Points on licence

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

A year ago, I was caught in one of those speed radar trap thingys. €45 fine and a point on the licence. I still had my UK licence and just sent the money off, expecting them to tell me if I need to get a French licence so they can do their point.

A couple of months ago, got caught again. Same deal, €45 fine plus a point. Did the same thing again, sent my money off and forgot about it. Still have my Uk licence, still haven't exchanged it. Anyone know whether I would have points to my name, or why the authorities haven't told me I need to exchange my licence to put points on it (or take them away, whatever they do)?

R.

[AnOther]

1 point will not usually trigger a demand for a licence change.

If it was over a year since your first indiscretion then the one point will have been restored and the subsequent offence will simply result in it being taken off again but as you are still only on 1 point, probably no demand for a change.

If on the other hand it was less than 12 months then you will now have 2 points and they will both now run for 3 years. It's also possible that you may in due course receive a visit from the Gendarmes instructing you to change to a French licence. You can only sit tight and hope they don't but if you get caught again in the next 3 years I think you're dead meat, after all you will have proved yourself a hopeless recidivist [Www]

 

 

[Clair]

The chances are that you have got away with it (twice!).

With an automatic radar, as there is no info held in the central system about a UK licence to deduct points from, there is no follow-up.

If you ever get done by a hand-held speed-trap, the fine will almost certainly bear a notice for the licence to be exchanged and this will be checked.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Good news [:D] Thank you.

Don't want anymore fines though.

[AnOther]

Clair, there may not be any follow up for one point but it is still recorded against you.

The proof is on the fine notice where it says points deducted or not (don't know the exact wording) and if it sasy 'oui' then it/they have been.

I don't think having a UK licence is of any real consequence at the 1 point level irrespective of whether you were caught by automatic radar or hand held is it ?

 

[Clair]

Comment les conducteurs sont-ils informés des retraits de points effectués sur leur permis de conduire ?

Les

informations relatives aux retraits de points sont portées à la

connaissance des conducteurs contrevenants par plusieurs moyens :

• Dans un premier temps, l'intéressé est avisé qu'il encourt un
  retrait de points lors de la constatation de l'infraction. Cette
  information figure sur le procès-verbal de contravention dressé à cette
  occasion ;
• Dans un second temps, le retrait de points est porté à la
  connaissance de l'intéressé par lettre simple quand il est effectif –
  c'est-à-dire lorsque la réalité de l'infraction est établie par le
  paiement d'une amende forfaitaire ou l'émission du titre exécutoire de
  l'amende forfaitaire majorée, l'exécution d'une composition pénale ou
  par une condamnation définitive. Ce courrier est expédié à l'adresse
  qui est relevée auprès du conducteur, lors de l'établissement du
  procès-verbal ;

http://www.interieur.gouv.fr/sections/a_votre_service/vos_demarches/vehicules/permis-conduire-points/faq-permis-points

How are drivers informed of the loss of points on their driving license?

Information on the loss of points is brought to the attention of drivers offenders in several ways:

• It first, the person is notified that a loss of points is incurred at the time of the infringement. This information appears on
  the fine;
• Then the loss of points is made known
  in writing at the time it becomes effective - i.e. when the offence is established by the payment of a flat fine or the issuance of an increased fine [...]. The letter is sent to the address given by the driver at the time of the fine.

[AnOther]

Sorry Clair I don't understand the point (ha) that your quote is making ?

 

[Ron Avery]

If you get a fine there is a box, it says whether points are to be deducted.  There is a scale.  So if you were a French license holder those points are deducted automatically.  If you hold a UK license its the luck of the draw, even with two flashes within a year for low level excesses. you would be unlucky to be told to change your license, however if you were then to do so at a later date those points might be deducted.

[AnOther]

Agreed Ron and it's what I'm saying, whichever licence the point, or points, are still recorded against you. Clair seemed to be suggesting if you got caught on an automatic radar they weren't.

It's similar in UK for a foreign licence. If you get done and get the standard 3 points DVLA create a 'ghost' licence in your name and if you get more points then you will have to exchange your licence and all the points will be on it.

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

So to clarify, the single point only lasts a year anyway, is that right? I got my first point in Jan 2008, and the second was in November, although it was in my neighbours car and by the time we'd sorted out with them that it was me that "done the deed", I didn't get issued with the fine until late Jan 2009.

[AnOther]

Yes, a single point lasts one year unless you accumulate more in that time in which case the clock is reset and all the points last 3 years. Look on one point as a warning if you like, that's jolly nice of them isn't it [:)]

Not sure but logically it has to be the date of the offence which counts otherwise you could deliberately drag it out to 1 year, or even 3 years, to allow existing points to expire couldn't you ?

That being so then, and if the second offence was also 1 point, you have 2 points deducted which will run for 3 years from November 2008.

If you had a French licence there is a site somewhere where you can see your points, unlike UK they do not physically endorse your licence in France so you have no immediate record of them but of course with a UK one you do not exist in the licence system so cannot check.

With 2 points you may or may not receive a visit, luck of the draw.

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Hopefully the cops will have more important things to worry about than little me.

I'm not too worried, it'll just be a bit of bureacracy and it doesn't affect anything else (unless I keep the habit up of course) and my insurance company couldn't care less (AXA). Just interested to know really.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

Agreed Ron and it's what I'm saying, whichever licence the point, or points, are still recorded against you. Clair seemed to be suggesting if you got caught on an automatic radar they weren't.

It's similar in UK for a foreign licence. If you get done and get the standard 3 points DVLA create a 'ghost' licence in your name and if you get more points then you will have to exchange your licence and all the points will be on it.

[/quote]

The central licence database does not maintain a 'points tally' record for foreign licenceholders.  If a points penalty has been enforced, then the exchange of the foreign licence to a French one is mandatory and the penalty is applied to the new French licence record. 

In practice, minor points penalties from automatic radars do not appear to be enforced due, I suspect, to the cost of manual intervention into what is essentially a fully automated legal due process. No enforcement, therefore no points penalty, therefore no mandatory exchange.

As far as the UK is concerned, if you live there, you do not have to exchange your foreign licence if you commit an offence involving points.  You do have the option to register your foreign licence with the DVLA so that you can benefit from the fixed penalty system without having to go to court.  They send you a UK counterpart document to go with your licence so that points can be recorded in the same way as any UK licence holder. 

 

 

[Patf]

Be sure to wear your seatbelt. You lose 3 points if caught without one.

This is what tipped it for Eddie, leading to a visit from the gendarmes and change of license.

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Three points for not wearing a seat belt? Wow. That's harsh in comparison to my infringement. I was caught doing 13km/h over the limit (123 in a 110 zone), and surely that is more dangerous to other people than if I was wearing a seat belt or not? Perhaps I am missing the logic there.

[Sunday Driver]

Might the logic of the harsh seat belt penalty be to 'prod' you into protecting yourself and your passengers from potential death or injury?  After all, the state has a vested interest in avoiding having to spend a fortune cutting someone out of the wreckage, carting them off to hospital, then supporting them as a paraplegic for the rest of their life?

As regards your 123 in a 110, I expect the speed defenders will be along to explain that you were perfectly safe, being on an empty (?) dual carriageway at the time and a highly skilled driver to boot....[Www]

 

 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I have no probs that I was in the wrong. It was on the A10 to Paris. I tend to sit under the 130km/h limit so as to avoid fines (ironic), but as I was chatting to my friends while driving, I must have missed where it dropped down to 110km/h.

Good points on the seat belt logic too.

[Kitty]

My professor at university - a keen urban cyclist - thought that there should be no seat belts and a sharp spike coming out of the steering wheel.  He said that would slow people down.  [:D]