Speeding In Holland and France to

[toniestark]

Hi all,

Off to the motor show in Paris next week, ferry from Newcastle to Holland and then drive through Holland and France to Paris.

Not that i plan to break the speed limit in said countries, but does anyone know the penalties and implications if it were to happen?

Fines ?

Car impounded?

Points to UK license god forbid!?

etc etc

[Motorrad]

No points to your UK license in Europe yet.

Frogs will rape your wallet given the chance as will the Belgians. The Dutch will also to a lesser extent.


Just drive with the traffic flow and you won't have a problem.

[Vaud]

No points to your UK licence.

French have really stepped up fines and seizures. Not worth it anymore unless it is a mountain road and you can do a sighting run first.

Cruise control at 85mph, max 90 and you will at worst get a fine. To be fair, 85 is a nice pace. Watch of the toll booths. Police are lazy and the speed limit reduces way before the booth. Respect it...

NL - don't know, but it's always been busy when I've driven there so going with the flow looks like good advice.

[mybrainhurts]

Dutch are ok, they just stuff hot Edam down your clouts.

French are a little more tricky. If you're really unlucky, you'll be invited to insert your bks in a guillotine.

[agtlaw]

toniestark said:

Hi all,

Off to the motor show in Paris next week, ferry from Newcastle to Holland and then drive through Holland and France to Paris.

Not that i plan to break the speed limit in said countries, but does anyone know the penalties and implications if it were to happen?

Fines ?

Car impounded?

Points to UK license god forbid!?

etc etc

Holland (the Netherlands) doesn't have a border with France, so I'd guess that you're also driving through Belgium.
Fines - yes, only if you're stopped. Don't worry about speed cameras.
Impounded - again, only if you're stopped and were doing a silly speed.
Licence - even if you are stopped that doesn't happen. You could be banned in the place where you were caught.

[grumpy52]

Any speed traps in place will only be active at times corresponding to ferry arrival times !
Well it's been true in my experience, travelling back to base on Sunday evenings , barriers down on the motorway border posts and police pulling only Brit registered cars out of the queue .

[Geekman]

Not sure about Holland, but keep it under 100 indicated on the French autoroutes and the worst you'll get is a relatively small fine. If you're caught massively exceeding the limit, say 150MPH, your car will be confiscated, you'll have to pay a fortune to get it back, and you won't be able to drive in France until you get a replacement licence when you're back in the UK. They can't ban you in the UK or anything like that, so even the worst of their punishments are far less severe than you'd get back home.

[CGJJ]

Carry a lot of cash if you want to make progress in every way.

Do not ever exceed 200kmh per hour in France-
That is when you get banned on the spot and car impounded.

[Fidgits]

can be fined 750 Euro in France...

Lots of speed cameras in Holland, less of an issue but still worth being wary

[Medic-one]

In Holland be carefull with exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h (31 mp/h) as that's the limit of which they'll confiscate your licence.

[creampuff]

Don't know about Holland.

Don't exceed the speed limit by more than 50km/h in France or you could get arrested.

[toniestark]

Thanks for the advice all, appreciated.

[spikeyhead]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Medic-one said:

In Holland be carefull with exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h (31 mp/h) as that's the limit of which they'll confiscate your licence.

Only if you can find (and then get stopped) by a Dutch Policeperson though, and theres not very many of them about these days

There were always plenty round Nijmegen when I lived there, gleefully stopping motorists for the most minor of offenses.

[Motorrad]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Not round here in Limbabwe, and certainly not Traffic Police.

I do about 2-3k km per month on the A2 and id be surprised if I saw more than one traffic car per month.

See bloody loads of cheesehead motorcycle cops on the roads around the Hague. They don't seem too interested in other bikes though- I was overtaken by one while doing 160kph in a 100 zone and he gave me a little leg lift as he went past.

[Mill Wheel]

The French are also keen on correct tyre pressures etc. with an interest in yours and others safety!
For others carrying cycles, you have to be able to read the numberplate and see the lights - or use a board with number and lights on.
€65 fine for any of these last time I heard.

[MatrixXXx]

The french take speeding very seriously, and there are loads of speed traps on the autoroutes. i got fined £500.00 for doing 130mph, while trying to catch up with some french cars, they let them go !!

[Medic-one]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Not round here in Limbabwe, and certainly not Traffic Police.

I do about 2-3k km per month on the A2 and id be surprised if I saw more than one traffic car per month.

You're probably right there.

I go back a few times a year, Limbabwe area (Heerlen/Kerkrade/Maastricht) and never seem to see any police.

Driven Heerlen to Amsterdam this year, and Heerlen to Groningen last year and during that journey from the South tip of Holland to the North tip not a single police car spotted. Not that i'm moaning, because if there were any i'm sure they'd had something to say about the speed i was doing...

[Mill Wheel]

MatrixXXx said:

The french take speeding very seriously, and there are loads of speed traps on the autoroutes. i got fined £500.00 for doing 130mph, while trying to catch up with some french cars, they let them go !!

Of COURSE they stopped YOU, they cannot send you a fine in the post - which is what the French drivers they let carry on will have received.
Ex-pats in French registered cars have thought they escaped until the penalty turns up at their French address!