In order to better spot speeding, some departments use private radar cars. Thanks to data published inadvertently by the Ministry of the Interior, we were able to discover in detail where these alternative forms of control were most used in France.
It is rare to intercept official data listing the number of mobile radars deployed in France. The Road Safety Delegation has however published a complete file containing a myriad of information on this subject. It was probably a mistake since it was finally removed from the French public data platform. In the meantime, the press was able to roam it up and down to extract the sap.
The report focuses on checks carried out by private radar cars. As a reminder, these are unmarked vehicles, some of which belong to private companies working on behalf of the government. They are able to detect speeding while driving discreetly among other road users. However, not all regions are in the same boat.
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39 departments controlled by private radar cars
59 departments are not (yet) surveyed by privatized radar cars. In the 39 departments concerned, there are great disparities in terms of control. In the Manche and Ille-et-Vilaine, 400,000 checks were carried out by private vehicles with onboard radars in 2021. There were only 8,000 in Haute-Marne the same year.
To give you a clear picture, here is a classification of the departments classified according to the number of checks with private radar cars:
Less than 50,000 checks
- Sum
- Ardennes
- Meuse
- Haute Marne
- Belfort
- Doubs
- Vienna
- Correze
Between 50,000 to 100,000
- Gironde
- Landes
- Charente
- Haute-Vienne
- Marl
- Dawn
- Meurthe et Moselle
- Lower Rhine
Between 100,000 and 200,000
- Pas-de-Calais
- North
- Two Sevres
- Indre et Loir
- Loir et Cher
- Loiret
- Dear
Between 200,000 and 300,000
- Cotes-d’Armor
- Vendee
- Maine and Loire
- Mayenne
- Sarthe
- adorns
- Eure-et-Loir
- Indre
Over 300,000
- Finistere
- Morbihan
- Ille-et-Vilaine
- Loire Atlantique
- Sleeve
- Calvados
- Eure
- Seine Maritime
Still in the radius of road checks, remember that a new radar capable of verbalizing a slew of offenses was approved in France in May 2022. An anti-noise radar was also inaugurated in the Yvelines to fine the loud two-wheelers.
