«I believe that in 2025 we should be able to pay at the toll booth with our phone»: This Thursday, January 23, Emmanuel Macron on his official TikTok account relayed videos from two users of the Chinese social network (Masdaq and s4iintt) warning of a risk of fines in the event of use from a smartphone at the toll.
Both had used Apple Pay – their smartphone – to pay the toll: use of their mobile phone is prohibited by the Highway Code. The article R412-6-1 provides that "the use of a telephone held in the hand by the driver of a vehicle in circulation is prohibited".
Using your smartphone to pay at the toll, prohibited by the Highway Code
Since the vehicle is still in circulation when it stops momentarily at the toll, the engine is still running, the driver who pays with his smartphone would therefore be in violation. One of the Internet users relayed by Emmanuel Macron reports that the mishap cost him a 90 euro fine and several points on his license.
An aberration for the latter, especially since until last week, the Vinci autoroutes website always recommended "contactless payment at the toll" with connected objects, including the telephone: "Using your bank card, but also your telephone, your watch or any other connected object, pay your toll simply and securely", as can be seen in this screenshot taken last Friday.
The mention of using a phone to pay has now disappeared from the site and the paragraph seems to have been reworded.
Silence from the Ministry of the Interior for now
Alerted by other complaints from Internet users last week, spotted this time on X, we asked the Ministry of the Interior for confirmation at the beginning of the week: does the Highway Code prohibit such use of smartphones, even to pay at tolls? Does it also prohibit such use at a drive-through? To date, no response has been received. We also contacted the national gendarmerie, which had not responded to our request at the time of publication of this article, this Thursday, January 23.
"I have passed the file to the Minister of the Interior and we will indeed resolve this," promised the president in his message on TikTok. While waiting for the Highway Code to be updated, which Emmanuel Macron seems to suggest, we can only recommend that you do not use your smartphone at the toll booth.
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