Group bids to end wrong PV tickets

TALES of tractors picking up parking tickets in Cannes and 50cc scooters being fined for speeding at 160kph on the motorway have sparked a call for an official appeals process to be set up.

Drivers' campaign group Andevi has launched a petition on its website calling for support for the move as it says that as a volunteer group it is being swamped by complaints from drivers wrongly sent procès-verbal tickets.

It wants a full-time body to be set up to deal with the growing scandal as it says elected officials are, so far, doing nothing to deal with it.

The group says drivers wrongly sent tickets are treated like offenders and find it very difficult to challenge parking and speeding tickets where their registration number has been "stolen" - or to challenge speeding tickets where the radar may be malfunctioning.

It add that too many drivers are facing losing points off their licence and a proper system needs to be set up to hear their complaints, investigate them and take action to restore points and repay fines - and then catch illegally-registered vehicles.

Andevi said ministers had to get involved and its petition would be sent to Justice Minister Christiane Taubira.

The group highlights numerous wrong PVs including:

* a man getting a fine for his van when the vehicle in the photo was a Portuguese truck
* another man getting a speeding fine for his 50cc scooter when the photo showed a German-registered Mercedes car
* a driver who bought a car in June and then received a ticket dated from April.

Get more details on the Andevi petition at their website: www.andevi.info
Photo: iMAGINE - Fotolia.com