Strict French laws give police numerous tools to punish drivers involved in stunt driving, and one driver says his car was crushed before he could even mount a legal defense
6 hours ago
The French police aren’t messing around and have crushed two BMW 3-Series after they were allegedly filmed drifting on public streets in Tourville-la-Rivière, in the northern part of the country. One of the owners claims he wasn’t offered an opportunity to mount a serious legal defense before his vehicle was destroyed.
Police shared video and photos of a multicolored E46 and a yellow E36 3-Series being crushed in a compactor. Along with the footage, it wrote that “justice demands the destruction of the vehicles” after they were allegedly involved in illegal activities in May.
On Instagram, user @alann_abt claims that the yellow E36 was seized because of a screenshot that he admits was of him drifting in an empty industrial area. A few days after the post went online, the car was seized from in front of his home.
Read: Authorities Crush Felon’s Ferrari 458 Spider, He Sues Police
The driver claims that he didn’t have a chance to organize a legal defense before his car was destroyed. Although he wrote that he would have accepted a fine, he says that crushing his car was a step too far, and a crowdfunding effort is now being organized in order to raise money for a lawyer.
According to the page hosting the crowdfunding drive, the car was seized while its owner was at work, and he was not given the opportunity to recover his belongings from inside the vehicle. The lawyer is being employed to represent the owner during a hearing that will be held on January 15, 2024.
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The owners of these BMWs appear to be facing consequences defined by laws introduced in 2018 to punish stunt driving. France Bleu reports that the laws turned stunt driving from a simple infraction to an act punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to €75,000 ($81,838 USD at current exchange rates) if alcohol and other factors are involved. In addition, drivers can have their licenses suspended for up to three years and the vehicle involved in the act can be confiscated.
The introduction of the stiffer penalties followed a 1,400 percent increase in instances of stunt driving, the justice minister claimed at the time. While the laws have run afoul of @alann_abt and a number of his followers, reports suggest that these rules may only become stricter. According to a document from April 7, France’s minister of the interior is actually asking police to crack down harder on stunt driving.