Marseille: Urban street racing terrorises coastal residents
Speeding and motorcycle stunts are multiplying on the Marseille coastline, causing accidents and sleep deprivation among local residents. Police are stepping up enforcement with drones.
Marseille: Urban street racing terrorises coastal residents
The Marseille coast has become the playground for an illegal activity that endangers everyone's safety. Groups of motorcyclists regularly organise dangerous riding demonstrations there, transforming public roads into improvised circuits.
Béatrice Charpentreau, a resident of the neighbourhood, endures these disturbances every night. The noise of the two-wheelers and the riders' stunts deprive her of rest. She observes these displays of mechanical power that transform the road into an improvised arena.
César Cotterlaz, employed at a nearby café, has witnessed several tragedies. He estimates three or four fatal or very serious accidents have occurred in the vicinity. Those responsible flee without providing assistance to the injured: "People don't stop to file a report," he laments.
To curb this scourge, authorities have turned to technology. Remotely piloted flying devices now monitor the area to identify dangerous behaviour. Major Laurent, from the aerial unit of DIPN13, clarifies their mission: "We observe the behaviour, we report it and colleagues on the ground check whether there is an offence. We, via the flying device, can neither establish an infraction nor issue a fine."
Hamza Saidi, who has abandoned these practices, explains how peer pressure and the quest for adrenaline push young people to commit reckless acts. The fear of hitting a pedestrian or causing a collision eventually made him reconsider: "A mistake can happen and it can have fatal consequences. You have to be aware of that."
Since January, nine hundred enforcement operations have been carried out in this sector. Offences are punishable by up to twelve months' detention and a monetary penalty of fifteen thousand euros.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info