driving
312km/h: Porsche driver commits biggest speeding offence recorded in France
The foreign driver was travelling at over double the motorway speed limit
A driver was clocked driving at 312km/h on a French motorway at the weekend, 182km/h above the maximum speed limit.
Gendarmes in Haute-Savoie caught the driver of a Porsche 911-GT3 on the A40 speeding in the Arve Valley overnight between Saturday and Sunday (September 26-27).
Officers say it is the highest speed ever recorded by authorities on a French motorway.
The car was travelling well over double the road’s limit of 130km/h, averaging some 87 metres per second.
In a social media post, gendarmes highlighted the risk to other drivers on the road posed by the speed.
“Weekends come and go... and so does irresponsible behaviour,” the gendarmes said.
“Recklessness? An adrenaline rush? It makes no difference. The consequences are very real.”
Gendarmes said that, even after the 5% margin of error – used for all drivers caught speeding by a fixed or stationary radar – was applied, the vehicle still retained a speed of around 300 km/h - 170km/h above the limit.
The driver, a foreign national, had his licence confiscated on the spot and his vehicle was seized. Public service broadcaster Franceinfo reports that the driver was a Swiss national (the A40 passes close to the Swiss border).
He needed to pay a €1,500 security deposit following the incident, but now also risks a fine of €3,750 alongside a three-month prison sentence and a ban on driving in France.
Fastest-ever speed
The speed is the highest recorded on French roads, with the previous highest speed also measured on the A40.
In May 2026 the driver of an Audi RS3 was driving at 287km/h. Gendarmes have also clocked a driver going at 232km/h, again on the A40.
“This is a first… we have seen [other high speeds]... but never anything like this.
“In any case, the radar doesn't lie,” said gendarme captain Joël Contal to media outlet France3.
