This is a feature that millions of French users hoped: allow Waze to report precisely the position of mobile radars. Available on iPhone, Android, and via Android Auto and Carplay on board systems, this option is praised as a major advance by the Waze community through the globe. However, a shadow on the board persists, and it has the shape of France: France is an exception.
The law, inflexible safeguard
Why this French specificity? The answer has been anchored in legislative marble for more than a decade. Decree No. 2012-3 of January 3, 2012, modifying the highway code, is formal: it prohibits “The detention, transport and use of radar warnings”. This prohibition applies to both dedicated boxes and integrated features in GPS or mobile applications like Waze. The objective displayed by road safety is clear: encouraging permanent compliance with speed limitations, not only when approaching reported controls.
Breaking this rule in France is not trivial. The precise report of a radar via Waze exposes the offender to a fine of 1,500 euros and a withdrawal of six points on his driving license. A sufficiently dissuasive perspective to think twice.
Waze adapts to France with “danger zones”
Faced with this strict legislation, Waze has no choice but to comply. To continue to serve its French users legally, the application maintains its “danger zones” system. Initiated in 2012, this device alerts on a potentially monitored road portion, without ever indicating the exact location of a fixed or mobile radar. A compromise which, if it is less precise, remains in the nails of the law.
It is important to emphasize that, contrary to certain interpretations, the specific report functionality of radars is not a recent novelty that Waze would refuse to France. Indeed, it is rather a historical capacity of the application which has never been legally accessible on French territory. The latest updates available do not change anything.
In the majority of other countries, drivers benefit from this detailed information without hindrance. For the time being, no change in French legislation is on the agenda, leaving French motorists navigating with “danger zones” while their neighbors benefit from increased precision.
However, this restriction does not prevent Waze from making other improvements in France. You can cite the addition of a quick navigation button for the most frequent journeys. The interface was also redesigned to be more intuitive, especially for Apple Carplay users. Finally, a new audio icon offers to more easily manage sound alerts. In addition, artificial intelligence interferes in the application to analyze driving habits and automatically offer the most suitable routes depending on the time or traffic.
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