Contest speeding fines by internet

DRIVERS who receive speeding fines will be able to contest the penalty online instead of having to send a registered letter to the fine centre in Rennes.

The government’s move to avoid paper will mean going to the Agence Nationale de Traitement Automatisé des Infractions site at www.antai.fr and clicking on the “Comment Contester” link – or clicking on the Union Flag icon and, on the English site, clicking on “Appeal an Infringement”.

The site crashed briefly this morning, the first full day of being operational, but should allow drivers to contest any speeding or electronic ticket – and save money as there is no frais de dossier administration fee for appealing online.

After giving the number and date of the penalty notice, their surname and the registration number of the vehicle involved, they can challenge the penalty notice under three headings:

* The vehicle is not (or no longer) mine (it has been stolen, sold, scrapped – or someone else has copied the numberplate)
* I was not driving the vehicle and I wish to name the driver
* I contest the reality of the offence

For each heading drivers can upload copies of the pièces justificatives the site demands, such as the certificat de vol, the sale notice, the name of the person driving at the time or other details.

Once these have been registered the driver will receive a receipt and an email confirmation.

You can follow the progress of your file on the internet by using the “Consult your file” link on the Antai site with your penalty notice number. Any fines can also now be paid by smartphone through the app amendes.gouv that is available from Google Play or the App Store.

Drivers can still contest a penalty by post, by downloading a requête en exoneration from the site and sending the completed form by registered post (lettre recommandée avec avis de réception) to Centre d'Encaissement - TSA 69089- 35908 RENNES CEDEX 9.