Speed cameras: what happens if a driver is flashed in a vehicle with non-french number plates?

FRANCE IS PART OF EU AGREEMENT TO SHARE DRIVING FINES WITH OTHER COUNTRIES – BUT UK IS NOT INCLUDED Reader Question: I was flashed by two speed cameras during a recent holiday to France. I

was driving my UK-registered car (brought over on the ferry). Will I end up receiving these fines?  France has a data sharing agreement with around 20 other European countries regarding

driving offences, allowing fines picked up by drivers of non-French vehicles to be sent to their main address outside the country.  For example, if a driver is caught speeding in France in a

Dutch-registered car, the fine will be forwarded on to authorities in the Netherlands and sent to the home of the driver.  The UK has no longer officially been part of this agreement since

2021.  However, over 60,000 fines picked up by Britons in France still made their way across the English Channel in 2023 (the last year full data is available).  Drivers from other European

countries not part of the scheme including Greece and Bulgaria have also seen fines arrive at their door. It is unclear how this information was obtained by the French authorities, with the

Sécurité Routière confirming to The Connexion in 2024 that the UK is no longer part of the information exchange. We note that the UK’s DVLA however states in its privacy policy that driver

data may be shared with EU authorities under a number of bilateral agreements and national rules, including an ‘adequacy agreement’ with the EU signed in 2001.  We have asked DVLA if this

includes sharing driver information for sending out speeding (or other road offence) fines.  The same policy document notes the existence of a specific bilateral agreement with Spain to

‘facilitate’ sharing of vehicle registration data with regard to driving offences, but does not list such an agreement with France.  Therefore, you may – but are not guaranteed – to see the

fines arrive at your home in the UK. As to what then happens if you do not pay them, it would be difficult for France to enforce a fine in the UK, but it may stay on your record and be

flagged up during a future police check in France.