Many changes are expected for motorists on the road in 2019, and there will not be only bad news. We take stock of the measures expected.
On January 1st, and its share of changes. In early 2019 , some measures will change your daily life for motorists on the road.
Some were voted in the wake of the movement of yellow vests to calm the slingshot. Others, such as rising fuel taxes and tougher roadworthiness tests for diesel cars, have been postponed. We take stock.
Ecological malus
In order to finance the ecological transition and the conversion premium, the government will tax more polluting vehicles by hardening the ecological penalty. Calculated based on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometre, it applies to all new vehicles.
From 1 January, the penalty will be for vehicles emitting more than 117 grams of CO2 / km (instead of 120 before): new owners will have to pay a fee of 50 euros. This will be progressive and a maximum penalty of 10 500 euros will apply to vehicles emitting more than 185 g of CO2 / km.
The CO2 tax imposed on used cars put into service since the 1st June 2004, will not change.
Conversion bonus (old breakage premium)
From 1 January 2019, the conversion premium will be doubled for the 20% of the most modest households. Assets that do not pay taxes and travel more than 60 km each day to work are also involved.
It goes from 2500 to 5000 euros for the purchase of an electric or hybrid vehicle, and from 2000 to 4000 euros for a new or used thermal vehicle whose CO2 level is less than or equal to 130g / km.
Temporary license
Young drivers on a probationary license , which imposes the A, limiting the speed and the maximum rate of alcohol allowed in the blood, will be able to benefit from a reduction of time to obtain all their points.
Today, they have to wait three years. If they take additional training from a driving school, and done between the 6th and 12th month after the exam, they will only wait two years.
For that, they will have to pass tests during seven hours on the same day. “The goal of post-license training is to encourage novice drivers to think about their driving behavior and their perception of risk as they gain more confidence,” says Road Safety.
Fight against uninsured vehicles
To fight against accidents involving uninsured vehicles, the police will have at their disposal the FVA (insured vehicle files) as of January 1st. The police and gendarmes will know, with each control, if the car is well in order.
“Automatic license plate readers (LAPI) will eventually detect uninsured vehicles,” says the Ministry of the Interior.
Generalisation of the anti-start alcohol test
Already implemented in several departments, the anti-start alcohol test will be generalised to the entire territory from the 1st January. This device can be offered to people convicted of drunk driving to avoid the suspension of permits. The decision will come back to the justice or the prefect.
Other measures expected in 2019?
Other measures will be or could be put in place later this year.
- Hardening of the control technique control for diesel vehicles : this measure, postponed due to the yellow vests crisis, will be effective on July 1, according to a decree published in the Official Journal on December 20 .
- Toll price increases : every year, fares go up on February 1st. In 2019, they should have seen a sharp increase, of the order of 1.9% (instead of 1.4% in 2018). But because of the social resentment of yellow vests, nothing has been recorded yet, and some dream of a gel. But the government does not hear it that way: François de Rugy, Minister of Ecological Transition does not intend to return to this principle .
- Telephone at the wheel: at the beginning of the year 2018, the executive had mentioned the desire to tighten the sanctions in 2019. Motorists controlled with their mobile phone could be subject to an immediate suspension of the driving license. No date has yet been advanced.
