Road safety – Hidden radars, fluorescent vests and large plates for motorcycles – All the measures taken by the Interministerial Road Safety Committee meeting in Paris on May 11, 2011

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Hidden radars, fluorescent vest and large plates for motorcycles

Road safety - Hidden radars, fluorescent vests and large plates for motorcycles - All of the measures taken by the Interministerial Road Safety Committee meeting in Paris on May 11, 2011

The Interministerial Road Safety Committee (IRB) held this morning in Paris is going up a notch – so it was still possible! – the government’s policy of blind repression. Details of measurements. Please note: this is not an exercise…

All the measures taken by the Interministerial Road Safety Committee meeting in Paris on May 11, 2011

"The measures decided by the IRB on May 11, 2011 aim to combat the increase in road fatalities observed on French roads since the start of the year and the relaxation of behavior which is the cause.", explains the government in the preamble of the decisions below.

On October 27, 2003, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, inaugurated with great fanfare the first automatic radar unveiled five days earlier on Site (read and). 48 hours later, the machine was disabled to operate (read). And four years later, the French brought to the head of state the main architect of automated sanction control…

1- deter speeding

"Out of more than 23,000 lives saved since 2002, 13,500 have been saved thanks to the improvement in French behavior in terms of speed. But at least 770 lives could still be saved per year if speed limits were obeyed by all", still growl the French officials of the" road safety "policy.

IRB decisions:

  • To put an end to the irresponsible behavior of those who allow themselves to drive at very abusive speeds, speeding over 50 km / h will now be legally qualified, from the first offense, as an offense..

  • Speed ​​camera warnings, which are an incentive to break speed limit rules, will be banned.

  • Signs indicating the presence of fixed speed cameras will be removed and speed camera location maps will no longer be made public. Information on the positioning of fixed speed cameras indeed encourages some drivers to comply with speed regulations only when they are near them..

  • 1,000 new radars will be deployed by the end of 2012, and new generation mobile radars, making it possible to control the speed of users from vehicles in circulation, or semi-mobile (movable to secure for example construction sites) will be tested this year.

  • To help the vast majority of drivers anxious to respect speed limits to do so, all technologies allowing better speed control will be favored: information on speed limits by GPS, encouragement to voluntarily clamping the engines or installation of a voluntary speed limiter. These measures will be encouraged by the establishment of a "safe car" label, which will recognize the level of the vehicle’s safety equipment. This label must be the subject of discussions which will be initiated with manufacturers, associations and insurers..

    Vicious circle…

    The irony of the thing could make one smile, if its consequences on the daily life of bikers did not become terrifying. But the new repressive impetus expressed by the government through these IRB proposals obviously has its origin in the lack of results (+ 19.9% ​​of road deaths in April) of the current measures in terms of road safety, however only based on a massive crackdown since the early 2000s !

    Alas, rather than admitting the limits of the stick policy to be interested in other more constructive approaches (and especially less liberticidal!), Our leaders prefer to sharpen the blade of the – juicy – repressive tool and multiply the announcements and shock measures, just to shake the housewife and satisfy the right-thinking.

    Not to mention that behind this relentlessness is also hiding a political battle, since the current President of the Republic has pledged to reduce the number of road deaths to less than 3,000 before the end of his mandate in 2012. However, with 3,994 victims in 2010, the goal is far from being achieved, which obviously does not help the business of Nicolas Sarkosy whose popularity with the French is in free fall.

    2- Fight against alcoholism and drugs on the road

    "Driving under the influence of alcohol is the leading cause of fatal driving offenses: in 2009, 30% of people killed on the road were killed in an accident in the presence of an alcohol level above the legal rate.", recalls the government, stressing that"driving with a blood alcohol level multiplies the risk of being involved in a fatal accident by 8 and by 14 if there is also cannabis use".

    IRB decisions:

  • The possibility of taking a blood test to check the alcohol level or the presence of narcotics following a positive screening carried out by the police will be extended to nurses.

  • The use of an immobilizer alcohol test will be made compulsory without delay for all public transport of people equipped with an immobilizer breathalyzer..

  • Any blood alcohol level in a driving situation greater than 0.8 g / l will be penalized by the withdrawal of 8 points, against 6 currently.

    3- Secure the use of motorized two-wheelers

    "Accidentality among drivers of motorized two-wheeled vehicles remains a concern in France", worry our dear authorities:"they represented, in 2010, around 24% of people killed on the road for less than 2% of traffic"(an assessment which has of course nothing to do with the intrinsic fragility of motorcyclists due to the absence of bodywork specific to two-wheelers)…

    IRB decisions:

  • The license plates for motorized two-wheelers will be larger, in order to make checks more efficient..

  • Those who resume use of a motorcycle after a 5-year hiatus will now have to take training if they have not driven a motorized two-wheeler in the past five years.

  • Riders of motorcycles and tricycles should wear retro-reflective equipment.

    4- Strengthen vigilance behind the wheel and combat all the factors that reduce the attention paid to driving

    "Driving is an important act, which requires the driver to devote his full attention to it", reveals the IRB decidedly in very good shape."However, sources of distraction (telephone, texting, mobile Internet and other screens while driving, etc.) are on the increase, as are the risky behaviors of drivers who underestimate the risks associated with fatigue and drowsiness. The lowering of attention to driving, whatever the cause is at the root of many road tragedies".

    IRB decisions:

  • Using the phone while driving, with the phone in your hand, will be punished more severely, with a 4th class ticket (instead of 2nd class) giving rise to a withdrawal of three points from the driver’s license (instead of a withdrawal of two points).

  • In partnership with mobile phone professionals, technical solutions will be developed to limit telephone conversations while driving.

  • The penalties for driving a vehicle with a screen device in operation in the driver’s field of vision (other than GPS-type driving and navigation assistance) will be increased: withdrawal of three points and a fine of 1,500 euros (the fixed fine for this type of offense is now a fine of 135 euros and the withdrawal of two points). Violators will also be exposed to seizure of the screen device.

  • Traffic on an emergency lane and on neutralized lanes, however prohibited, is the cause of too many tragedies, of which both highway users and professionals working on this network are victims: non-compliance of these rules will be more severely sanctioned (135 euros fine, withdrawal of three points).

  • Sound shorelines, intended to prevent the driver from falling asleep, will be generalized on all highways at the pace of road works.

    5- Give more space to citizens in road safety policy

    Finally, "To maintain the citizen mobilization around the issue of road safety, which has enabled progress in recent years, the actions undertaken must be supported by road users as well as by public authorities"decrees the IRB. But beware:"they can only be done if they are concerted, explained, evaluated and possibly corrected", assures the government (we are not really laughing, thank you).

    IRB decisions:

  • A new National Road Safety Council, a forum for debate and reflection on the challenges of road safety, will be brought together, in a new configuration, with an enlarged composition..

  • The experiment carried out in 80 high schools to make their students aware of road safety will be gradually extended from the start of the 2011 school year..

  • The interministerial road safety committee also took stock of the actions undertaken since spring 2010 on the prevention of occupational road risks and decided to continue this action..

    • Eric MICHEL

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