Warning after dozens of drivers in France fined for filming lorry fire
Police said they are publicising the incident so to dissuade other drivers from repeating the same offence
Drivers have been fined for filming a road accident while driving in northern France. Picture for illustration purposes only
smspsy / Shutterstock
French police have fined 60 French drivers for filming a lorry on fire last Saturday (July 22).
The incident happened as the vehicle, which was transporting straw, was travelling on the A1, France’s busiest motorway.
Gendarmes blocked off all but one lane as firefighters tackled the blaze near Ressons-sur-Matz, situated to the south-east of Amiens.
Even though using a phone while driving is forbidden in France, this did not stop “almost one-in-two or one-in-three drivers from filming the accident,” a squadron road safety officer told the French newspaper Le Parisien.
“It is irresponsible and forbidden. The driver can endanger themselves and the gendarmes who are providing security while the firefighters are working. Some [gendarmes] were brushed by drivers who were no longer really paying attention to the road. Passengers can use phones but not drivers!”
The drivers will receive a €135 fine and have three points removed from their licence. Unlike in the UK, where points are added for driving offences, in France drivers begin with 12 points and have them taken off for misdemeanours.
Read more: How do speeding fines work in France?
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In France, drivers can be fined without being stopped if they have committed an offence rather than a crime.
On Saturday, gendarmes called to the scene for backup took photos of the cars involved and then checked the database to get driver details.
The gendarmerie in Oise - the department where the incident took place - told Le Parisien that this was not the first time such an incident had taken place but the number of drivers this time “was really too much”.
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It noted there will be a lot of traffic jams this weekend (July 29-30) and given “something is always happening on the A1” they decided to draw attention to the fines.
“If this publication can stop drivers from behaving dangerously at the wheel, it will be a good thing. We will perhaps avoid accidents.”
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