Learned to the highway code, this panel is often forgotten. By dint of seeing it in another form, many forget its meaning … and the sanction that goes with it.
Over the years, some panels go completely under the radar of motorists. Who has never wondered, seeing a sign, what he meant? By dint of seeing them in other forms or of no longer being confronted with them, many end up forgetting their primary meaning. However, it is enough for a moment of inattention or a police check for the error to be expensive: loss of points, fine or worse, risk of accident. Among all the traffic signs in France, some also seem trivial at first glance, but can reserve unpleasant surprises. This is particularly the case for a very specific panel.
When you engage in a street or on a road forbidden to traffic, you naturally expect to see a round “Sens prohibited” panel or on a sign clearly specifying “prohibited traffic”. However, it is not he who reports a prohibition to circulate: another panel, less known and often forgotten, is actually dedicated to this rule. What sow confusion. It is the “B0” round, lined with red – like all those who mark a ban in the highway code – but whose bottom is entirely white. This panel specifies that circulation is prohibited for any vehicle, in both directions, unlike the prohibited sense which prohibits access to vehicles in one direction.
And if you ignore it, you risk big … Indeed, the drivers who take a road with this panel are a fourth class fine. This includes a fine of 135 and a withdrawal of 4 points on the driving license. But beware, article R411-17 of the Highway Code also specifies that in some cases the sanction is even heavier.
When the ban concerns a road or a portion of the road intended to avoid a danger, such as a difficult descent or a tunnel, the offense changes in the category of fifth class tickets. In this case, the driver risks a permit suspension of up to three years, “This suspension cannot be limited to driving outside of professional activity or being accompanied by the stay, even partially”, indicates the law. To this sentence is added an automatic reduction of three points on the license. Finally, the immobilization of the vehicle can also be ordered under the conditions provided for by the highway code.
