Driving offences in France: a company is criminally liable should it fail to report the offender

This newsletter reviews a significant judicial decision recently pronounced by the Supreme Court on the obligation to report a driving violation in France. 

Since 1 January 2017, where a driving offence is committed, the driving regulations were amended to require companies to declare the identity of the offender when the vehicle is owned or leased by the company. The legal provisions require the company’s authorized signatory to report the identity of the offender and to comply with this requirement.

A failure to comply with this obligation can lead to criminal consequences (usually by way of a fine) for the company’s authorized signatory. However, last December, the French Supreme Court determined that the company, as an employer, could also be liable under the driving regulations if their authorized signatory did not report the identity of the offender.

It is preferable to pursue the company as an employer instead of the authorized signatory because the fine is then multiplied by 5 (i.e. EUR 3,750 instead of EUR 750). This acts as a more powerful deterrent for the company and makes them more likely to ensure that their authorized signatory complies with their reporting obligations under the driving regulations.

On 15 January, the French Supreme Court further ruled that this duty to report applies even when the offender was the company’s authorized signatory. In other words, the authorized signatory must report himself/herself when driving the car owned or leased by the company.

Read in English: Driving offences in France: a company is criminally liable should it fail to report the offender 

Lire en français : Infractions routières : l’entreprise est pénalement responsable si elle ne désigne pas l’auteur