"Crit'Air"; stickers obligatory for driving in major cities

[Loiseau]

I can't see anything yet on the forum about the new Crit'Air scheme, which came into force in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble on 1 Jan. It is apparently due to be extended to other cities in time, including Arras, Dunkerque, Le Havre, Lille and Toulouse.

Cit'Air requires all vehicles (including foreign-registered ones) to carry a windscreen sticker denoting which of six emissions categories they fall into. Stickers (which last the lifetime of the vehicle) will cost €3.70; or €4.18 inc postage.

More information on www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/

(An English version of the website is due to be launched on 1 February.)

[Hereford]

We saw this mentioned in Que Choisir some time ago and have been meaning to get a sticker. Thanks for the reminder.

Edit:  All done and ordered.

[alittlebitfrench]

Do you need them ?

You only need them if you live in the city concerned.

If you live in Eymet and want to drive in Paris you can without a sticker. I guess it is the same for someone who lives in Stoke on Trent.

[Hereford]

Are you sure about that ALBF?  We have a sticker for Germany - same idea exactly - and it applies to everyone: tourists as well as those who live there. Big fines if you drive in without a sticker too!

Edit: I have looked at the website again and I can see nothing that says "residents only".

[alittlebitfrench]

Ouais

http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Certificat-qualite-de-l-air-mode-d,43680.html

"C’est une démarche volontaire, qui peut donner des avantages aux conducteurs, mais chacun est libre de prendre un certificat ou non. "

[ChrisofCher]

https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/foire-aux-questions

[pomme]

from the Crit'air web site https://goo.gl/EUC8Nb

17.01.2017 - Attention, new: According to a new announcement from the French authorities, it will be possible to order a vignette for vehicles non-registered in France from 01.02.2017.

This means, that the vignette Crit’Air will be available for all vehicles, no matter in which country they are registered.

Advance orders are possible here from 24.01.2017!

---

They are giving foreign cars until 31 Mar to get a vignette before applying fines

[Loiseau]

HELP!

I am trying to fill in their wretched form (see details below).  Although I speak fluent French, I thought it would be easier to deal with the English version of the site because I presumed its categories would correspond to those on my UK registration certificate.

Hah!

- What do I put as the "serial number"?  Is that the chassis number, at item E on the UK reg cert?  Or one of the Type numbers at item D2, higher up?

- "Brand", I divine from reading the French to mean Make; and "Trade name" to mean Model.

- Euro standard ???   Would that be item K, "Type approval number"?  It starts with the letter e !

- CO2; I guess that is simply the g/km figure at item V7?

Angela

[AnOther]

A bit of hysteria creeping in over these I think; thus far at least they are only required if you want to enter designated inner city areas and

between defined hours so if you don't need to be doing that then you

don't need one, it's equivalent to the London congestion charge if you like.

You can see the zones here and I note that Lille is now included but so far with no zone map 

The site seems pretty simple to me, serial number is the unique number on the V5 which is on the front page in the top RH corner and begins with V5C,  Brand is the make and since Trade Name (Model )/Euro Standard (Emissions)/Co2 (g/km) sections are not marked as mandatory you can just leave them blank but if you're that worried about it then look up the data here

[Chancer]

They are not even required, at least yet:

"C’est une démarche volontaire, qui peut donner des avantages aux conducteurs, mais chacun est libre de prendre un certificat ou non. "

 

Its gilet flourescents and alco-testers all over again, some people are only happy when they are anxious and have a hoop to jump through.

[Loiseau]

Look guys, I am not ANXIOUS! Nor is this ultra-urgent.

I just would like the ability to, say, pick somebody up from a city railway station on the spur of the moment, if necessary, without having to panic about date and time.

At a cost of 3 or 4 euros for life of car, rather than £11.50 each time you venture into the London congestion-charge zone, it seems a bargain.

Thanks for the link, ANO. That has sorted two of my questions.

The serial number one: I presume it's EVERYthing in that circle, including "V5C" and the bottom bit (in my case) "3/11" ?

[AnOther]

Sure sound like your anxious to me !

[quote user="Loiseau"]The serial number one: I presume it's EVERYthing in that circle, including "V5C" and the bottom bit (in my case) "3/11" ?[/quote]Since you have to scan and upload a copy of the V5C with your application do you honestly think it would really matter one way or the other but why wouldn't you just put the whole thing anyway, nobody could possibly fault that !

FWIW, and leaving aside the fact that I cannot conceive of any circumstances whatsoever in which I could or would ever ever want or need to drive my car in or even near any of the controlled zones at any time never mind between the given hours, just for the sheer thrill and excitement of it on an otherwise dreary Monday afternoon I decided to apply for a sticker for my own car (French reg).

I got an immediate acknowledgement of the order however an hour or so later I got a further email telling me that my application had been rejected because somehow or other I'd got the month of the date of first registration wrong (I blame the interactive calendar !), it also said that I hadn't been charged.

I just did it again, got another acknowledgement followed shortly by a confirmation that all was OK and that my sticker would arrive in the post in due course so the point is you don't have to worry about making a mistake because there are only two possible outcomes, rejection because of an error or an omission which you simply put right by applying a second time - or you get your sticker.

[Chancer]

I must be missing something, I understand what you are saying Loiseau, I would be in the same position myself  but I have not read anything about any charging or fees to pay, just that its voluntary and may bring you some advantages.

 

IMO there is a reason behind them wanting the god fearing and compliant to register with the scheme and it will no doubt be to facilitate them with establishing and administering the future (unless I have missed something) charges and you are all doing their job for them.

 

Do you really believe that by being compliant you will never have to pay a pollution charge when it is established? At that time people like me who do nothing will no doubt have to pay the highest duty.

[andyh4]

Chancer

What I can see happening, is either:

When there is high pollution of the air, only cars compliant with a certain level of emissions will be allowed to enter the cities - with a fine for non-compliance.

Or, under the same conditions, the alternate odd/even registrations will be allowed to enter (as has been done already this year in Paris and Lyon), with a derogation for vehicles that are compliant to a certain level.

That "level" can be adjusted according to the actual conditions and levels of air pollution.

[Chancer]

So why the anxiety and rush to spend €3 on a sticker for your windscreen that does nothing?

 

ANO, what return are you expecting on your €3?

[Chancer]

I can see me having to do a lot of tongue biting in the future as well meaning, god-fearing, compliant and above all unthinking people sermonise me when they see that I am not wearing the emporers new clothes, it'll be just like the gilets flouro again I was  the only person not having a pair  draped over my headrests and had to suffer the idiots finger wagging and warnings of financial destitution.

[AnOther]

[quote user="Chancer"]ANO, what return are you expecting on your €3?[/quote]Absolutely none, as I've said the chances of me actually needing it are probably less than zero.

I was curious as much as anything but beyond that it's just a piece of windscreen candy and maybe a topic for conversation somewhere down the line because I doubt anybody around these parts will have seen one before !

[Loiseau]

QUOTE Chancer

They are not even required, at least yet:

"C’est une démarche volontaire, qui peut donner des avantages aux conducteurs, mais chacun est libre de prendre un certificat ou non. "

END QUOTE

Of course nobody HAS to buy one, Chancer - UNLESS they are going to go into the designated areas at the designated hours (see the FAQ linked to on p1 of this thread: "suis-je concerné?")

[Chancer]

I've read it!

 

It should be "suis-je bovvered" [:D]

 

So you pay for a certificate that you dont need, to show what class your vehicle is IF the town you are concerned with ever decides to implement the measure, having said certificate wont allow you to drive in the zones on the days of high pollution IF the measure is ever implemented, on the contrary it will show to the world that you are not allowed and that you know it.

 

IF the measure is ever implemented in said town and you drive in the zone on a day you are not allowed to your fine will be the same as the fine for the person that never bothered to buy a pointless window sticker, but you do get the bonus of being able to be fined for incorrectly displaying your pointless sticker which makes it not so pointless. Actually reading carefully the last part of the text below it could be said that only someone with a sticker can be fined for driving in a zone when they should not, so really not so pointless after all then [:D]

 

Quelles sanctions risque un contrevenant ?

Sont passibles de sanctions :
o L'utilisation d'un certificat frauduleux ,
o L'utilisation d'un certificat illisible ou s’il n’est pas apposé de manière visible ,
o Le fait de ne pas respecter les restrictions de circulation dans les zones à circulation restreintes ou lors de circulation différenciée (épisodes de pollution),
o Le fait, pour un véhicule qui y est éligible, de stationner en zone de circulation restreinte permanente, sans certi-ficat qualité de l’air.

Les sanctions et leurs montants sont prévus par les articles R318-2 et R411-19-1 du code la route.
Le fait de ne pas respecter les restrictions de circulation dans une zone à circulation restreinte est passible d’une amende de 3e classe pour les véhicules légers (soit 68 euros d’amende simple) et de 4è classe pour les poids lourds (soit 135 euros d’amende simple).
Le fait de ne pas respecter les règles de la circulation différenciée mise en œuvre par les préfets lors des épisodes de pollution est passible d’une sanction pour non respect de l’arrêté préfectoral.
Dans un premier temps, l’absence de certificat ne sera pas sanctionnée afin de laisser le temps aux usagers de s’équiper.

 

It will be like the Eco-mouv road tolls, there will be protests, tyres will be burned and it will all be scrapped in the meantime it will have raised loads of money but this time not from public funds, locally to me special power lines were laid in for the bornes, foundations constructed, the bornes installed then they had to pay for them to be removed and the maintenance contract costs for maintaining something that no longer exists and which was never put into service have to be paid for the next 20 years to the contractor as a compensation.

[Loiseau]

Oh, OK, Chancer. I (maybe) won't get one after all...

Happy?

Now go and change some beds or do some ménage or something. You clearly have too much time on your hands. ;-)

[Chancer]

[quote user="Loiseau"]Oh, OK, Chancer. I (maybe) won't get one after all... Happy? Now go and change some beds or do some ménage or something. You clearly have too much time on your hands. ;-)[/quote]

 

No beds to change Loiseau, all monthly renters at the moment, I have (too much?) time on my hands because I am taking a day off from the chantier, the first since I dont know when, September possibly, still didnt stop me from just doing a half hour though!

 

I dont mind what people do, I'm not trying to influence them and sorry if I may have seemed judgemental, I really thought that I might have missed something and there is a fee and/or fines to pay, I drove through Arras yesterday.

 

I think that we all can agree that probably in the future we will all be required to have one and that we will all be paying more and more in stealth taxes to use our vehicles whilst enjoying less and less liberty, I am just a little bemused at the eagerness, we are all different and I embrace that.

[Daktari]

Something I haven't seen mentioned is that if you hold a "Blue Badge" as a disabled driver the requirement for a Crit'Air vignette doesn't apply.

"As per French decree Décret n°2016-847 from

28th June 2016 vehicles bearing a parking card for disabled persons

need no Crit'Air Vignette. Parking cards for disabled persons are the

same all over Europe so that vehicles of handicapped persons are

recognisable abroad, too."

https://www.crit-air.fr/en/information-about-the-critair-vignette/french-environmental-zones-zcr/exemptions-to-the-rules.html

[Hereford]

Useful information re disabled drivers, thank you.  Our sticker has arrived and has been duly stuck on the windscreen.

What has occured to us though is: what a pity the stickers are not "EU" stickers.

We needed a German sticker last year as we were going into Cologne and possibly other cities that need them so we have a big green German sticker. Now we have a pretty lilac (smaller) French sticker.

When we drive to Germany to see our daughter and family we drive via Belgium and Holland and  stay overnight in a city on the way as part of a holiday, will we eventually find we need Belgian and Dutch stickers too? We have visions of a row of stickers on our windscreen! Bit like re-inventing the wheel...

[AnOther]

The cunning plan is that eventually every car windscreen will be that chock-a-bloc with stickers that you won't be able to see out of it to drive anywhere - pollution problem solved !

[andyh4]

Totally agree.

add to the pollution stickers, the holder for your autoroute doofer, a vignette to drive on the Swiss motorways (probably several years worth since they are a right so and so to get off), the Austrian vignette and Slovenian vignette, your insurance green sticker and the CT sticker - now there is a little porthole to look out of.