'Legal' speeding in France?

[Pvapour]

have always found mid ^ northern france much worse, I hardly ever see police or cameras in SW, such little amount of traffic its probably not viable, weirdly though I rarely feel the need to speed these days, preferring to soak up the scenery I think

[Sam.F]

The general rule I stick to is that on the A26 the sensible thing to do is stick to 130km/h, elsewhere I usually set the cruise to ~150 - that way I figure the worst that could happen is an unlucky fine from "Les Flics" if they've managed to hide particularly well. It ain't worth risking the car getting impounded to go 170-plus.

[rdjohn]

Pvapour said:

have always found mid ^ northern france much worse, I hardly ever see police or cameras in SW, such little amount of traffic its probably not viable, weirdly though I rarely feel the need to speed these days, preferring to soak up the scenery I think

I felt that the two tickets that I got from hidden mobile cameras spaced 10km apart, on an empty Autoroute, in good weather, was nothing short of agressive tax collection. They were sited in the SW, near Saintes on the A10.

[lowdrag]

Came back from Le Havre to Le Mans Friday and was overtaken quite a few times at excessive speeds but saw not one BiB. I guess it is just one of those things - you never know where and when.

[Pvapour]

rdjohn said:

Pvapour said:

have always found mid ^ northern france much worse, I hardly ever see police or cameras in SW, such little amount of traffic its probably not viable, weirdly though I rarely feel the need to speed these days, preferring to soak up the scenery I think

I felt that the two tickets that I got from hidden mobile cameras spaced 10km apart, on an empty Autoroute, in good weather, was nothing short of agressive tax collection. They were sited in the SW, near Saintes on the A10.

they do exist, just much worse in the North, they're more prevalent in the holiday season as holiday makers still think its ok to speed over here so its a good source of revenue for the local authorities without upsetting the locals.

sorry you got caught speeding it really leaves a bad taste on your hols, but you know the answer, their land, their rules

[smifffymoto]

thats the thing in France,you don't see them but they are there. they are hidden behind bridge gantries and bushes,dark blue Megane estates left at the side of the road or on the hard shoulder with their see through plastic boot lids and super dooper long distance radars.

[rdjohn]

Pvapour said:

they do exist, just much worse in the North, they're more prevalent in the holiday season as holiday makers still think its ok to speed over here so its a good source of revenue for the local authorities without upsetting the locals.

sorry you got caught speeding it really leaves a bad taste on your hols, but you know the answer, their land, their rules

There are plenty up here, but at least they are Policing 50kph zones where there is a higher risk of injury. I passed one this morning which will be making a lot of folk's Christmas.

I will be sticking to 130kph when I go down to Spain in January, the 360€ fine because I was late paying was a high price to pay for just setting the cruise at 140kph.

[lowdrag]

They are well known up north for setting up in the fields in camouflage and you just never see them. Incidentally, over 30 licences taken away in the last week, some for drugs, some alcohol and some speeding.

[Expatloon]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

one of our eurohoons one of the lads got done & had his license taken off him for a month.

couple of hundred euro fine & they posted it back after the month. it was a full european ban as well apparently

There is no such thing as a european ban and the French gendarmes do not have the power to ban a foreign driver on the spot any more than UK plod has, that can only be done by a court. The gendarmes effectively ban offenders though by confiscating their licences as without one in their possession they cannot legally drive in France. This despite the fact that it is not legal or lawful to do so.

If you really want to play silly buggers in France then get yourself a duplicate licence from DVLA and if you get caught let them confiscate the latest one then carry on driving with the other. There are no national records of such incidents so your only risk is that of being stopped by the same gendarme and how likely is that. In any case even if you were stopped then there will be nothing that they can do except fine you and confiscate your second licence.

When you get back to UK just tell DVLA what has happened and they will immediately issue you with a new licence.

[Driller]

On the N7 going South under les pistes of Orly airport there has been a camera hidden behind a power box which in turn has a black sack over it and a 70 km/h limit.

Just recently the 70km/h sign has been removed and a new 50km/h sign put in place just a few meters in front of where the camera is.

You can bet the camera has been recalibrated accordingly.

All this on a two lane, straight road with perfect visibility.

[justemptyeverypo]

Been reading through postings trying to figure out if French cops really did keep my uk photo card license Or if I flung it somewhere back in the car With other things I had to take out while looking through bags for folder with the v5 after doin the 20 odd signatures when was pissed off .... Got caught two days ago just a bit to southwest of Luxembourg ( otw to Scotland from Zurich)... Wish I stuck to original plan of a Belgian or Dutch port now and stayed on the "wunderbar" autobahns !!!!! .... They popped out in front of me and a hand came out the window and had to follow em to the toll pay booth .... Caught at 181 kmph... Tried to Blagg it for ages with all sorts of reasons ... They were nice though but they did say either pay it THERE AND THEN or they WOULD HAVE TO keep the car....>>>>>>>

So no assumption of innocence until proved guilty in a court of law. For foreign drivers in French justice system then !!!

... I really did not realise I wasn't sure where my photo card license was until after they had gone away ...

. Funniest part was they said I was actually not allowed to drive the car now but they said that I should wait 5 mins after they leave and then just go on my way ... And they added that they never told me that of course. :-).. Much nicer and fun than the boys in blue in uk ... I wonder if my tantrums made em forget to give me back my uk license photo card after all the 20 odd signatures were done and they just forgot or if it will come back in the post later... No great problem if apply for another one I suppose and end up with deux too I guess :-) ... I never said that :-)... Was we'll pissed at hvg to pay the 135 euros but still better than gettin caught in uk ... Anyone reckon my license will come back in the post and after how long ???... I didn't get copies of all the papers they made me sign ... Only a receipt for the 135 euros... First time ever I have been caught speeding and they appear in front of u. :-) ... Hats off. :-) ... If ever do bother driving thru France much again at least I now know to try and keep it we'll tame and that they use blue cars :-)

[justemptyeverypo]

Been reading through postings trying to figure out if French cops really did keep my uk photo card license Or if I flung it somewhere back in the car With other things I had to take out while looking through bags for folder with the v5 after doin the 20 odd signatures when was pissed off .... Got caught two days ago just a bit to southwest of Luxembourg ( otw to Scotland from Zurich)... Wish I stuck to original plan of a Belgian or Dutch port now and stayed on the "wunderbar" autobahns !!!!! .... They popped out in front of me and a hand came out the window and had to follow em to the toll pay booth .... Caught at 181 kmph... Tried to Blagg it for ages with all sorts of reasons ... They were nice though but they did say either pay it THERE AND THEN or they WOULD HAVE TO keep the car....>>>>>>>

So no assumption of innocence until proved guilty in a court of law. For foreign drivers in French justice system then !!!

... I really did not realise I wasn't sure where my photo card license was until after they had gone away ...

. Funniest part was they said I was actually not allowed to drive the car now but they said that I should wait 5 mins after they leave and then just go on my way ... And they added that they never told me that of course. :-).. Much nicer and fun than the boys in blue in uk ... I wonder if my tantrums made em forget to give me back my uk license photo card after all the 20 odd signatures were done and they just forgot or if it will come back in the post later... No great problem if apply for another one I suppose and end up with deux too I guess :-) ... I never said that :-)... Was we'll pissed at hvg to pay the 135 euros but still better than gettin caught in uk ... Anyone reckon my license will come back in the post and after how long ???... I didn't get copies of all the papers they made me sign ... Only a receipt for the 135 euros... First time ever I have been caught speeding and they appear in front of u. :-) ... Hats off. :-) ... If ever do bother driving thru France much again at least I now know to try and keep it we'll tame and that they use blue cars :-)

[Expatloon]

If the flics lift your licence then they can sit on it for weeks or months and when they do eventually send it back it will be to DVLA not the address on it.

The procedure then is to apply for a new one when you get back to UK.

As an aside I had a scare about 3 weeks ago, I was towing a loaded car trailer at about 4:30 in the morning and was not far from home. I was driving through a village which has a steep hill immediately after the end of the 50 limit with a camera to catch speeding traffic coming into the village from the opposite direction which I am very aware of however because of the hour and the load and the steep hill - and not being in the least concerned about the camera which was covering the opposite side of the road - about a hundred meters or so before the end of the limit I put on a bit of a spurt and was shocked to get flashed from behind by the camera, I was doing maybe 80 at that time.

After 3 weeks with no fine notice I'm sure I've got away with it was a bit of a worry for that first week or so.

I wonder in fact if the camera had gone faulty.

[Driller]

It was probably Remy Gaillard in his speed camera suit