400,000 illegal speed bumps can stay, French court rules

Up to 400,000 speed bumps have been recognised as implicitly illegal by the top  administrative court – but it has not ordered for them to be removed.

The ruling does mean that mayors installing new bumps must ensure they meet strict rules from a 1994 decree, says Rémy Josseaume, the lawyer for an association opposed to the bumps. 

In cases over several years, association Pour une Mobilité Sereine et Durable has alleged harm from ‘too high’ or ‘wrongly-placed’ bumps, including damage to cars, motorbike accidents and fissures in house walls. 

It says 400,000 bumps are illegal.

The 1994 decree is strict about the size and location of bumps: they must not be used by more than 3,000 cars a day and must not be hidden by bends, be on hills or near a village/town entrance.

Many were built according to a guide published by the state agency Cerema, which is consulted by mayors about public works. 

However, this guidance contradicted the 1994 rules, making installing bumps easier. Last year, the Marseille appeal court said all bumps should respect the 1994 decree, invalidating the guide, but it did not order illegal ones to be destroyed, so the association took a case to the Conseil d’Etat. 

The Conseil rejected the case, judging the Marseille ruling sufficient, but this is a victory, the association says, as France’s top administrative court has therefore confirmed the legal principle that bumps must respect the 1994 decree.

The decision does not close the door to more cases over harm from existing installations, said Mr Josseaume.

He said: “The decision, which avoided saying the bumps were illegal or legal, means lower court rulings that they were illegal stay on the books.

Each mayor with illegal bumps must now be prepared to face their responsibilities in court.” 

If you have been the victim of damage caused by an illegal speed bump, you can make a claim for damages to the mairie, setting out proof that the bump is illegal and showing the damage caused.

If it refuses, you can take a case to an administrative court with the help of a lawyer. 

Several cases have succeeded and some 200 more are estimated to be under way.