Relying in particular on the multiplication of speed cameras, the Government plans a 51% increase in the withdrawals of driving license points between 2019 and 2023. The League for the Defense of Drivers fears an increase in the number of unlicensed drivers.
The Government’s 2022 Finance Bill (PLF) reveals plans to develop the fleet of radars in France, with an increasing number of devices to be brought to 4,500. This costly multiplication of radars will not officially be synonymous with an increase in their “revenues” since the forecasts of these revenues for 2022 are lower than those recorded in 2019, the last year in which road traffic was not restricted by the health crisis. Nevertheless, the State is counting on these machines to “flash” more and more and expects an explosion of point withdrawals over the next two years..
51% more notifications of points withdrawals over 4 years
A motorist having committed a traffic violation sanctioned by a withdrawal of point (s) on his driving license is notified of this loss by mail, on a letter bearing the reference 48 (or its variants 48N, 48M, 48SI). For 2022, the Ministry of the Interior plans to send 8.7 million “48” letters, slightly more than the 8.6 million sent in 2019. For 2023 he anticipates 13 million, or 51% more than in 2019!
Speeding is not the only violation synonymous with point withdrawals. Driving with an excessive blood alcohol level leads, for example, to the elimination of six points. But the Interior Ministry does not hide the priority given to speed cameras in its approach to road safety. ” The policy conducted by the public authorities in the field of road safety aims to improve the behavior of drivers by strengthening and diversifying the means of detecting violations of the Highway Code, in particular with the development of the fleet of speed cameras. ”, Can one read in the chapter“ Justification of the forecasts and the target ”just below the figures stated above.
We note in passing that the forecast of the number of points return letters (letter 46), if it is logically revised upwards for the next two years, is not entitled to estimates as large as letter 48. The Government is forecasting 11.5 million for 2023, a little less than 23% increase compared to 2019.
Towards more license cancellations?
Always quick to denounce the Government’s “all radar” policy, the League for the Defense of Drivers did not fail to raise the estimates of the PLF 22 concerning letter 48. It particularly fears that this acceleration of the withdrawals of points, more than twice as much as that of point refunds, lead to an increase in the number of unlicensed drivers. However, the latter cannot subscribe to auto insurance and risk very high in the event of an offense or accident. ” While the National Safety Observatory itself declares that 770,000 drivers drive without a license today, this unprecedented acceleration in the number of points that will be withdrawn will inevitably lead to a resurgence of this phenomenon. », Says Nathalie Troussard, general secretary of the association. The number of officially registered and estimated unlicensed drivers had already increased by around 170,000 over the past five years.
TO READ. Drivers without insurance. Nearly 30,000 accidents in 2020
