Unashamed rant: Driving abroad!!!!!
Discussion
Just picked up my first ever speeding fine. Despite a good few years of very enthusiastic driving in at home in the UK, I've always managed to avoid Mr Brunstrom and chums.
This morning, on my way across europe on a business trip I had a Belgian police motorcycle deliberately hide in my blindspot, I assumed he was waiting for me to floor it and stubbornly kept at the same speed as all the other (Belgian) traffic. Turns out we were all 10kph over the speed limit and he ignored the Belgian cars overtaking me to pull over a brit. When I saw his record of 'kills' for that morning it turned out a shocking number were also GB plates.
Its a shame I really liked the Belgian's before that!!!! Doh, not ammused - think we should make a point of not liberating their country from any more invading forces
On a more serious, vaguely focused note - he did briefly take my passport and drivers license, does that mean I gain UK points??? If so, how on earth do they access the severity of doing less than 10% over a limit that would be illegal in the UK anyway??
Maybe they should take a look over the border in Germany where more intelligent and responsable laws tend to lead to more intelligent and responsible driving......
This morning, on my way across europe on a business trip I had a Belgian police motorcycle deliberately hide in my blindspot, I assumed he was waiting for me to floor it and stubbornly kept at the same speed as all the other (Belgian) traffic. Turns out we were all 10kph over the speed limit and he ignored the Belgian cars overtaking me to pull over a brit. When I saw his record of 'kills' for that morning it turned out a shocking number were also GB plates.
Its a shame I really liked the Belgian's before that!!!! Doh, not ammused - think we should make a point of not liberating their country from any more invading forces
On a more serious, vaguely focused note - he did briefly take my passport and drivers license, does that mean I gain UK points??? If so, how on earth do they access the severity of doing less than 10% over a limit that would be illegal in the UK anyway??
Maybe they should take a look over the border in Germany where more intelligent and responsable laws tend to lead to more intelligent and responsible driving......
Chris71 said:
On a more serious, vaguely focused note - he did briefly take my passport and drivers license, does that mean I gain UK points???
I think that's just to stop you doing a 'runner' I got stopped in France and I didn't have enough local currency to pay the fine - so 'Le Plod' told me to follow him to a bank and took my Passport as security, although he briefly looked at my licence he didn't take that and he didn't even ask to see any insurance details. No points just a fine and although I paid the on the spot fine a few months later I received a letter from the French court asking for some more......
Dwight VanDriver said:
At the moment no provision for Belgian offence points to be put on UK Licence but it isa coming.....
dvd
A bit confused about how this can work. A Belgian colleague told me that they don't have a "points on licence" system in Belgium - it would be a tad unfair for the Belgian authorities to put UK points on UK licences for offences committed there, when currently it would be impossible for UK authorites to reciprocate when a Belgian is caught being naughty behind the wheel in the UK!
I still don't believe that this cross-border transferrability of offences can be made to work in any sort of equitable manner until all the countries concerned have harmonised their systems of penalties for road offences and established some sort of common charters with the traffic cops (like a guarantee that they won't just go all out to pull Brits
the gits!). Or maybe I believe too much in fair treatment and in fact these faceless damned eurocrats will just impose something drastic on us - for our own good as they will no doubt explain, while they remain exempt and chauffeur driven.....aaarrggghhh
It is disgusting truly disgusting.
I can remember coming back through northern France on my to Calais. What do I see pointing a speed gun at the GB plates before embarking on the ferry? The f**cking Gendarmes cleary trying to catch out the British motorists before they head back to Blighty.
Honestly, I was so angry it took my old man about 20mins to calm me down. Now, this really was something as I'm usually quite a laid back chap. I was fuming at the prospect of the French just wanting to score a few points off the Ros Bifs whilst not giving a damn about road safety.
I can remember coming back through northern France on my to Calais. What do I see pointing a speed gun at the GB plates before embarking on the ferry? The f**cking Gendarmes cleary trying to catch out the British motorists before they head back to Blighty.
Honestly, I was so angry it took my old man about 20mins to calm me down. Now, this really was something as I'm usually quite a laid back chap. I was fuming at the prospect of the French just wanting to score a few points off the Ros Bifs whilst not giving a damn about road safety.
_VTEC_ said:
I was fuming at the prospect of the French just wanting to score a few points off the Ros Bifs whilst not giving a damn about road safety.
In all fairness to the frogs, while I loathe the new era of repression over here, they are completely honest about their motives in cracking down on speeding. The government quotes with jubilation the amount of money that they're making and openly states that they're installing more radars to try to make even more cash. In contrast, the UK government seem to keep telling you lot porkies about how it's all about safety and nothing to do with cash...
_VTEC_ said:
It is disgusting truly disgusting.
I can remember coming back through northern France on my to Calais. What do I see pointing a speed gun at the GB plates before embarking on the ferry? The f**cking Gendarmes cleary trying to catch out the British motorists before they head back to Blighty.
Honestly, I was so angry it took my old man about 20mins to calm me down. Now, this really was something as I'm usually quite a laid back chap. I was fuming at the prospect of the French just wanting to score a few points off the Ros Bifs whilst not giving a damn about road safety.
Just the same in Alsace, they target everyone EXCEPT the frogs.... time we instructed Kent Police to pull EVERY foreigner no matter for what reason and fine them on the spot....
but no the lentil munching sandal wearing woolly jumpered apologist socialist swine would say thats racism.....fnuckingtwunts
james_j said:
This morning, on my way across europe on a business trip I had a Belgian police motorcycle deliberately hide in my blindspot,
Thoughts of a brake test spring to mind...
Trust me, I was considering it!
But seems I was following the (un-targeted) Belgian traffic at the same speed they were doing, without a KPH display on my speedo I assumed I wasn't doing anything wrong. Thought he was waiting for me to floor it and so sat at exactly the same speed I'd done when he came up behind me.
My dad often recounts the story of a british police car doing exactly the same thing as he approached a speed limit in his '3000. He left it 'till the last minute before doing a "I saw a rabbit jump out" manouvere and took great ammusment in watching the most sheepish looking plod you've ever seen narrowly avoid the back of his car as they swerved past unable to slow down as quickly with their British Leyland brakes!!
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