Truck driver in France pays €11,700 debt after avoiding motorway tolls
Gendarmes posted information about the driver's capture on social media
Drivers who systematically avoid fines risk a €7,500 penalty
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A truck driver in France has been forced to pay a debt of €11,700 after systematically avoiding tolls on roads across the country.
The driver was stopped by authorities in Belfort, eastern France, after passing through a toll without paying, an act he had committed a number of times.
The National Gendarmerie’s post about the intervention on social media has attracted more than 175,000 views.
“Free tolls for this truck are over! The police in Belfort intervened to stop a driver who was forcing his way through tollbooths without paying. The individual immediately paid the €11,700 owed,” reads the post.
While no precise information was given, the hefty sum indicates the driver had been systematically skipping tolls across the country, potentially including barrier-free (flux-libre) tollroads.
Other cases of toll avoidance have seen drivers fined up to €28,000.
Frequent evasions lead to harsher penalties
Outside of non-payment on barrier-free tolls, a common method for avoiding tolls is ‘tailgating’. This sees drivers quickly pass through open tolls behind a vehicle while the barrier is still up, avoiding having to pay.
Other brute force methods can include simply driving through the barrier in a vehicle. Toll gantries often have cameras in place to track driver actions, with those not paying identifiable through their vehicle number plate.
Regardless of the method used or type of toll avoided, not paying a toll is an offence under Article R419-1 of the Code de la Route (France’s driving rules).
Drivers risk a €135 class IV fine per toll skipped, which increases to €375 if left unpaid.
Those who commit ‘habitual evasion’ of tolls – at least five evasions across a 12-month period – can be charged with a criminal offence and face a fine of up to €7,500.
In addition to this state penalty, outstanding tolls must be paid to the motorway operator that manages the route.
Alongside cash and card options, drivers can use télépéage (toll badges) to automatically pass through tolls and have payments calculated. These also work on barrier-free tollroads.
