The Crit’Air emissions sticker scheme, set up in order to tackle pollution, has been active in France since last January and requires all vehicles to display a sticker according to the pollution level category they belong to. But what comes as a concern to motorists and fleet operators in the UK and Ireland is the delay in the delivery of the Crit’Air stickers experienced by the RAC who tested the speed of the order.
The Crit'Air emissions stickers. Photo Credit: © Vignette Crit'Air - www.green-zones.eu/en
The RAC took it upon themselves to test the procedure for obtaining the stickers which are now a legal requirement for any motorist travelling to certain cities of France. The RAC ordered a vignette from the official Crit’Air website on February 6, but it only reached them six weeks later on March 16, despite the letter being dated March 2. According to the Crit’Air website, stickers should be delivered within 30 days, but they actually took around six weeks to turn up at the RAC’s address.
The RAC’s feedback is especially worrying as Easter is fast approaching. Those who have ordered stickers might not receive them on time and may incur an inspection by the French police and a fine even though it is understood that the police should exercise leniency regarding the new law because it has not been long in force, and there have been delivery issues.
The main advice from the RAC to all motorists and fleets travelling to France in the future is to
- keep the proof of purchase of the stickers (email) in case of inspection;
- use only the official website of the French government to obtain stickers as third-party websites might result in extra delays and added costs;
- order well in advance if you plan to travel to France.
The Crit’Air emission stickers, which cost €4.80 or £3.60 each including postage, come in six categories and cover the very cleanest electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles (Crit’Air green sticker) to the dirtiest (Crit’Air 5 grey sticker). These relate to the six European Union emission standards for cars dating back to 1992 when Euro 1 was introduced.
The stickers are currently in use in Paris, Lyon and Grenoble, and fines of between €68 and €135 (between £59 and £117) are in place for those who do not comply with this new regulation.
The new Crit’Air system is used on high pollution days to prevent the worst polluting vehicles from driving in the affected cities. In addition, some vehicles have not been assigned a category and are therefore unable to drive in Paris between 8am and 8pm, Monday to Friday (typically older models, such as cars registered before 1997, motorbikes and scooters from before June 2000, and trucks and buses from before 2001).
