Cyclist finds he’s been fined €400 for riding with headphones after having money blocked in bank account, despite French police never sending a penalty notice

A 23-year-old student in France has found out that he’s been fined €400 the hard way: having his money blocked in his bank account, for riding a bike with headphones, despite never receiving any notice of a fine from the police.

Martin, a student in La Rochelle, west France was riding his bike last August when he was stopped by the police. He told France Bleu that he wasn’t aware of the law and thought he was being pulled over for something else.

“I didn't understand at all why I was getting stopped as I didn't know the law. I asked them: ‘Am I going too fast?’," he said.

The amendment was introduced to France’s Highway Code in 2015 banning the use of headphones for anyone in control of a vehicle in a public space, including cars, cycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters.

Martin told the officers that he was unaware of the law and took off his headphones promptly. He didn’t think much of it, until two weeks ago when he found out that €400 — which he points out is equivalent to two months of his rent at the university accommodation — had been blocked in his bank account by the La Rochelle fines office.

> Cyclist ordered to pay £500 for riding bicycle through town centre as councillor claims hefty fine is "great result for our enforcement teams"

If a cyclist is found riding his bike wearing headphones, the usual fine is €135, similar to other minor offences. If paid within 15 days, it’s reduced to €90. If the fine is not paid within 45 days, however, it can rise to €375, or in Martin’s case, €400. 

He said that he did not receive any prior contact regarding the fine before the sum was frozen in his account. “They weren't able to find my address [to send a notice] but they did find my bank account very quickly,” he said.

Jean-François Changeur, who specialises in road cases claimed that Martin can still appeal the fine, and if the public prosecutor’s office is convinced of his good faith, along with the fact that he never received a notice to pay the fine, he may be exempt from the whole amount.

Can cyclists be fined for riding with headphones in the UK?

No, in the UK, riding with headphones is not illegal, unlike France as well as Spain and Italy. However, cycling without due care and attention is an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Just a few weeks ago, the Met police was heavily criticised after its attempts to prosecute a cyclist who filmed a driver using their phone under the same offence.

Dave Clifton submitted the footage of the driver using the phone, which is also an offence and can draw up to six penalty points on your licence and a £200 fine, as well as losing your licence if the driver passed their driving test in the last two years.

> Police apologise as charges against “dangerous” cyclist accused of “riding on the wrong side of the road” while filming phone driver dropped on eve of trial

The police force let the driver by sending an advisory letter, however it deemed Clifton’s riding as posing a “danger to other road users” because he was “riding in the middle of the road”.

After the heavy backlash, the Met dropped the charges and apologised for any “stress and inconvenience” caused just one day before the cyclist was due to face trial for cycling without due care and attention.

However, fining cyclists under the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) has become somewhat of a commonplace occurrence in the UK, as many councils have started implementing the act to stop people from riding their bikes in city centres.

The council most infamous for its somewhat liberal usage of the act is perhaps the North East Lincolnshire Council, which has been making headlines for the last couple of years for slapping cyclists with hefty fines.

Last  year, a cyclist was ordered to pay over £1,100 in fines and costs for riding her bike through Grimsby town centre, just months after unhappy locals claimed that the council was imposing the cycling ban unfairly and targeting “old and slow” cyclists, instead of cracking down on anti-social behaviour.

> “Stick it up your a*se”, 82-year-old tells council officer after being fined £100 for cycling in town centre

And a year before that, an 82-year-old cyclist became somewhat of a legend in the road.cc archives after claiming that he would rather go to jail than pay the £100 fine he received for cycling in Grimsby town centre.

He said: “I’ve been riding my bike around here for 40 years and have never once been fined. When he gave it to me I told him, ‘stick it up your arse’. I’m more annoyed about it because my biking is what keeps me going.”

Earlier this month, a North East Lincolnshire councillor claimed that the fine was a “great result for our enforcement teams” after a cyclist was fined £500 for breaching the PSPO.

More recently, Southend Council also made the headlines after its deputy council leader said that issuing a fine of £100 to cyclists who ride in the town centre was “one of the few options left” for the council in order to take care of anti-social behaviour complaints.