List A: specified repeated offences

  • Alcohol in the two lower bands of article 46(7).
  • Breach of STOP or R-29 and the U-turn specified in article 33.
  • The red-signal cases specified in article 9.
  • Show driving, an improvised race, racing for speed or driving above 200 km/h.
  • Failure to use a seat belt, helmet or prescribed child restraint in the cases listed by the law.
  • Using a mobile phone while driving, exceeding the limit by 50 km/h or more, or using the emergency lane.
  • Stopping or parking on an access ramp, tactile guide or parking space for a vehicle used by a person with a disability.

If one of these offences is committed for a second time within 5 years, the sanction is 1,000 euros and licence removal for 180 days. For show driving, racing, racing for speed or driving above 200 km/h, it is 4,000 euros and licence removal for 2 years.

List B: more serious specified cases

  • Breach of a steady red signal resulting in a traffic accident.
  • Breach of STOP or R-29, or the specified U-turn, where a traffic accident results.
  • The specific mobile-phone cases cross-referenced in articles 17 and 44.
  • The specified priority and signalling breaches at a level crossing, and parking on the crossing.
  • Alcohol above the upper band in article 46(7), or driving under the influence of substances.
  • Leaving the scene after an accident in the cases of article 47 specified by the provision.
  • Driving without the required valid licence in the cases of articles 98 and 100.

On the second occurrence within 5 years, the sanction is 2,000 euros and licence removal for 4 years. For alcohol in the upper band, substances and leaving the scene, licence removal is 7 years.

Third, fourth and later occurrence

For a third List A offence within 5 years of the immediately preceding occurrence, the sanction is 2,000 euros and licence removal for 1 year. The exception for show driving, racing, racing for speed and driving above 200 km/h carries 8,000 euros and 4 years.

For a third List B offence, the sanction is 4,000 euros and licence removal for 8 years. For alcohol in the upper band or substances, removal is 10 years, while for leaving the scene it is for life.

The fourth and each later occurrence follows the third-occurrence scale. If 5 years pass after the latest offence without a new recurrence, the next one is treated as a first offence.

The increased sanctions apply only to the cases and exact cross-references listed in article 110. Similarity to another offence is not enough to place it in either list.

Waiting out the removal period is not enough

This requirement does not apply to every offence. It applies only to drivers placed on the increased-sanction scales for List A or B after committing one of the specified offences for a second, third, fourth or later time within the five-year window.

When the removal period ends, a licence is not issued merely because the time has elapsed. The driver must complete the prescribed training and pass an examination. The examination may be taken only after the removal period has ended and proof of payment of the administrative fines is produced.

Criminal recidivism: what the terms mean

Paragraph 8 is a separate criminal rule. It does not concern merely a second notice or repetition of an offence from the two lists. It examines whether the new act is a criminal Code offence carrying imprisonment and whether the specified earlier conviction exists.

The rule applies where there is an irrevocable sentence of at least 6 months' imprisonment for a criminal Code offence committed within the preceding 10 years. The minimum sentence for the new act is then increased by 3 or 6 months for a misdemeanour, depending on the prescribed sentence, and by 2 years for a felony.

  • A custodial sentence means imprisonment. It is not the administrative fine or licence removal.
  • An irrevocable conviction means the conviction is final and can no longer be challenged by appeal or cassation. A notice, an accusation or a decision that has not become irrevocable is not enough.
  • Misdemeanour and felony are categories of criminal-offence seriousness. The classification of the new act determines which increase in the minimum sentence applies.

The ten-year criminal rule is separate from the five-year administrative sanctions. Whether an individual decision has become irrevocable depends on its court history and cannot be inferred from a notice or fine alone.

The special parking rule

When illegal parking under article 38 continues beyond 3 hours, a new offence is recorded and recidivism applies.