No subject escapes Brussels anymore. While road safety results appear disparate, particularly between the east and west of the continent, Europe is alarmed by a breakdown in accident rates since 2014. Between good and bad students, the decline in mortality is stagnating. It thwarts the objective of Brussels which, with “Vision Zero”, aims for zero deaths on European roads by mid-century.
Between tending towards an objective or achieving it, there is a nuance that Brussels would not want, which intends to supplant the States whose road repression policy is too lax. On this level, France does not have much to fear, because it already deploys a regulatory and repressive arsenal which will become a lesson outside our borders.
But there would be some new developments for France if the project were to succeed. In particular the obligation for seniors to undergo a medical examination after the age of 70, every 5 years and, from the age of 80, every 2 years. For young drivers, a two-year probationary period at a maximum speed of 90 km/h would be imposed. According to our Belgian colleague from Gocar, driving SUVs and heavy vehicles at night and on weekends would be strictly prohibited.
It is undoubtedly aimed at borrowing the parental vehicle for high-risk night trips. On the other hand, there are no restrictions at this stage on electric cars, many of which have acceleration capabilities far beyond the control of a new driver. Europe, which would consider a special permit for SUVs, is going astray by ignoring electric motors, all types of vehicles combined.
Speed remaining the favorite rattle of autophobes who have still not noticed the German singularity with its highways which are largely passable in complete safety at free speed, Brussels would like to bring everyone back to 130 km/h. That’s a gain of 10 km/h for some, like the Belgians, the Portuguese and the Spaniards, but bad news for Germany, of course, as well as Italy and the Czech Republic.
These two nations are in fact preparing to raise certain particularly safe sections of motorway to 150 km/h. Inevitably, this unified code, if it were successful, underlies globalized repression that jumps across borders to repress, impose fines and withdraw licenses, regardless of the nationality of the offender and the location of the offense. An already juicy business in France since the 4,530 automated radars last year beat the 2017 record with 25.5 million flashes recorded and 707 million euros in revenue. After the Covid years, business returned to full speed.