French law advice!
Discussion
I just litterally took a call from a mate in France where a Gendarme has taken his licence off of him....
He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone. They pulled him over and said he was doing 160 and it was a 90euro fine. He politely asked to see the radar gun and they said it had turned off and he could no longer see the reading. So he asked to see some documentation for the gun, and they refused. It had now started to rain slightly, and because my mate had started to raise his voice they said the speed limit was now 110kph and the fine was now 350euro......
Lind story short he has paid the fine as they were like talking to a brick wall , but they have his licence?? They let him go as his mate is now driving the car. Does anyone know what will happen to his licence and when he will likely get it back??
He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone. They pulled him over and said he was doing 160 and it was a 90euro fine. He politely asked to see the radar gun and they said it had turned off and he could no longer see the reading. So he asked to see some documentation for the gun, and they refused. It had now started to rain slightly, and because my mate had started to raise his voice they said the speed limit was now 110kph and the fine was now 350euro......
Lind story short he has paid the fine as they were like talking to a brick wall , but they have his licence?? They let him go as his mate is now driving the car. Does anyone know what will happen to his licence and when he will likely get it back??
His licence will be posted back to his home address when the police are good and ready (3 or 4 weeks). In theory, he was only banned for three days, but that will depend upon what the police said to him at the roadside.
There is no requirement in France to provide evidence of the speeding; it's up to the driver to prove he wasn't. Hence the reason why most people just pay the fine. The police do have to power to confiscate the car, not just the licence.
There is no requirement in France to provide evidence of the speeding; it's up to the driver to prove he wasn't. Hence the reason why most people just pay the fine. The police do have to power to confiscate the car, not just the licence.
Furyblade_Lee said:
I just litterally took a call from a mate in France where a Gendarme has taken his licence off of him....
He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone.
Just remind me, isn't there something going on this weekend in France? No, not the football...He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone.
I suspect that the Gendarmerie are out in force for Johnny Foreigner prenant la pisse.
Thanks for posting Lee, finally stopped for a bit..
So I was happily travelling from Switzerland to Paris with my cruise control on at 140kmh in a 130, never been pulled at this speed in the thousands of miles I have covered on French roads, it was sunny with the odd rain shower so the limit was fluctuating 110/130.
Next thing I know I have a police car beside mw telling me to pull over, so I dos and then he said follow him.. 11km later we arrived at his police station where he said he gunned me at 158kmh, I asked to see the speed and he said it is what I said and that it.
Me being me got narky a I know I was not going tat fast, he then tells me I am losing my licence and e wants 90eueos off me and I made a funny comment about them ripping me off to which point he lowered the limit to 110 so it looked like I was dong 158 in 110 and informed me that the fine has gone up and had I wished to keep being "upset" it could go up again..
I don't have cash so they drove me to a cash point and I got 350 euros out, all I got back was some French paperwork "trees must be made of gold here" and my passport.
On the paperwork it said 90 euros and I got real pissy saying where is the rest going at which point I was escorted out the police station..
Questions are, how long cant I drive in France for? Is there a way to complain about my fleecing as I can use bank statement to prove money...
Already called dvla and got a new license on the way as I doubt ill see that one plus I need it for work.
So I was happily travelling from Switzerland to Paris with my cruise control on at 140kmh in a 130, never been pulled at this speed in the thousands of miles I have covered on French roads, it was sunny with the odd rain shower so the limit was fluctuating 110/130.
Next thing I know I have a police car beside mw telling me to pull over, so I dos and then he said follow him.. 11km later we arrived at his police station where he said he gunned me at 158kmh, I asked to see the speed and he said it is what I said and that it.
Me being me got narky a I know I was not going tat fast, he then tells me I am losing my licence and e wants 90eueos off me and I made a funny comment about them ripping me off to which point he lowered the limit to 110 so it looked like I was dong 158 in 110 and informed me that the fine has gone up and had I wished to keep being "upset" it could go up again..
I don't have cash so they drove me to a cash point and I got 350 euros out, all I got back was some French paperwork "trees must be made of gold here" and my passport.
On the paperwork it said 90 euros and I got real pissy saying where is the rest going at which point I was escorted out the police station..
Questions are, how long cant I drive in France for? Is there a way to complain about my fleecing as I can use bank statement to prove money...
Already called dvla and got a new license on the way as I doubt ill see that one plus I need it for work.
Furyblade_Lee said:
I just litterally took a call from a mate in France where a Gendarme has taken his licence off of him....
He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone. They pulled him over and said he was doing 160 and it was a 90euro fine. He politely asked to see the radar gun and they said it had turned off and he could no longer see the reading. So he asked to see some documentation for the gun, and they refused. It had now started to rain slightly, and because my mate had started to raise his voice they said the speed limit was now 110kph and the fine was now 350euro......
Lind story short he has paid the fine as they were like talking to a brick wall , but they have his licence?? They let him go as his mate is now driving the car. Does anyone know what will happen to his licence and when he will likely get it back??
A couple of pointers; He was "supposedly" doing 160kph in a 130 zone. They pulled him over and said he was doing 160 and it was a 90euro fine. He politely asked to see the radar gun and they said it had turned off and he could no longer see the reading. So he asked to see some documentation for the gun, and they refused. It had now started to rain slightly, and because my mate had started to raise his voice they said the speed limit was now 110kph and the fine was now 350euro......
Lind story short he has paid the fine as they were like talking to a brick wall , but they have his licence?? They let him go as his mate is now driving the car. Does anyone know what will happen to his licence and when he will likely get it back??
- He may also have only paid "an initial deposit" pending the case going to the prefecture (Judge).
- He needs to ensure his mate is insured, Les Gendarmes will assume he is as the French insure the car not the person.
- Until your mate is in physical possession of their licence it is illegal for him to drive in France.
- When he gets back to teh UK it will be quicker to apply to the DVLA for a "lost/misplaced/stolen" drivers licence than wait for the French to return it.
- Speed limit doesn't only drop to 110 when raining but also when road wet and times of high pollution in certain places.
- The French generally don't successfully argue with Gendarmes, if a Gendarme says something happened then 9/10 a Judge will believe them.
In the UK we have the attitude test from the Police.
your mate failed the french test. but its usually paid at the road side, so i assume the 11km they took you was to take you off the motorway.
and what would drawing 350e from a cash machine and paying 90e to the Police prove, nothing.
You broke the law setting the cruise at 140 and have paid the consequences.
I some times exceed speed limits and if it were the case would oay the 90e and put it down to experiance.
your mate failed the french test. but its usually paid at the road side, so i assume the 11km they took you was to take you off the motorway.
and what would drawing 350e from a cash machine and paying 90e to the Police prove, nothing.
You broke the law setting the cruise at 140 and have paid the consequences.
I some times exceed speed limits and if it were the case would oay the 90e and put it down to experiance.
anothernameitist said:
You broke the law setting the cruise at 140 and have paid the consequences.
140 with a 5% speedo error is 133. Exceeding the limit by about 2% is hardly the crime of the century!However I do wonder if:
1) The road was mildly moist. This may have been enough for them to enforce the 110 limit. When I spent some time in France I was told by the locals that I should consider 130 as the limit for ideal conditions only, and 110 for anything else.
2) There was a language barrier. Maybe they couldn't explain the situation clearly.
Although there is a very real possibility that they were just cocks. Just be nice to them, let them have their power trip, give them the 90eur and enjoy the rest of your holiday. Why get their backs up with "I KNOW MY RIGHTS, SHOW ME YOUR PAPERWORK"?
They took 350 euros off me and only wrote 90 on the ticket..
Poorly explained sorry.
Yes I know 140 is breaking the law but as I have said I travel thousands of miles and once for pulled over by a nice copper and he told me sit at 140 and you will be ok. Thousands of miles later I still believe it.
The taking 350 off me and only writing 90 on the ticket is what has narked me.
Poorly explained sorry.
Yes I know 140 is breaking the law but as I have said I travel thousands of miles and once for pulled over by a nice copper and he told me sit at 140 and you will be ok. Thousands of miles later I still believe it.
The taking 350 off me and only writing 90 on the ticket is what has narked me.
Jam3sm said:
They took 350 euros off me and only wrote 90 on the ticket..
The taking 350 off me and only writing 90 on the ticket is what has narked me.
I can accept that and would be narked too.The taking 350 off me and only writing 90 on the ticket is what has narked me.
Thay have won in a few ways:
260e to spend on beer wine or ricard for Euro 2016
Wound you up and I bet if you had continued to kick off about the "forged" receipt you would in the morning be in court.
From the experience of a "friend" who joined the 750 club a few years back...
Licence and cash removed, but a receipt was issued for the full amount. Passenger took over driving duties for the rest of the weekend. Returned to UK, and my "friends" licence arrived back by the end of the month. A few days later there was a recorded delivery letter from the French courts, that confirmed the fine was set at e750, and had been paid in full. The driver was also banned for 2 months, and their licence would be returned in due course.
My "friend" has since been back to France in the same car and driven like he was chauffeuring Ms. Daisy.
Licence and cash removed, but a receipt was issued for the full amount. Passenger took over driving duties for the rest of the weekend. Returned to UK, and my "friends" licence arrived back by the end of the month. A few days later there was a recorded delivery letter from the French courts, that confirmed the fine was set at e750, and had been paid in full. The driver was also banned for 2 months, and their licence would be returned in due course.
My "friend" has since been back to France in the same car and driven like he was chauffeuring Ms. Daisy.
My view was always that keeping it under 160 means you might get nicked, and that you paid the 90 EUR with a big smile and TBH, I couldn't care less if they spent the money on hookers at the next junction.
Over 160 it gets a bit more interesting, so only exceed that when you are very alert, have Waze up, and are following a convoy of Belgians. Belgians drive like maniacs and seem to have a sixth sense for plod.
Over 160 it gets a bit more interesting, so only exceed that when you are very alert, have Waze up, and are following a convoy of Belgians. Belgians drive like maniacs and seem to have a sixth sense for plod.
anothernameitist said:
I can accept that and would be narked too.
Thay have won in a few ways:
260e to spend on beer wine or ricard for Euro 2016
Wound you up and I bet if you had continued to kick off about the "forged" receipt you would in the morning be in court.
His body language represented the kind that would indeed love to put my ass in prison for the night so I shut up real fast, got my newly written on gold lead paper and disappeared fast..at the speed limit of course and thankful I had another engineer with me on this run!Thay have won in a few ways:
260e to spend on beer wine or ricard for Euro 2016
Wound you up and I bet if you had continued to kick off about the "forged" receipt you would in the morning be in court.
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