There was a long thread about scameras coming to France on this site just before Xmas. Well, I and dozens of others were caught yesterday by a load of gendarmes on the motorway...
Yes, I was speeding and I'm not going to excuse my bad behaviour. But "foreigners" only get a cash fine of 90 Euros - no points, no follow-ups (unlike the French motorists).
The policeman told me that you have to be doing more than 40km/h over the limit in France before the French police will get tough. (According to their reading I was doing 175, but they take off 9km/h to allow for radar tolerances etc.)
At the speed I was doing I'd be up before a judge back in the UK, facing a fine of hundreds of pounds and a temporary loss of licence.
So a lucky escape, and food for thought. But the fact is a lot of "foreign" motorists can roam the French autoroutes at around 100mph, risking a relatively small fine and no other repercussions. If I were French I'd be furious!
Surely if a French car was clocked on the M6 at 100mph the driver would be in a lot more hot water than I was?
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try doing it in belgium mate
they put the car or motorbike on the back of a transporter and take it away until the court case
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New european laws for 2006 will probbly mean you'll loose points for any car driving crime caused abroad. As for speeding in France a British motorist had his car confiscated and spent a couple of days in prison for speeding near Arras.I think he got a 900 Euro fine.I think he was caught flat out in a newish M3! French Gendarmes have just recieved a whole wagon load of laser guns end of 2004. I got caught this summer doing 95Km/h in a 70 Zone...however as there was road works the legal limit was down to 50. I paid an immediate fine of 90 Euro's. All I can say is cruise down the autoroutes at no more than 75/80 (or 140 km/h) and you'll not get a fine.The 10% rule can work depending on what laser gun they use and of course the Gendarmes prefer quick fines as they'll probably want to stop as many as possible before heading for the local bistro! If you are 50 Km/h over the speed limit-let's say driving at 170/180 on the autoroute you could end-up driving to the ski station in a taxi,car impounded and a court appearance. I'm not trying to frighten anyone here....don't forget over 7.000 people die on French roads each and every year. The French have clamped down and the figures are dropping but not quickly enough. For more info go to:
www.angloinfo.com and head for the motoring section. It's a handy website that gives info to tourists and anglophones living in france. Safe driving!
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You were blatently speeding, you risked your own life and others, you disregarded French law, You'll receive little sympathy from me.
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If you look closely at the heading for this section you will see it is called "Discussion" not "Outburst". I don't see anyone asking for sympathy, in fact I consider the tone of the original post was more a salutary warning to others than a whinge-fest.
No Do$h - Alfa-driving Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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Agree ND. A useful and informative post based on personal experience. Welcome counterpoint to the usual stories about targetting the Brits and using timings between toll barriers.
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The whole tenor of his post is that he was banged to rights and makes no complaint about it.
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So we condone inappropriate speeding in the backroom? i don't.
We'll agree to disagree and i'll leave it a that.
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ah now, how do you know it was inappropriate ? it may have been illegal, but there is no evidence above that it was unsafe
it may have been a clear empty straight road in perfect weather, in which case in my view there are occasions in which such a speed can be appropriate, and all risks being balanced perfectly acceptable in a moral sense, even if not to be endorsed simply because it strays too far from what could be considered a reasonable discretion from the legal limit
for info a French motorist stopped doing 100 on the M6 will 99.9 % of the time get a warning, if his English is good enough
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I was abroad earlier this week and managed to get the old girl up to the 145 mph mark a few times.
Funny thing is, it was legal where I was.
You have to bear in mind that a speed limit is just an arbitrary figure.
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I understand the frustrations of driving in the UK with 1200 fixed radar Gatso's (?) and crossing the channel in a counrty with only 120 and hammering the pedal for fun! The problem is that the speed party is over on French motorways! Here's an example from Friday. About 15 Miles from Orange heading towards Marseille you have two fixed camera's. What I saw was a Gendarme with a Laser Binocular gun set-up about 1 km before the fixed camera's and at least six Gendarmes sat on blue BMW motorbikes waiting to prey. The Gendarme with the laser gun caught someone, radioed to the others and off went a BMW after a white Clio doing about 85 (160). This just proves that the majority of people speed-up in between the camera's and don't slow down until say 500 feet of them.Big mistake! The Gendarmes know how to get you. Another hot spot is just before the Toll booths where the speed goes logically down from 130 to 110,70 and then 50. The Gendarmes place themselves in between the booths and get you at about the 70 mark. As the majority of us are still doing 130 and brake late....you'll find yourself being waved down after paying for the autoroute. So that's 20 Euro for the Toll and 90 for the Gendarmes=110! Remember 50 Km'h over the speed limit and they confiscate the car!I do 45,000 km's on French autoroutes every year at a monthly cost of around 250 Euro. That's quite alot isn't it?
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I took out a load of rubbish, including my own. I don't think I deleted anything of worth, my apologies if I did.
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There aren't any of those 1200 Gatso's on the motorways I drive on. One of my friends from Uni drove from Devon to Leeds averaging (so he says) about 105-110 MPH. Where are the speed cameras there?
Or what about the police pulling over the idiot who does 100MPH in wet weather in lane 3?
I personally think it's a good thing that the French are taking speeding on their motorways seriously. More than we're doing.
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"All I can say is cruise down the autoroutes at no more than 75/80 (or 140 km/h) and you'll not get a fine."
Fair enough, I think, since the limit on French motorways is 130 kph which is 81.25 mph. In the rain it is 110 kph = 68.75mph
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"I do 45,000 km's on French autoroutes every year"
So how come you say "a white Clio doing about 85 (160)."??
160 kph is 100mph not 85.
And if the Clio was doing 85 on a french motorway (limit 130kph/81 mph) would the Gendarmes have bothered?
Am I missing something??
"get you at about the 70 mark. As the majority of us are still doing 130 and brake late."
Serves you right - 130 is just a little over the 70 speed limit.
I certainly don't drive 45k per year in France, but do spend about 6 weeks a year there. I have never seen this phenomena of Gendarmes "just before the Toll booths where the speed goes logically down from 130 to 110,70 and then 50. The Gendarmes place themselves in between the booths and get you at about the 70 mark"
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Serves you right? I didn't say I drive flat out before Toll booths! It like everything I suppose: "I told you so..." or "Serves you right" or this was a pointless post on the forum?I've got a little electronic box that sends a signal to the Toll about 50 metres and the gate opens automatically anyway. If you drive over 50 before the Toll the gate will open but with a delayed action.We have special lanes marked with a big orange T! The Toll booth bill is then debited from my bank account and sent to me at end of month.I don't hve to stop and hand over cash or credit card! I apologise with the conversions. I'll try and get my maths right next time. The Clio was doing more than 160..I guess the Gendarmes gave him the exact speed! The Gendarmes favourite spot is around Toulouse (on the bridge over Autoroute driving from carcassonne),Nimes near the Airport and Toulouse driving down the hill after Sanary. I get e-mails from French friends all over the south of France that mention the new positions. I don't feel concerned as I drive with the cruise on at 140 and my GPS indicates 132 or 133 depending on the weather. I've only ever been stopped twice for speeding in a 2CV driving down Portsdown Hill near Portsmouth in 1988 (got a warning as they couldn't dtop laughing)and last year in a 70 zone.....reduced to 50 for road works.
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"I didn't say I drive flat out before Toll booths!
I know you didn't, and I didn't accuse you of doing so - but you did say "the 70 mark. As the majority of us are still doing 130 and brake late...." so I stand by what I say - if you do 130 kph in a 70 limit (especially in an area where traffic is slowing to pay tolls and there is a countdown to that 70 limit) you can expect to get "done". From my experience I would also dispute the word "majority".
"We have special lanes marked with a big orange T! "
Yes I know - it's called "Telepeage" but the big T does not remove the need to slow down to go through the toll area.
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Alright guys, ease up a little please. And not just the accelerator?
Cheers,
No Do$h - Alfa-driving Backroom Moderator
mailto:moderators@honestjohn.co.uk
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Sorry. Will say no more on the subject.
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Less than 5 years ago, Jenson Button escaped with a fine (5000 French francs) and a reprimand (no points) for travelling at 230 kph on a motorway in France. Seems they were a little less bothered about speeding then. One wonders what speed would have warranted points on his licence at the time.
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Just recently, a racing motorcyclist was banned for 60 days and fined £1000 after being caught doing 130 mph on the A46 in Leicestershire. He argued that a lengthy ban would have prevented him from meeting his racing obligations. I fail to understand why, as such bans wouldn't prevent him from racing off road, as far as I understand. I think he got off lightly, personally.
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>>He argued that a lengthy ban would have prevented him from meeting his racing obligations.
It was because he was alo running safety courses for motorcyclists (!) and would have to close down if he could not ride himself. It reminds me of the guy who was on trial for murdering his parents and pleaded for clemency on the grounds that he was an orphan.
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>>He argued that a lengthy ban would have prevented him from meeting his racing obligations. It was because he was alo running safety courses for motorcyclists (!) and would have to close down if he could not ride himself. It reminds me of the guy who was on trial for murdering his parents and pleaded for clemency on the grounds that he was an orphan.
I don't have much sympathy for cases like this one, as it wasn't a marginal speeding offence, or anywhere near the sort of speed that is commonplace on our roads. The A46 is nowhere near motorway standard on some of the stretches where it is dual carriageway and a speed of that order would have been dangerous, as motorists just wouldn't be expecting anyone to be going past them at that rate. If a person's business depends on keeping a driving licence, then they should act a little more responsibly.
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where can i get one of these boxes? I have a french bank account
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