Be careful, if you want to avoid the parking fine by hiding your plate, because the penalty is particularly steep!
If you are used to having to look for parking in the city, you know that this is unfortunately far from child’s play. Additionally, once you find a place, you also have to pay. And in certain large municipalities, such as Paris, prices are particularly prohibitive. And it gets worse and worse over the years…
A technique for parking
And of course, there is no question of not paying, because cities are now deploying more and more flasher cars, which can fine unpaid parking. And this without even needing to stop. In fact, these vehicles, equipped with sophisticated radarspatrol the streets looking for parking violations. Their main mission is simple: to check that motorists are paying for their parking. To do this, they flash the license plates of parked cars, and, in the event of an infraction, a fine is automatically issued. In just a few seconds, the technology of these vehicles makes it possible to process dozens of plates, making control much faster and more efficient than the manual rounds of public highway surveillance agents. But faced with this automated surveillance, some motorists are looking for solutions to circumvent the system and escape fines. And an increasingly popular method, although. totally illegal, consists of hiding the license plate of your vehicle when it is parked.
A solution that can be expensive
Without visible platethe flasher car system is unable to recognize the vehicle and therefore cannot issue a fine. This technique, initially used by certain motorcyclists, is gaining popularity among motorists in cities like Paris, where parking has become chargeable for motorized two-wheelers since 2022. However, if the ruse may seem clever, it is not without risk. In fact, hiding your license plate exposes you to additional penalties. Unlike the driver of the “serial flasher” vehicle, public highway officials have the right to intervene directly with offending vehicles. They can therefore remove any cover concealing a license plate before carrying out a vehicle inspection. The penalties incurred for this practice can then be heavy: a fine of 35 euros for non-payment of parking, and a second fine of 135 euros if the plate is deemed “non-compliant” or illegible. In short, this scheme could ultimately cost much more than a simple parking payment.
These practices also raise broader questions about the relationship between citizens and new urban surveillance technologies. The presence of vehicles with sophisticated radar creates a sense of increased control, leading some motorists to seek ways to protect their privacy or to counter what they perceive as a form of intrusion or “disguised tax.”
Source: www.autoplus.fr
