Confiscated driving licence in france

[Buzz84]

don'tbesilly said:

User33678888 said:

Leaving aside the sheer practicalities (DVLA will reissue it) how does non reporting of this stuff to ones insurers work legally? They ask about convictions, bans, accidents etc. Surely you would need to tell them. Or am I missing something?

The offence was alleged (the OP has not been convicted) to have been committed in France.
There are no reciprocal agreements between France and the UK in terms of traffic offences (speeding etc), so the offence (alleged) has no enforcement in the UK. (Reciprocal Agreement is on it's way apparently).

So there's no need/obligation for the OP to inform his insurers.

What goes on tour, stays on tour!;)

But hasn't the OP been to the station and paid the fine, surely that's some sort of conviction/admittance of guilt. After all that's the way that it works in the UK - you get a fine through the post or when pulled over, you pay it and then have to declare it.

But that's not to say that I would tell my insurers in the OPs situation...

[don'tbesilly]

Buzz84 said:

don'tbesilly said:

User33678888 said:

Leaving aside the sheer practicalities (DVLA will reissue it) how does non reporting of this stuff to ones insurers work legally? They ask about convictions, bans, accidents etc. Surely you would need to tell them. Or am I missing something?

The offence was alleged (the OP has not been convicted) to have been committed in France.
There are no reciprocal agreements between France and the UK in terms of traffic offences (speeding etc), so the offence (alleged) has no enforcement in the UK. (Reciprocal Agreement is on it's way apparently).

So there's no need/obligation for the OP to inform his insurers.

What goes on tour, stays on tour!;)

But hasn't the OP been to the station and paid the fine, surely that's some sort of conviction/admittance of guilt. After all that's the way that it works in the UK - you get a fine through the post or when pulled over, you pay it and then have to declare it.

But that's not to say that I would tell my insurers in the OPs situation...

If you get pulled for speeding in France paying the on the spot penalty is NOT an option as far as I'm aware,I was certainly not given the option of pay the fine NOW or we'll see you in court, when I was stopped in France.

So arguing the toss (whether you were speeding,or how fast) is not an option and paying the fine is the only option, but it's not an admission of guilt, nor have you been convicted (you've never been to court).

In the UK if you're convicted (you've been found guilty at court,or pled guilty by post) of speeding you are given points, minimum is 3, so insurance loading is based on the points given and type of offence (I believe).

In France points are not given (to UK alleged offenders), and if they were they would be meaningless without a reciprocal agreement being in force.

[vonhosen]

My understanding is that the fine is a deposit pending a court case. Of course the court case (which may be held in your absence) might then just impose a fine exactly the same amount as the deposit taken (or it might be more, unlikely to be less than).

The seizing of the licence is a temporary ban pending the court case.

[don'tbesilly]

vonhosen said:

My understanding is that the fine is a deposit pending a court case. Of course the court case (which may be held in your absence) might then just impose a fine exactly the same amount as the deposit taken (or it might be more, unlikely to be less than).

The seizing of the licence is a temporary ban pending the court case.

I appreciate the fixed penalty is a deposit, however it still HAS to be paid at the time of the alleged offence.

Returning to France for a court case is unlikely to be cost effective for the majority of drivers, at best the deposit will cover the fine that the court imposes, at worst any driver will have to pay more, and in some instances considerably more.
I can't see many people booking a ferry/chunnel crossing to have their day in court to have the above confirmed, something I'm sure the French are only too well aware of.

Of course all the above would be different if getting your car back did hinge on you appearing in court to plead mitigating circumstances

vonhosen said:

The seizing of the licence is a temporary ban pending the court case.

That will be the reason I never got mine back then, I never went!
In saying that all the correspondence that came through was in French, not surprising really as the alleged offence took place in France,so I couldn't understand anything that was written, and even if I did I wouldn't have returned to pay more by way of a fine!

Edited by don'tbesilly on Saturday 25th April 17:04

Edited by don'tbesilly on Saturday 25th April 17:04

[Hugo a Gogo]

if you don't live in France, you should get it back at the soonest opportunity

they have no right to stop you driving in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands etc (where you need the licence with you whenever you drive), never mind in the UK

[Ekona]

I had this happen to me, 176 in a 90 (I thought it was a 130, but even so I was taking the p*ss somewhat).

Licence taken, 750EU fine on the spot. Got back home and applied for a new licence, old one never came back so no choice really. Letter from the court a few weeks later confirming a 3mth ban and 750EU fine. I then got a letter 6 months later asking for another 750EU...! Their error in that case, I didn't cough up the same again.


Ah, the things we do when we're young and stupid. Lesson learnt, never again.

[supermono]

@ those posters on here bleating about reordering licence being crim or not telling insurers. It's us idiot brits and our pathalogical need to roll over and comply with every last 0.01% of any law -- even non existent law that we just think might just exist -- makes us the easy target for speed camera scammers, fleece by parking ticket and any number of other shennanigins.

Op was wronged by some overzealous plod with trumped up speed "reading", hijacked for a significant number of euros with no right to trial and had his property stolen into the bargain.

Screw le bastids and get another one ordered asap stating it was lost, no detail required, and move on.

As regards telling insurance company about this fraud and blackmail that happened abroad. Seriously??? Why let your insco fleece you on top as well.

No conviction, no speeding, nothing further to pay.

[Ekona]

You do realise that the gendarmes actually reduce the speed shown on their guns to take into account any errors? So actually, they're fairer than UK police. I found them to be professional yet human, and we even had a laugh and a joke by the side of the road when trying to translate.

So yeah, it's not about them taking advantage, it's about owning up like the OP did.

[vonhosen]

Hugo a Gogo said:

if you don't live in France, you should get it back at the soonest opportunity

they have no right to stop you driving in Belgium, Germany, Netherlands etc (where you need the licence with you whenever you drive), never mind in the UK

The act of them seizing it in France doesn't in itself prohibit you driving in other countries (inc the UK), you are not banned in those countries The temp ban applies to France only. Of course if you can't comply with a host countries rules (for whatever reason) then you can't legally drive in that country.


Being banned in the UK on a UK licence means you can't drive (by virtue of the UK licence) in any country.

Edited by vonhosen on Saturday 25th April 19:30

[supermono]

Ekona said:

You do realise that the gendarmes actually reduce the speed shown on their guns to take into account any errors? So actually, they're fairer than UK police. I found them to be professional yet human, and we even had a laugh and a joke by the side of the road when trying to translate.

So yeah, it's not about them taking advantage, it's about owning up like the OP did.

Yes I spotted their fairness being shown when driving home from LeMans in traffic of all nationalities everyone speeding, when brit after brit was targetted on the road back to our green and pleasant land.

[TOV!E]

Alucidnation said:

How ironic.

TOSSER

[peterperkins]

It never ceases to amaze me that Brits are happy to merrily speed on French roads. Basically taking the pizz.

If a French car hooned past you on the A1 at the same speed 110mph+ in this example, would you be frothing at the mouth demanding instant justice or cheering them on?

Add in probably driving a car with steering wheel on wrong side and I call that inconsiderate and arrogant at best.

Going to another country then respect their rules or suffer the consequences.

I don't want them driving like that over here, so would not dream of doing it over there.

[Alucidnation]

TOV!E said:

TOSSER

Isn't it past your bedtime?

[br d]

supermono said:

Yes I spotted their fairness being shown when driving home from LeMans in traffic of all nationalities everyone speeding, when brit after brit was targetted on the road back to our green and pleasant land.

Dry your eyes fella.
"S'not fair, they're picking on us". You were speeding, you just stated it.

OP was doing 179 in a 130, so you know, suck it up. Driving in Europe is fun, we all enjoy it, but if you take the piss and get tugged then live with it, don't bleat.

Edited by br d on Saturday 25th April 21:11

[Ekona]

Exactly.

[anonymous-user]

supermono said:

Op was wronged by some overzealous plod with trumped up speed "reading", hijacked for a significant number of euros with no right to trial and had his property stolen into the bargain.

Thank goodness you were there to witness what really happened. Thanks.

supermono said:

this fraud and blackmail that happened abroad.

No prizes for guessing which way you'll be voting in a couple of weeks.
Go Nige!

[iva cosworth]

supermono said:

@ those posters on here bleating about reordering licence being crim or not telling insurers. It's us idiot brits and our pathalogical need to roll over and comply with every last 0.01% of any law -- even non existent law that we just think might just exist -- makes us the easy target for speed camera scammers, fleece by parking ticket and any number of other shennanigins.

Op was wronged by some overzealous plod with trumped up speed "reading", hijacked for a significant number of euros with no right to trial and had his property stolen into the bargain.

Screw le bastids and get another one ordered asap stating it was lost, no detail required, and move on.

As regards telling insurance company about this fraud and blackmail that happened abroad. Seriously??? Why let your insco fleece you on top as well.

No conviction, no speeding, nothing further to pay.

[CGJJ]

supermono said:

@ those posters on here bleating about reordering licence being crim or not telling insurers. It's us idiot brits and our pathalogical need to roll over and comply with every last 0.01% of any law -- even non existent law that we just think might just exist -- makes us the easy target for speed camera scammers, fleece by parking ticket and any number of other shennanigins.

Op was wronged by some overzealous plod with trumped up speed "reading", hijacked for a significant number of euros with no right to trial and had his property stolen into the bargain.

Screw le bastids and get another one ordered asap stating it was lost, no detail required, and move on.

As regards telling insurance company about this fraud and blackmail that happened abroad. Seriously??? Why let your insco fleece you on top as well.

No conviction, no speeding, nothing further to pay.

Thank goodness.At last a normal person on the SPL forum.

[gowmonster]

he did lose it, at the side of the road in france

[S11Steve]

"A friend" was caught somewhere north of 200kmh a few years back. €750 paid on the spot, licence removed, passenger allowed to take over the driving. Their licence arrived back about a month later with a document explaining a court imposed a fine of the same value, and a 3 month driving restriction.

Friend learned their lesson, and has been very well behaved since, keeping illegal sites purely to track time...