If the government is currently thinking about no longer deducting points from the license in the event of minor speeding (less than 5 km/h), there is however no question of not financially sanctioning this offence.
Moreover, speeding occupies the first place in the ranking of offenses recorded on the road. In 2022, no less than 15.1 million tickets were issued according to figures from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR).
In France, however, we are “lucky” to have a margin of error which is tolerated by the road authorities. In other words, even if you slightly exceed the maximum authorized speed, you still have a chance of getting by without any ticket. Whether fixed or mobile radars, the two speed cameras leave you with a few kilometers per hour of doubt. But how much exactly?
137 km/h is tolerated on the highway
The government site details the method of calculating this so-called “technical” margin, which is a margin of error with which the recorded speed is observed. There are two possible scenarios: either the speeding is carried out at a speed lower than 100 km/h, or the speeding is carried out at more than 100 km/h. Depending on your situation, you then have two margins of error.
If the speed limit is between 50 km/h and 100 km/h, you have a fixed margin of 5 km/h which is accepted. For example, if the speed is limited to 50 km/h on a section of road, road safety will tolerate overtaking up to 55 km/h without giving you a ticket. It is therefore from a reading of 56 km/h (or more) that you will be sanctioned by the authorities. Similarly, if you are on a road limited to 100 km/h, you will be penalized if your speed is strictly above 105 km/h.
If the speed limit on the road is between 100 km/h and 130 km/h, you have a margin of 5% which is tolerated. If you are on a fast lane limited to 110 km/h, you therefore have a tolerance of 5.5 km/h (i.e. 5% of 110): the sanction will therefore fall if you are at 116 km/h or beyond . On motorways where the maximum accepted speed is 130 km/h, the tolerance threshold is 137 km/h. If you exceed this speed, the authorities may sanction you.
Below, you have the detail communicated by the government.
Technical margin for speeding © Gouv.fr
No insignificant speeding
The government site specifies that this technical margin avoids being penalized for “insignificant speeding”. For example, if you are checked at 98 km/h on a section limited to 90 km/h, the government will then retain 93 km/h as the actual speed of the vehicle. You will therefore officially be 3 km/h over the limit (while the actual overrun is 8 km/h).
The radars do not take into account bad weather or visibility conditions in the area. You must therefore always be careful and stay below the authorized limit. Whether the speed cameras are announced or not, you must always be vigilant on the road and adapt to the conditions so as not to put lives in danger.
