The prefect of Seine-et-Marne Lionel Beffre decided on Thursday to toughen the penalties for traffic offenses related to alcohol and speeding by modifying the scale of administrative suspensions of driving licenses.
"
This new scale increases the duration of
driving license suspensions
for offenses and offenses of driving under the influence of an alcoholic state and speeding
", indicates the prefect in a press release.
"Degradation of road safety"
This decision follows "
the deterioration of road safety in 2022 and at the start of 2023
", explained Lionel Beffre to AFP, specifying that the accident caused by comedian Pierre Palmade on a departmental road in south of Seine-et-Marne "
has only reinforced our choice
".
On February 10, the comedian got behind the wheel of his car after consuming cocaine and synthetic drugs and hit an oncoming car.
The collision left three seriously injured in the same family: a man, his six-year-old son and his pregnant sister-in-law, who lost her baby.
Read alsoTraffic offences: why the repression has become more severe
In Seine-et-Marne, from Friday, it is the maximum sanction which is directly applied whereas previously the "
sanction was progressive
" according to the alcohol level and speeding, specified the prefect.
Thus, anyone driving under the influence of an alcoholic state at a rate greater than 0.40 mg/litre of exhaled air is liable to a six-month driving license suspension sanction.
And anyone who commits speeding equal to or greater than 40 km/h is also liable to a six-month driving license suspension, regardless of the authorized speed, regardless of the road network.
Read also Pierre Palmade case: what is “chemsex”, this practice combining sex and drugs?
Each department “
has its scale
” then the “
judicial takes over
” by reversing or confirming the administrative sanction, recalled Lionel Beffre.
In 2022, Seine-et-Marne counted 894 accidents against 770 in 2021, and 58 people were killed against 51 in 2021. A total of 3,260 people died on the roads of metropolitan France in 2022, according to figures from the Road safety.
After Pierre Palmade's accident, which sparked a media storm, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wanted anyone driving under drugs or alcohol to automatically have the 12 points on their driving license withdrawn.
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