In Riom, near Clermont-Ferrand, a routine road test ended abruptly on a Monday morning in September 2026. At the wheel of a Jaguar owned by a client, a 32-year-old shop employee was stopped. Police radar in the Puy-de-Dôme department logged 93 mph in a 31 mph zone. All at the entrance to the urban area, where drivers are supposed to ease off.
The incident occurred on Monday, September 14, 2026, around 9 a.m. Police were conducting speed checks at the exit from the Clermont-Ferrand beltway toward Riom, just before a roundabout. According to their observations, the motorist was performing a road test after a mechanical repair on the car. A standard on-paper test, but the speed reading took on a new dimension. And behind the measurement, a file far more serious than a mere speeding offense.
93 mph (149 km/h) in Riom instead of 31 mph (50 km/h): the Jaguar test goes off the rails
The police in the Puy-de-Dôme had set up their speed check at the Riom entry roundabout. In the direction from Clermont-Ferrand toward Riom, the road exits a bypass with two lanes. Soon, the limit drops to 31 mph as the roundabout and urban area approach. That Monday morning, the radar read 93 mph, an excess of 62 mph. The officers intercepted the Jaguar even before the official ingress into Riom’s urban area.
The driver was a 32-year-old man, a garage employee, not the vehicle’s owner. He explained that he was conducting a road test of the Jaguar, owned by a client, after a mechanical repair. A test to ensure the repair did not hide any nasty surprises on open roads. But the conditions of this test, speed as the headline, led authorities to immobilize the vehicle. The driver’s license was taken on the spot, with an administrative suspension already in place for this very high offense.
Multiple violations and a very high speeding offense: what risk does the shop owner face?
Beyond the speed, the police check highlighted two additional lapses around this Jaguar. The shop had not mounted garage plates: the car was running with the owner’s plates. The officers also noted that the vehicle’s mandatory inspection had expired in October 2024, i.e., two years without validation. The fine tied to this expired inspection will be paid by the vehicle’s owner, and everyone will have to explain themselves at the police station.
Legally, the speed reading places the case in the category of a very high speeding offense. Since December 29, 2025, exceeding the limit by at least 50 km/h over the limit is considered a crime. In this framework, a driver risks six points off the license, a suspension of the license for up to three years, and a hefty fine. The law also provides for the confiscation of the vehicle. For the Riom employee, outright license revocation is already being contemplated as the proceedings move forward.
