The Highway Code punishes a very common error on the road with three years of license suspension.
Who would have thought that forgetting to turn on your turn signals could land you in court? This information is all the more surprising when we know that 52% of French drivers admit to making this mistake, according to the 2026 edition of the responsible driving barometer, published by Vinci and produced by Ipsos bva.
Any driver who is about to change the direction of his vehicle is required to warn other users, this is what article R412-10 of the Highway Code specifies. Contrary to these provisions, you are exposed to a withdrawal of three points on the license and a second class fine, i.e. 22 euros for a fine paid within fifteen days. Modest financial penalty, certainly, but the article of law does not stop there.
A driver guilty of this offense “also faces the additional penalty of suspension of the driving license for a period of up to three years”. A severe sanction for an everyday error, but rarely applied. Lawyer Franck Cohen, however, provides a nuance: forgetting to flash leads to a license suspension in certain common circumstances.
“The flashing fault can change its nature when it accompanies another offense, underlines Franck Cohen. This second offense must, however, present a certain seriousness: the use of the telephone while driving is the typical example.” Thus, if a driver leaves his parking space without turning on his indicator and at the same time uses his phone for his GPS, he risks having his license suspended.
More precisely, “forgetting to turn signal is considered a related offense when it is associated with a traffic offense, such as excessive speed, or a serious offense. This is where we can find ourselves with a provisional suspension measure decided by the prefect, pending the judicial aspect.”
Worse still, during a serious accident, forgetting to flash becomes central: in the event of an accident with unintentional injuries or manslaughter, to characterize the offense, it is necessary to demonstrate a breach of an obligation of safety, prudence, or the violation of a rule imposed by the Highway Code. “Failure to turn signal may constitute precisely this violation.”
If an accident is caused by a change of direction without a turn signal, “the failure of the turn signal can then become the element which allows the facts to be classified as criminal. Without this failure, we can remain in a civil accident. With this failure, we can turn to criminal law.”
Why does a faulty flasher not systematically lead to a license suspension, even though the law provides for it? “The reason is simple, answers Franck Cohen. This type of offense generally falls under the fixed fine system. When the motorist pays this fine, this leads to the termination of public action. In other words, there are no more prosecutions.”
