15 motorists who posted details of speed cameras, including mobile patrols, on a Facebook page were yesterday condemned to one month's suspension of permit. The court in Rodez had found the 15 members of a local group guilty of an infraction of the law regarding warning about speed cameras. Many readers will have GPS devices in their cars which warn of "dangerous areas" - which generally means the presence of a camera. These are legal, unless they say "speed camera ahead". But it seems that to publish specific details of cameras on a Facebook page is illegal.
Lawyers for the defendants claimed that the decision underlines the hypocrisy of a case where it is legal for GPS devices, or maps or newspapers etc to publish the details but illegal for private citizens.
One defendant pointed out that the purpose of speed cameras is to make drivers slow down in dangerous zones, not simply to trap motorists and that anything which improved safety should be welcomed, not condemned. The local group numbers 13000 and 600000 motorists in France contribute to such Facebook pages.
Generally in France a suspension of a permit does not simply expire at the end of the period, it may involve retaking the driving test. And it may lead to increases in insurance premiuns.
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