Reporting of police checks on Waze or Coyote-type applications may be prohibited temporarily and in some cases, but not for speed checks, according to a decree published in the Official Journal on Tuesday.
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From 1 November, the prefects or the Minister of the Interior will be able to prohibit the “
rebroadcasting of any message or any indication sent by users of an electronic driving or navigation assistance service
”.
This provision is limited to blood alcohol and narcotics checks, with a maximum suspension of reports for two hours, or roadblocks to intercept wanted persons (kidnapping alerts, terrorism), with a maximum suspension of twelve hours.
On a proposal from the police or the gendarmerie, the prefect may communicate to the services concerned the time and place of the checks, within a radius of ten kilometers, or two kilometers in built-up areas.
30,000 euros fine and 2 years in prison
In June 2019, the National Assembly adopted the principle of this temporary blocking of the signaling of road checks, within the framework of the mobility law.
In the event of non-compliance, the operators of the applications will be liable to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros.
Speed controls, the possible introduction of which was controversial while the “
yellow vests
” crisis
was in full swing, are not affected by this measure.
Read also: One of Toulouse's biggest drug dealers was arrested during a roadside check
The device "
makes it possible to remove the most dangerous individuals from the road
", in the event of a kidnapping alert, for "
prison escapees, escapees from psychiatric hospitals
", or for cases of terrorists "
like the Kouachi brothers in 2015 which escaped the police for quite a while (...) thanks in particular to the signaling which was possible on Waze
”, explained Zivka Park, the co-rapporteur (LREM) of the law.
