No, there will be no increase in the number of speed cameras in France in 2025
Contrary to what was said on RMC this Thursday morning, the total fleet of speed cameras will decrease by 2025. Here are the explanations.
Starting at 6:15 a.m. this Thursday, June 5, RMC launched an unstoppable media sequence. The media outlet announced that the number of speed cameras on the roads is expected to more than triple by the end of 2025, increasing from 90 to 300 units, according to their information. The sequence was accompanied by testimonies from highly disgruntled motorists: "“Heresy,” “extortion”: the deployment of speed cameras under fire from critics," the media outlet headlined on its website, for example.
In total, no fewer than five articles have been published on this subject (one of which was modified at the request of the Road Safety Authority , Editor's note) and a debate has been convened on the famous Grandes Gueules show. " They are installed because they are cash machines ," asserts columnist Charles Consigny. Except that initially, the figures are not exact, as the Road Safety delegation confirmed to Le Figaro.
It is true that starting this June (this very week), the private speed camera system will be extended to Ardèche, Cantal, Bouches-du-Rhône , and Ariège. In July, it will be the turn of Ain, Haute-Loire, Pyrénées-Orientales, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
However, according to the data provided to us by the Road Safety Authority (also available in official budget documents), the reality is quite different. A useful reminder: a distinction must be made between private radar cars, driven by drivers employed by private companies under contract with the State, and radar cars driven by law enforcement (police or gendarmes). In fact, at the beginning of 2025, a fleet of 400 radar cars was in service (150 under the aegis of law enforcement, 250 under that of private radar car companies). Other figures show that 110 radar cars are simultaneously in circulation on the roads of France (50 driven by law enforcement, 60 by private operators).
According to the target figures for the end of 2025, the vehicle fleet is expected to be reduced to 300 units. This is due to the reduction in the number of cars driven by law enforcement agencies - there will be only 50 units. The number of private radar cars remains the same: 250 units. As for the number of cars that will be driving simultaneously on the roads, the target figure for the end of 2025 is 90 (only 15 driven by law enforcement agencies, 75 by private companies).
As a result, the number of radar cars on the roads will be slightly lower, even though those operated by private companies will increase by 15 units. If there's one thing to take away from all these figures, it's that the government is gradually abandoning the management of radar cars and delegating it to private companies.
lefigaro
