Another speeding in France thread........
Discussion
Dog Star said:
Ah, yes, but is this actually the definitive case? I treat these with extreme paranoia and 50 is what I do, but I think I might be erring on the side of caution.
I say this because on entering most towns on N roads there is an explicit 50 sign. Not always though - sometimes it's a 70. So what is it if no sign, 50? (which is what I assume). And if it is 5 by default why then do some have a 50 sign? Argh.
When there is no additional speed limit sign when entering town the speed limit is 50kph by default.I say this because on entering most towns on N roads there is an explicit 50 sign. Not always though - sometimes it's a 70. So what is it if no sign, 50? (which is what I assume). And if it is 5 by default why then do some have a 50 sign? Argh.
Ex :
However, when an additional speed limit sign is attached just below the sign for a town, it means the speed limit through ALL said town is whatever the speed limit sign mentioned.
If a 50 sign is added then it simply means the town in question have had some money to through out of the window and decided to add a sign just in case people were not aware the speed limit was already 50
Thom said:
The map with speed traps is available again after the government got under too much pressure from interested parties.
http://www.radars-auto.com/carte-radar/carte-franc...
Select a région to display the related map.
Hmm on the larger scales that IS depressing... lots of 3rd Gen going in Midi-Pyrenees http://www.radars-auto.com/carte-radar/carte-franc...
Select a région to display the related map.
Mill Wheel said:
Dog Star said:
The problem is that the limits change so often too, and going into towns there is very often no posted limit - is it 50, 60, 70? Even now I don't know.
If you enter a town/village, and the name of the town has a red border around the sign, it is a 50kph limit.
On the way out, the name will be repeated, with a red diagonal line, which means the limit returns to whatever it was before - very often with a 70kph advisory for 100 metres or so to discourage speeding up too soon.
nickwilcock said:
Well, guess what you d*ckheads! In other countries they set a speed limit and you can expect to be pulled if you exceed it. Tough $hit if you don't understand that.
I had my cruise control set at 125kph (77mph), which is under the 130kph limit, and I still picked up my 'second' ticket. Because I went over a viaduct that was 110kph (68mph) for just 300m. My actual recorded speed noted on my ticket was 128kph (79mph).On a near empty Autoroute. I was doing 70-80mph. 90 Euros.
Ridiculous.
Edited by Balmoral Green on Thursday 11th August 16:12
Dog Star said:
IMO the UK (as long as you're not on some congested road) is now a lot better place to drive and make progress than France - for a start our traffic police are a lot more professional and use their judgement on nicking someone.
Amazing but true.
Our limit is 70mph. Most everyone cruises at 80-90mph, and it's no problem whatsoever, even if you are observed. Try to do that in France now and you'd get ticket after ticket after ticket. And I have the paperwork to prove it.
Balmoral Green said:
That's exactly how it was for my 'third' ticket. I went through at below 50kph, came out of the other side onto a huge straight road for as far as the eye could see, right up to the horizon, and I gently accelerated up towards 70kph, along with all the other traffic. But there was no advisory, and no return to whatever it was before. I was told that it was still 50kph.
What was the speed limit before entering the town?Doubt if Ill be caning it through France for a time.
I used to drive my ex wife and daughter skiing down to the alps every year. VR6 Golf. 2.8litres of overtaking fun. I used to love it. Took the ex wife by herself once, in a 2.6litre manual lady di audi cab. Got half way up the mountain into sestriere and had the hood off. Heaters on flat. Truly brilliant.
But best of all a trip down to Sitges, 40km south of Barcelona Grand Prix Circuit. 1000 miles in 12 hours. Now that was a drive. Give her her credit, all the way at well over a hundred in a 3.6 litre six speed 993 she never put a foot wrong. A good look out, if a tad slow on one occasion.
911's are just mile eaters. 4000RPM 100MPH for hours and hours and hours.
I used to drive my ex wife and daughter skiing down to the alps every year. VR6 Golf. 2.8litres of overtaking fun. I used to love it. Took the ex wife by herself once, in a 2.6litre manual lady di audi cab. Got half way up the mountain into sestriere and had the hood off. Heaters on flat. Truly brilliant.
But best of all a trip down to Sitges, 40km south of Barcelona Grand Prix Circuit. 1000 miles in 12 hours. Now that was a drive. Give her her credit, all the way at well over a hundred in a 3.6 litre six speed 993 she never put a foot wrong. A good look out, if a tad slow on one occasion.
911's are just mile eaters. 4000RPM 100MPH for hours and hours and hours.
Balmoral Green said:
I don't know, 70 or 90 I suppose, but it was marked 50 into the village. Tiny place, in & out again in only a few seconds.
Well, if they nicked you for doing more than 50 then it might have been 50 before the village, but still there should have been a 50 sign below or just after the exit sign of the village... Unfair!I will be doing 2500km to/in the south of France in the next two weeks so will sure be on the lookout for tricky sections. Good to have an updated sat nav too.
Edited by Thom on Thursday 11th August 19:27
Thom said:
Well, if they nicked you for doing more than 50 then it might have been 50 before the village, but still there should have been a 50 sign below or just after the exit sign of the village... Unfair!
I will be doing 2500km to/in the south of France in the next two weeks so will sure be on the lookout for tricky sections. Good to have an updated sat nav too.
I will keep an eye open for you and report back - I'm staying in Bezieres on the 24th, 25th and 26th!I will be doing 2500km to/in the south of France in the next two weeks so will sure be on the lookout for tricky sections. Good to have an updated sat nav too.
Edited by Thom on Thursday 11th August 19:27
Not sure yet whether to go OVER or UNDER the Millau viaduct, but I guess the Gendarmes will be watching the top!
Somewhere south of Calais I got flashed by a forward-fixed camera - I was warned of its presence by Satnav and had identified it visually already so was doing a few kph UNDER the speed limit. As I was approaching it, I was overtaken by a white Range Rover doing probably 160kph. I thought to myself 'that guy is gonna get it!' - he sped past the camera, no flash... but then it flashed ME! WTF?! However, I have yet to hear from any French demanding money with menaces 6 weeks later so hopefully all is well. However it does indicate with forward facing cameras possibly if you drive sufficiently over the speed limit they can't react quick enough to catch you or something?
Balmoral Green said:
Cunning Punt said:
Be careful in France this summer. Even if you're immune to fixed cameras, with your fancy UK plates, traffic plod are enforcing heavily at the moment.
They are everywhere, seemingly omnipresent, and nicking anyone and everyone.Diamond blue said:
Carry at least 100 euros with you in cash at all times and DONT do more than 50kph above the limit EVER.
I would say DONT do more than 1kph above the limit EVER.It has been changing in France year on year, to the point where you just cannot make progress anymore, anywhere, whether you are a local, or a tourist. Almost everyone now complies, and drives below the limit, regardless of what sort of road, or the conditions. Overtaking on an Autoroute is now like truck elephant racing in the UK, nobody will dare to pass quickly and cleanly, in case there's a Gendarme hiding up the road. So an overtake can take miles to complete, and will often be abandoned if the car being overtaken edges its speed up a couple of kph to near the speed limit, you can't risk passing it. Everything now has to be planned, miles in advance, weighing up the speed of the car you want to overtake, the space available, and if you can do it with the 4 or 5 kph increment you have available to you.
It's beyond a joke.
The French Autoruotes used to be safe and fast, now they are slow and dangerous. Lane discipline has gone, as there's no point returning to the nearside, as there's no one going faster to get out of the way of. Cars now travel alongside each other at the same speed in all lanes, so vehicles are now in each others blind spots for minutes on end, instead of just for a second or two. I've never seen so many near misses when someone does decide to change lane, despite having checked their mirrors.
Saturday 23rd, on the way to Italy, I got pulled at 160kph, honest collar, I was speeding, not that it was any big deal on an almost empty Autoroute, but there you go. My own stupid fault.
Saturday 6th, on the way back from Italy, cruise control set at 125kph. I still got pulled, I drifted over a viaduct that was reduced to 110kph for 300m.
Decided to get off the Autoroute, if I can only do 70-80mph, and I will be s
t scared of a pull and over focused on my speedo, I aint paying the tolls for the privilege.Went through a villlage with a 50kph limit, came out the other side, huge big empty road, what little traffic there was, a motorhome towing a trailor with a RIB on it, and a Prius, and me, gently accelerated up the road to about 70kph, which is what we all thought the limit was, and we all got pulled. The side road was full of folks who had been pulled. The Gendarmes had run out of tickets and were waiting for a car to arrive with some new books.
All nice normal people, all had been driving at nice normal speeds, seemingly within the limit, all nice safe responsible people.
Even if if you make the effort, you're screwed. I can't believe how much it's changed. Driving in France is no longer a pleasure, it's a pain in the arse. I was speaking to some French in the hotel bar, they don't like it either. Seemingly the entire population has been nicked on multiple occassions over the last year.
That fantastic Autoroute network, easily the best in Europe, rendered useless.
OK, I might be bleating, I got nicked three times. The first was my own stupid fault, the warning taken and heeded. But the other two I was making an effort to comply, I thought I was complying, and I still got nicked. God knows what they'll do to you if you actually go fast!
For the first time ever, it was actually a pleasure to get back to British motorways, with our middle lane morons and outside lane hogs. But at least you can sit at 80-90mph with everyone else, and the bib will have no interest in you at all.
I've been going to France once or twice a year for twenty years, but they can f
k right off now. I'm not going back for a very long time, and won't be driving through on the way to somewhere else either.
I drove to the South of Spain in the Surf in early May. Didn't see a single traffic cop going through France, and i saw maybe 1 through Spain apart from at the France/Spain border. Same on the way back. Took toll roads all the way down and was never bothered once.
French and spanish toll roads put UK motorways generally to shame. The ones i used were all in fabulous condition and dead straight where possible except for Spain the further north i drove. I don't like the French but it was a pleasure using their toll roads, although expensive.
Clearly some of you are driving too fast through France and you're getting nobbled. It would worry me in a foreign country doing something that would get me a tug and anything else cops decide is appropriate. I've no doubt they make up the price of a fine to whatever they feel like and share the money out afterwards. That's why brit drivers are so popular to pull. You're an easy cash machine!!
P.S. I get off the chunnel back in the UK, get onto the M20 and i'm followed by traffic cops for a fair way, 20-25 mins or so, and get a pull. Asked me lots of questions and i oblige with prompt and polite answers (it's late, i'm tired and want to get home), and then tells me i've got a brake light out. He gives me a form to take to my local MOT office for them to stamp and confirm i've sorted it. All the way through to Spain and back, not a single issue with cops, and then i get pulled for a fecking brake light.
Kent Police....Fighting crime and brake lights, 24/7!!
French and spanish toll roads put UK motorways generally to shame. The ones i used were all in fabulous condition and dead straight where possible except for Spain the further north i drove. I don't like the French but it was a pleasure using their toll roads, although expensive.
Clearly some of you are driving too fast through France and you're getting nobbled. It would worry me in a foreign country doing something that would get me a tug and anything else cops decide is appropriate. I've no doubt they make up the price of a fine to whatever they feel like and share the money out afterwards. That's why brit drivers are so popular to pull. You're an easy cash machine!!
P.S. I get off the chunnel back in the UK, get onto the M20 and i'm followed by traffic cops for a fair way, 20-25 mins or so, and get a pull. Asked me lots of questions and i oblige with prompt and polite answers (it's late, i'm tired and want to get home), and then tells me i've got a brake light out. He gives me a form to take to my local MOT office for them to stamp and confirm i've sorted it. All the way through to Spain and back, not a single issue with cops, and then i get pulled for a fecking brake light.
Kent Police....Fighting crime and brake lights, 24/7!!
vsonix said:
They seem to have stopped looking before overtaking as well
This is probably not the case.Drivers pulling out to overtake always took priority, removing any excuse to stay in the outside/middle lane.
Vehicles joining from the right have priority too on many roads - so you won't find yourself struggling to get off a slip road when joining a busy main road/motorway.
I have driven in France many many times over the past 25 years (touch wood, without a ticket, and only one accident, when someone behind me hadn't seen the stop sign that I had seen...), including several blasts down to Le Mans and back.
Something I have noticed in recent years, particularly heading south from the Pas de Calais, is that if I travel at the speed limit (when conditions allow), I am now generally one of the slower drivers on the road. The majority of the cars, however, that go flying past me, have UK registrations...
Not surprising they get pulled.
Something I have noticed in recent years, particularly heading south from the Pas de Calais, is that if I travel at the speed limit (when conditions allow), I am now generally one of the slower drivers on the road. The majority of the cars, however, that go flying past me, have UK registrations...
Not surprising they get pulled.
Madscanner said:
I have driven in France many many times over the past 25 years (touch wood, without a ticket, and only one accident, when someone behind me hadn't seen the stop sign that I had seen...), including several blasts down to Le Mans and back.
Something I have noticed in recent years, particularly heading south from the Pas de Calais, is that if I travel at the speed limit (when conditions allow), I am now generally one of the slower drivers on the road. The majority of the cars, however, that go flying past me, have UK registrations...
Not surprising they get pulled.
Same as... Something I have noticed in recent years, particularly heading south from the Pas de Calais, is that if I travel at the speed limit (when conditions allow), I am now generally one of the slower drivers on the road. The majority of the cars, however, that go flying past me, have UK registrations...
Not surprising they get pulled.
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