Map: This is where private speed camera cars are operating in France

Article published May 26, 2023

This map shows the growing number of French regions where private speed camera cars, or voitures radars privées, are operating.

They were present in 39 departments in 2021; but by the following year that number had risen to 53, reports radars-auto.com.

France’s interior ministry said they were now operating in Normandy, Brittany, Pays-de-la-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, and Hauts de France.

The vehicles are fitted with cameras at the front d back windscreens and an infrared flash device that is invisible to motorists.

Read more: Explainer: 11 questions about private speed camera cars in France

A GPS system allows the mechanism to automatically determine the maximum speed limit for the road in question.

Speed camera car operations first began to be privatised in 2018, when independent operators started driving in Normandy.

In 2021 - the most recent year for which definite figures exist - private speed camera cars completed 6.6 million checks, and recorded 544,821 speeding infractions, reported radars-auto.com.

That number is expected to have increased in 2022 given the expanded use of the vehicles.

Interior Ministry figures show that on average, a department with speed camera cars does 721 checks every day on average. The figures also show that in 2022, checks hit the 13 million mark - twice as many as in 2021.

Road safety agency la Sécurité routière also introduced more targeted checks in 2022, which alone caused the number of speeding fines issued to rise by 8.2%.

Since 2021, prefectures have also had a digital departmental map tool that allows them to see the average speeds driven on each section of road. This enables them to cross-reference the amount of traffic with any speeding and see where speed camera cars would be most effective.

Speed camera cars collect significant data, including traffic levels, average speeds, areas with the highest speeding risk, weather conditions, and the busiest times. This enables companies and prefectures to determine the best times to use the cars, and where.

In 2022, speeding offences caught by private speed camera cars soared in some areas.

• Loir-et-Cher: Private speed camera cars since November 2020. Infractions rose by 65% in 2022 compared to 2021.
• Maine-et-Loire: Private since December 2020. 53.8% more fines in 2022 than in 2021.
• Indre-et-Loire: Private since 2021 (10 of 12 months). 66% rise in 2022 compared to 2021.

In Deux-Sèvres, private cars were only introduced on August 16, 2021. By December 31, the cars had recorded 10,486 infractions (with an average of 75 per day). By 2022, this rose by 44% to 39,274.

Read also

Explainer: 11 questions about private speed camera cars in France
France’s private speed camera cars: Where are they, who drives them?
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