Although more and more French people decorate their cars for Christmas, this practice is still prohibited. However, during this holiday season, law enforcement may show some tolerance, which may create some confusion.
What sanction?
This is what happened to a motorist stopped during a road check, near Troyes (Aube). In a post on their Facebook page, the gendarmes claim to have easily identified the vehicle with its numerous decorations, in particular a luminous garland that covers a large part of the body.
“The driver, in a good mood, explained that he wanted to celebrate the Christmas spirit. The gendarmes asked him, after a call to order, to dismantle his installation before leaving, to avoid any risk of accident,” we can. read, with a link to the article of the Highway Code in the “Vehicle lighting and signaling” section.
The young owner of the vehicle, Kyllian, 23, told his misadventure to France 3 Champagne-Ardenne. He explains in particular that he was surprised: at first, the gendarmes seemed “enthusiastic”, asking him questions about his installation and taking photographs of the vehicle.
That’s when the tone changed, asking him to take everything off if he wanted to leave without being fined.
“I spent 30 minutes removing everything. Even the wild elf in front, in the Seat logo, I couldn’t leave it: it’s not very pretty. They had to give me their knife to take it off. It had a It’s a kind of little dress, “It’s a little broken,” he told our colleagues.
In the testimonies collected by BFMTV, like our colleagues from France 3, the drivers interviewed have so far mentioned a certain tolerance on the part of the police.
“Personally, at the moment, no, they have not arrested me, I have met the police several times, they smile, so far I have only had positive reactions, as long as it lasts,” explains Sébastien, for example. who decorated his vehicle for the second year in a row.
In theory, if we refer to the article of the Highway Code mentioned by the gendarmes, the addition of non-regulatory lighting exposes a motorist to a third class fine (68 euros flat rate, 45 euros reduced) and a cyclist to a fine first class. (flat rate 11 euros).
Why is it prohibited?
In fact, the regulations regulate vehicle lighting quite strictly, as Road Safety confirmed to us.
In particular, a certain color code must be respected, with white lighting at the front, red at the rear and orange turn signals. Therefore, Christmas decorations, particularly light garlands, can disturb other road users.
The recent decree to strengthen the visibility of cyclists and scooters was aimed precisely at establishing precise standards for these machines, just as for cars. And thus avoid an escalation of “Christmas tree” lighting and bicycles, a Road Safety spokesperson told us.
Potential danger to motorcyclists
Another argument, highlighted with a rather extreme news story: a motorist, with a car covered in electric garlands, was recently accelerated to 219 km/h on a road limited to 130 km/h. Furthermore, it was a young permit, subject to a limit of 110 km/h, which was even more widely exceeded.
If this excess speed already justified the withdrawal of the driving license, the gendarmes also point out the infraction linked to these decorations:
“This is strictly prohibited. If it is released from the vehicle, it risks creating risks for other vehicles. A garland that comes loose can get caught in the motorcyclist’s wheels and could fall to the ground,” explained the squad leader. 3.
It also confirms this emerging phenomenon:
“These vehicles decorated in this way are beginning to be developed in France. We see more and more of them. It is prohibited. If it is a demonstration in a parking lot, permanently, there would be no problem, but on the road it is not authorized. “It is certainly very beautiful, but it creates a danger for other users.”
Meetings despite the ban?
Despite this ban, some Christmas car rallies are being organized. Sometimes at the initiative of the town councils, within the framework of a parade for example, and other times by simple motorists.
Kyllian, the driver who was asked by the gendarmes to remove his decorations near Troyes, explained to France 3 that he would put them on again at least once… to participate in such a meeting.
A “Christmas Walk” event that can be easily found on Facebook and is organized by “La Brigade des beaufs – BR23” this Sunday, December 22.
“I specify that each person is the owner of their vehicle and responsible for their vehicle, so you agree, by participating, to assume all responsibility in the event of control by the police,” the description of the event highlights.
Let’s see if the authorities will be tolerant of this meeting that had only 5 participants and 7 interested parties a few days before the scheduled meeting.
Its organizer remains confident and confirms in a comment that the event will continue “despite all the articles circulating.”
“In the eyes of the law we are a public danger, but we will take the risk of wandering the streets of Troy to make the end of the year a little more magical,” he explains.
Source: BFM TV
