Be very careful if you like to listen to music while driving. Whether by car, motorbike, bicycle or scooter, certain sound broadcasting devices are strictly prohibited by the highway code. With fines to boot!
How sweet it is to slip through the congested streets while pedaling nonchalantly to the sound of music you love ringing in your ears. Until a police officer out of nowhere orders you to stop while preparing his counterbook to issue you a ticket. Because you may not know it, but traveling by bike while carrying “a device capable of emitting sound such as headphones, earphones or an earpiece ” is a practice sanctioned by the highway code according to decree n°2015-743. And this is not new since it has been in force since 1er July 2015! So no question of riding with AirPods or other headphones on your ears.
Likewise, the use of a hand-held smartphone while driving is completely prohibited. Behavior punishable by a fixed fine of 135 euros all the same. However, no points will be taken from your driving license – if you have a license.
On the other hand, if you commit this offense while driving your car, that’s a different story. In addition to the 135 euro fine, 3 points will be removed from your driving license if you use headphones or earphones, wired or wireless. Even the famous hands-free kits are no longer tolerated. According to the Ministry of the Interior, this is “fight against driver isolation and distracted driving and, in particular, the use of the telephone, responsible for one in ten injury accidents“. Same punishment on motorcycles where the rules differ slightly. Hands-free kits are authorized if they are integrated into the helmet and controlled by voice. Wired or Bluetooth headphones are, however, strictly prohibited.
Electric scooter users are subject to the same regime. The strong popularity of these machines in recent years has pushed the Government to strengthen road safety rules concerning them given the increase in accidents, sometimes fatal, in which they are involved. In fact, as with cycling, wearing headphones, headphones or earbuds is prohibited while driving and is also punishable by a fine of 135 euros.
Let us recall in passing that from then on 1er September 2023, the minimum age to drive an electric scooter is set at 14 years. And although wearing a (protective) helmet is not compulsory, the driver must however wear retro-reflective equipment. The highway code also stipulates that the machine must be equipped with a braking system, front and rear lights and a horn. Each missing item is subject to a fine of 35 euros. It is forbidden to drive on sidewalks, expressways and even less highways. You must necessarily use cycle paths when they exist (you will be fined 135 euros otherwise) and finally, do not ride with two people on the machine (an offense punishable again by 135 euros). The speed of the machine cannot exceed 25 km/h.
Can’t you cut off music when you’re moving? Ditch earphones and other headsets. If in the car, the car radio is of course still permitted – provided that the volume emitted does not prevent hearing the horns of other drivers or the whistles of the police – on a motorbike, bicycle or scooter. , you can opt for a Bluetooth speaker. Here again, the noise level must not disturb either driving or the neighborhood.