Mobile phone use in France. New law.
Discussion
Just a heads up folks. Seems a typical overreaction but it's now the law apparently. That's the French for you.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that it is illegal to speak on or use your smartphone in your hand while in your car, even if you are stopped, pulled over, and with your hazard lights on.
The rule comes after the court judged that a stopped car is still considered to be “in circulation” even if it is pulled over at the side of the road with its engine off and hazard lights on.
The only acceptable time to use a smartphone in a car - without a hands-free set - the court said, would be if the vehicle was parked in a designated parking area, proper car park, or private driveway.
The rule applies to the use of a smartphone held in your hand, and does not apply to cars properly fitted with hands-free sets.
Drivers found to be in breach of these rules are at risk of a €135 fine, plus the loss of three points on your licence for three years.
The court made the decision after a driver appealed a fine from April 2017, after he was sanctioned for using a phone while his car was parked, with its hazard lights on, on the right side of a roundabout. The judge ruled that this still constituted “being in circulation”, and upheld the fine.
Drivers are warned that they must be properly parked in a designated parking area, before using their phones, to avoid sanctions.
The court made just one exception: drivers of cars that have broken down and are on the side of the road due to not being able to drive further, are permitted to use their mobile phones to call for assistance.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that it is illegal to speak on or use your smartphone in your hand while in your car, even if you are stopped, pulled over, and with your hazard lights on.
The rule comes after the court judged that a stopped car is still considered to be “in circulation” even if it is pulled over at the side of the road with its engine off and hazard lights on.
The only acceptable time to use a smartphone in a car - without a hands-free set - the court said, would be if the vehicle was parked in a designated parking area, proper car park, or private driveway.
The rule applies to the use of a smartphone held in your hand, and does not apply to cars properly fitted with hands-free sets.
Drivers found to be in breach of these rules are at risk of a €135 fine, plus the loss of three points on your licence for three years.
The court made the decision after a driver appealed a fine from April 2017, after he was sanctioned for using a phone while his car was parked, with its hazard lights on, on the right side of a roundabout. The judge ruled that this still constituted “being in circulation”, and upheld the fine.
Drivers are warned that they must be properly parked in a designated parking area, before using their phones, to avoid sanctions.
The court made just one exception: drivers of cars that have broken down and are on the side of the road due to not being able to drive further, are permitted to use their mobile phones to call for assistance.
Same here, the engine must be turned off or it's £200 fine and 6 points:
http://www.nopenaltypoints.co.uk/legal-use-mobile-...
http://www.nopenaltypoints.co.uk/legal-use-mobile-...
just do what the French do.........place the phone on seat between legs and whilst driving keep looking down at it and text when necessary.
I've been in a car with someone who did this on the Paris Periphique at rush hour, slow i'll admit,but still a little worrying especially as you look around and nearly everyone is doing the same!!
I've been in a car with someone who did this on the Paris Periphique at rush hour, slow i'll admit,but still a little worrying especially as you look around and nearly everyone is doing the same!!
RL17 said:
So can you sit in passenger seat whilst parked up and be fine? (rather than fined)
I always put my keys on top of the near side rear tyre before I crash out in the back, the fuzz never look there. If they ask where are the keys, I normally throw a fainting fit and slide gracefully to the ground. They rarely take the matter further.Gassing Station | Le Mans | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff