Road safety is the core remit of the EDSR police officers. Figures from Tarn-et-Garonne confirm the need for their work. Since last January, the law Loppsi 2 gives them new weapons to use against motorists who go too far.
Captain Blanc, commander of the Tarn-et-Garonne Departmental Road Safety Squadron (EDSR 82), sets out the figures for traffic enforcement. These figures are “in line with the national average but indicate a certain degree of complacency amongst motorists”.
The repressive measures were already in place for the most serious traffic offences: immediate and systematic suspension of the driving licence, accompanied by an administrative penalty and a fine, as well as the judicial immobilisation or even confiscation of the vehicle, as ordered by a judge.
Serious speeding offences, driving without a licence, drink-driving… systematic impoundment of the vehicle
The Loppsi 2 Act (Framework and Planning Act for Internal Security Performance) of 2011, which came into force in Tarn-et-Garonne on 1 January following a prefectural decision, has changed the game. This law provides law enforcement agencies with a new tool to tackle road traffic offences: serious speeding offences, driving without a licence, and repeat offences involving drink-driving or driving under the influence of drugs… From now on, the systematic immobilisation and impounding for a period of seven days of the vehicle used to commit the offence can be enforced against the perpetrators of these offences (with the public prosecutor’s office being notified). Impoundment costs are borne by the offender. This means there is no longer any possibility for a passenger to take the wheel of the intercepted vehicle. The vehicle is now immediately taken to the impound. The driver’s licence is, of course, withdrawn on the spot.
“The roads in the department are very accident-prone (Editor’s note: 27 accidents resulting in injury and 6 fatalities since 1 January). This is an immediate enforcement response… We are also seeing more and more cases of driving without a licence.” The head of EDSR 82 also notes “a significant proportion of young drivers responsible for serious speeding offences”. Take, for example, the young man recently stopped on the A62 travelling at 180 km/h instead of the 110 km/h limit imposed by his provisional licence. The EDSR intercepted dozens of drivers last year who were caught driving at criminal speeds – clocked at 188 km/h, 205 km/h or 215 km/h – on the Tarn-et-Garonne road network.
Mobile speed cameras: 23,142 photos taken
In 2016, the gendarmerie recorded 4,085 cases of speeding involving vehicles travelling more than 20 km/h over the speed limit. These speed checks were carried out on motorways and on the departmental road network. Furthermore, the new-generation ETM (Équipement de Terrain Mobile) mobile speed cameras, fitted to six vehicles in the 82 department, took 23,142 photographs in 2016. “These vehicles are out on the roads every day,” says the head of the EDSR… At present, the main roads (RD 958, 813, 927) leading to the west of the department, as well as a large area in the south-west, are subject to rigorous speed checks. “We’re not here to meet quotas,” explains the captain. “We’re stationed on roads with particularly high accident rates.”