertheless seems preferable to yet another "multi-flash" speedometer, no ?

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