In Paris and its suburbs, the police now have access to the insured vehicles file (FVA). The device will then be generalized throughout the country.
In France, the green sticker is mandatory. Yet 700,000 motorists would drive without insurance. To facilitate law enforcement checks, an insured vehicle file (FVA) was compiled from the registration, the name of the insurer and the contract number with its validity period.
It is now available to the police in Paris and its small crown since Tuesday 4th June 2019 before it is gradually extended throughout France, revealed our colleagues RTL . The implementing decree had been published in July 2018 by the Ministry of the Interior.
No more fake thumbnails
By reading the license plate, the police or gendarmes will know if the vehicle they are stopping and checking is insured.
The authorities also intend to put an end to false vignettes on windshields or certificates in the process of being renewed. In case of infringement, they will have three days to confirm the actual lack of insurance.
Driving without insurance: what are the risks?
In France, in 2016, 235 people were killed in a road accident involving an uninsured vehicle, or 7% of road deaths , according to the National Interministerial Observatory of Road Safety. Depending on the seriousness of the offence and its consequences, driving without insurance presents great risks:
- Financial risks: victims of an accident caused by a driver without insurance are compensated by the FGAO (Guarantee Fund for Compulsory Insurance of Damage) . On the other hand, the uninsured person will not be compensated for his own personal injury or property damage. And he will have to reimburse to the FGAO all the sums committed for the compensation of the victims of the accident. The responsible driver will have to repay monthly a monthly payment based on his income, sometimes for the rest of his life.
- Judicial risks: driving without insurance is a crime. The penalty incurred for the lack of insurance is a fine of 3750 euros , which may be accompanied by additional penalties such as the suspension or cancellation of the license, with the prohibition to return it, and the confiscation of the vehicle. In case of recidivism, the penal sanction can go up to 7500 euros.
However, since 1st November 2018 , the lack of insurance can also be punished by a simply fixed fine of 750 euros (minus 600 euros for a settlement within 15 days or increased to 1500 euros after 45 days) at the first finding of the offence.
