Road traffic offenses: how to avoid prosecution for non-designation of the driver? 

In this case, a business' car was flashed by automatic radar. The business receives an initial notice of contravention, issued on October 7, 2017. The business pays the fine but does not designate the employee who was driving the car. She then receives a second notice of contravention stating, on November 22, 2017, that the driver had not been designated. The business disputes the new minutes, arguing that the fine incurred for the speeding offense was paid on October 23, 2017. But she was ordered to pay a fine of EUR 675, a contravention on which she appealed.

The Court of Cassation notes that the report finding the second offense of not designating the driver mentions the original notice of contravention, published on 7 October 2017. However, these minutes do not specify the date on which the notice was sent. Thus, the 45-day period for denouncing the employee could not have expired with certainty, since the date of dispatch was not known. The offense of not designating the driver could therefore not be established.