A Google property that has been somewhat neglected for several months, the Waze app continues its strange life and occasionally receives updates. Particularly popular with French drivers, the app is not yet fully available. More specifically, a key feature of the latest update has not been rolled out nationwide: mobile speed camera reporting.
This is obviously not the first time that Waze and some of its competitors have offered this option, but in France, the reporting system has been the subject of particular attention from the authorities. Indeed, to understand why the older versions of Waze, Coyote, and others offered mobile speed camera reporting, and why they no longer do so, we have to go back to 2012. A year earlier, to counter the growth of speed camera alert systems, the government decided to crack down on apps and alert systems. The news item at the time on 01net.com, dated May 13, 2011, begins with "we've gotten used to it, we'll have to do without it" before discussing the spirit of the law: "Speed camera warning devices, which are an incentive to break speed limit rules, will be banned. So, for 13 years, reporting the presence of a speed camera on the road has been a thing, and just as much time during which navigation applications have cleverly circumvented the law by indicating "temporary danger zones" and "permanent danger zones," meaning mobile speed cameras and fixed speed cameras.
No mobile speed camera reporting on Waze
The latest Waze update ignored this distinction and simply brought back pure and simple speed camera reporting. Yes, but to exist in France, the application must comply with the law, which is why its latest version has not been deployed in France.
Indeed, despite its many developments over the years, Waze still meets the criteria defined by the law: "This may include specific boxes that indicate the location of speed checks or the radar warning function found on GPS boxes (including those integrated into the vehicle) or on navigation applications for mobile phones," explains the Road Safety Authority on its website.
Also be aware that anyone violating this law may be fined up to 1,500 euros and have 6 points deducted from their license. Logically, this is a risk that Waze could not take, despite the esteem the application enjoys in France.
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