UK tourists who’ve been to France this summer face £320 fine through post
Drivers in France have been warned over barrier-free toll booths along major motorways. UK tourists flying out and driving across the Channel to the European Union[1] and using their own cars and vehicles – or hired ones – have been warned. The new system involves having unsupervised tolls along the motorway in a bid to be more environmentally friendly.
But the tech issues are rife, and The Connexion reported that a driver was fined EUR90 (GBP76) for failing to pay a 30 cent peage fee. The free-flow system is intended to reduce traffic and make journeys faster and more environmentally friendly, by asking drivers to pay at the start or end of their journeys, rather than by stopping to pay along the route.
A driver was caught out by the camera along the A13 motorway between Paris and Normandy.
He stated: “I did not see this new system at all on the way out, and only noticed it on the way back. I had to do the legwork myself to pay.” The driver added: “I have [now] paid, but the system is unbearable.” The new ‘barrier-free’ motorways, called ‘autoroutes a flux libre’ in French, do not have physical peage or toll booths, in contrast to traditional motorway roads.
Roads have cameras equipped with number plate detection software to check who has paid and who has not. Motorists can either pay for their travel on the motorway company’s website, by a telepeage pre-paid electronic badge, or at one of France’s many tabac shops. In the UK, toll booths are still present in the likes of the M6 motorway and beyond.
But the system relies on old-school tech, rather than being modernised, with the tech in France causing headaches for motorists who’ve been slapped with financial reprimands.
Drivers who fail to pay risk a EUR90 fine, as well as the cost of the peage.
The fine rises to EUR375, or GBP320, if it is not paid in 60 days.
References
- ^ European Union (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^