Help between motorists for some, allowed to cheat for others, all it takes is a simple click on your smartphone to indicate the presence of traffic controls on the side of the road.
A sort of virtual beacon that has made apps like Coyote or Waze so popular.
A decree published on Tuesday, April 20 provides for prohibiting these operators from warning of the presence of gendarmes on the side.
The measure will come into force on November 1, 2021.
“It is simply for the police not to disclose their position during blood alcohol tests, during kidnapping or attack alerts.
Moreover, we, like other operators, had ourselves set up a white zone during the flight of the Kouachi brothers, who were entrenched in the printing works of Dammartin-en-Goële (Seine-et-Marne), ”explains Fabien Pierlot, Coyote's boss not worried about his business model.
This is not the opinion of the League for the Defense of Drivers which predicts: "Let us not be fooled: in the long term, the veto will be total" This association has relaunched its petition "No to the ban on signaling speed controls Which has already collected more than 320,000 signatures.
A duration of twelve hours, a perimeter of 10 km maximum
The idea is not new. It took two years for this decree to appear when the National Assembly had adopted in June 2019 the principle of this temporary blocking of the signaling of road checks, within the framework of the so-called LOM mobility law. The decree does not provide for a ban for everyone, nor all the time, the road safety delegation insisted: "the duration (will be) limited to two hours for alcohol and narcotics checks, and at twelve hours for the other targeted controls, (
Editor's note: attack, kidnappings, ...
) within a maximum radius of two kilometers in built-up areas and ten kilometers outside built-up areas, ”explains a press release. The prefect, at the local level, or the Minister of the Interior, at the national level, may take this decision to block reports, at the request of the police or gendarmes.
Is there not a risk of alerting wanted individuals of roadblocks if driver assistance apps suddenly stop working?
No, because concretely, we can continue to tap on the screen to point out the presence of the police, but the information will not be passed on to other motorists.
At Road Safety, we nickname this measure "Harry Potter", in reference to the famous invisibility cloak of the English wizard.
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.
"We have the impression that this is the latest fad to prevent people from living"
These bans do not apply to individuals who can legally continue to warn themselves of the presence of traffic controls, by calling lights or by posting messages on social networks. “After the 80 km / h; the privatization of radars, one has the impression that it is the latest fad to prevent people from living. In my opinion it will be a blow for nothing, like the breathalyzer (
Editor's note: obligatory, its absence is however not sanctioned
) ”sweeps Pierre Chasseray, general manager of the association 40 million motorists.
There remains the technical aspect: "We have been working for months with the police on the technical platform around these reports" indicates the boss of Coyote. It is also the case of the other operators Waze, TomTom, Garmin,… Companies and services of the State still have six months to develop the system which will make the controls invisible, right for Halloween.