These new generation radars are undetectable and their implementation is accelerating.
152 speeding violations recorded in five days on a departmental road! This is the spectacular capture made by the Val-d’Oise gendarmerie a few weeks ago. On the rd14 and the rd63, in the towns of Commeny and Bellay-en-Vexin, as revealed by the Actu.fr site, the sanctioned motorists saw nothing coming. And for good reason, they were “caught” by undetectable radars, embedded in law enforcement vehicles. Much further south, in Tarn-et-Garonne, these new generation radars, capable of measuring the speed of cars in both directions of traffic, have also been deployed since the start of the school year on the department’s roads. A great first according to the La Dépêche website.
If these unmarked radar cars are plying the roads of France more and more, it is because their number is booming. These new generation devices, which emerged in 2013, were estimated to number around 400 at the end of 2022. A year later, their number has almost doubled. If these radars are not all made available to the national police and the gendarmerie – around 50% of the system is managed by private companies – all the revenue goes into the pockets of the State. And given their performance, their profitability is excellent.
The noose is therefore tightening on motorists. Especially since mobile radars are now deployed throughout France. Until then in action in eight of the twelve regions of France, they expanded to the last four during the year. The roads of Île-de-France, Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur are now also covered by these vehicles whose on-board radars operate while driving (on 3 lanes ) or stopped (4 ways). So we can now find them everywhere!
Additional bad news for drivers, including those on two wheels who are not spared: these radars take photos of speeding vehicles without flashing them. The surprise is therefore even more unpleasant when the report arrives in the mailbox. Finally, just to confuse the issue even further, the car models incorporating these sophisticated devices continue to diversify. Peugeot 308 and 508, Citroën Berlingo, Ford Focus, Golf 7, Volkswagen Passat 7 and 8, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia… The list is long. And as with mobile radars, they continue to increase.
