Another driver hit with smoking fine
Man charged €22 for having cigarette in hand at wheel accuses police of 'abuse of power'
A DRIVER in Paris who was fined for smoking at the wheel has accused police of “an abuse of power”.
The man was stopped on Sunday after he moved his car a few metres past a red light in the middle of road-works because traffic could not get through in the other direction.
He was spotted by police and given two fines: one for ignoring the light and another for smoking at the time.
The reason given on the paperwork for the €22 smoking fine was: “Driving a vehicle in conditions that do not allow the driver to easily manoeuvre (cigarette lit in left hand).”
The local préfecture de police said the officers had done the right thing. The man had a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other and was not in control of the vehicle.
Earlier this year, a health worker from Bordeaux refused to pay the €22 fine after she was caught smoking at the wheel.
The case against Chantal Missègue was eventually dropped after her lawyer argued that it had no legal basis.
Smoking a cigarette at the wheel is not specifically forbidden by law.
Article R.412-6 of the Code de la Route requires all drivers to “remain constantly in a state where they can comfortably and quickly carry out all the manoeuvres required of them”.
However, exactly what you can and cannot do while driving according to the law remains vague, and only using a telephone has been specifically forbidden by decree in 2003.
