Reward traffic lights in France turn red for speeders

Cheaper to install than road bumps and chicanes

Published 10 April 2023

By Will Dron

Councils in France are turning from stick to carrot in their attempts to get drivers to slow down through towns an villages, with “reward traffic lights” that change to green if motorists approach at speeds below the legal limit.

The system is an adaptation of one that was first introduced in Spain before being adopted elsewhere in Europe. Drivers who abide by the speed limit are rewarded with a green light, allowing them to continue on their journey. Those who ignore the red light and drive through it are subject to a fine of €135.

French councils, including those in some suburbs of Paris, are finding the reward traffic lights more affordable to install than the traditional “traffic calming” measures such as road humps and chicanes, according to The Times.

Early attempts by councils to introduce such a system involved soc-called “Spanish lights”, which were set to green by default and changed to red to halt speeders. However these were declared discriminatory. The adjustment in 2021 to reward drivers for good behaviour by making the lights green by default got around this issue.

Michel Borrewater, the mayor of Maisnil, a northern village between Amiens and Lille, said one of the sets of reward traffic lights has slowed the traffic by between 8kph (5mph) and 15kph (9mph).

“I have received only one letter from an unhappy resident who told me that he had to speed up again after the traffic light,” he told La Voix du Nord regional newspaper.

There’s no indication at present that reward traffic lights could be adopted on this side of the Channel, where speed cameras and street furniture have become commonplace.

In the UK, the minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points, though for more serious offences the points can increase and licences can be suspended, with fines of up to £1,000 (or £2,500 on a motorway).

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Image: Shutterstock via The Times