Le Mans Trip - Scamera/Laser detector question?
Discussion
If, as I understand it, all the Road Angel does is warn you when you are near a GPS point taken from a database, then it's perfectly legal to use it in France.
What is forbidden here is the use of devices which can detect speed measuring devices or interfere with them.
For those interested (and who can read legal French!) here is a link to the law text: http://www.easydroit.fr/codes-et-lois/article-R413...
What is forbidden here is the use of devices which can detect speed measuring devices or interfere with them.
For those interested (and who can read legal French!) here is a link to the law text: http://www.easydroit.fr/codes-et-lois/article-R413...
If you are travelling on French motorways you are VERY likely to come across a radar speed trap.
You might not even notice it (I saw a Renault 4 van with a camera this year - well disguised etc).
When you get to the next toll booth a friendly and smiley member of the gendarme will ask you to pull over into a lay-by.
I drive in France every year (to Chamonix) and now never go 'too fast' - I stick the car in cruise control etc...
I have driven to Le Mans, in a TVR Cerbera, but avoided the motorways. That was 5 or so years ago and I think its got worse even since then. So I think the only way to do it is to not drive 'too fast' and cruise down.
But saying that the standard of driving is very poor from some the French - inches from your tail, indicating and flashing to get you to pull out of the fast lane even if you are in an overtaking manoeuvre yourself. They then flash past at 100 mph plus. It does feel like the French are less likely to get pulled than the Brits but I suspect that the reality is somewhat different.
You might not even notice it (I saw a Renault 4 van with a camera this year - well disguised etc).
When you get to the next toll booth a friendly and smiley member of the gendarme will ask you to pull over into a lay-by.
I drive in France every year (to Chamonix) and now never go 'too fast' - I stick the car in cruise control etc...
I have driven to Le Mans, in a TVR Cerbera, but avoided the motorways. That was 5 or so years ago and I think its got worse even since then. So I think the only way to do it is to not drive 'too fast' and cruise down.
But saying that the standard of driving is very poor from some the French - inches from your tail, indicating and flashing to get you to pull out of the fast lane even if you are in an overtaking manoeuvre yourself. They then flash past at 100 mph plus. It does feel like the French are less likely to get pulled than the Brits but I suspect that the reality is somewhat different.
There are in fact far less speed traps in France than in the UK. Most of them are in fixed locations and any GPS software should be able to warn you about them (and that's legal here). They will catch you even if you're driving only 1 kph faster than the limit. But the good news is that you will never receive the ticket if you're on foreign plates 
There are also "mobile" speed traps, either integrated in the back of a police car (usually Fords these days but I recently saw a Renault Mégane) or laser binoculars in the hands of a hiding policeman. Those will usually have a tolerance, they will very rarely stop you for less than 20 kph more than the limit. The integrated speed traps will act like the fixed ones : you will never receive any fine. You will only get arrested if you've been caught by binoculars.
The fine then is only 45 euros (reduced from the normal 90 euros if you pay on the spot) as long as you were doing less than 30 kph above the limit.
I always drive 20 kph above the speed limits, I only see mobile speed traps a couple of times every year and haven't got a speeding ticket for years. The only two tickets I got were by 1 kph, at times when I thought I was going exactly at the speed limit!
There are also "mobile" speed traps, either integrated in the back of a police car (usually Fords these days but I recently saw a Renault Mégane) or laser binoculars in the hands of a hiding policeman. Those will usually have a tolerance, they will very rarely stop you for less than 20 kph more than the limit. The integrated speed traps will act like the fixed ones : you will never receive any fine. You will only get arrested if you've been caught by binoculars.
The fine then is only 45 euros (reduced from the normal 90 euros if you pay on the spot) as long as you were doing less than 30 kph above the limit.
I always drive 20 kph above the speed limits, I only see mobile speed traps a couple of times every year and haven't got a speeding ticket for years. The only two tickets I got were by 1 kph, at times when I thought I was going exactly at the speed limit!
Thank you gentlemen. It's been a long while since I toured France. I will be landing in Le Havre and intend to (wherever possible) stay off the toll and autoroutes and take the more leisurely "B" roads down to Le Mans. Having said that, I may well get carried away on occasion with the smooth black stuff and have no clue what the general rule of thumb is on the "B" roads. The French seem to use a plethora of E and A and D etc., etc, numbers, so what would generally be an acceptable speed (in mph please) on such roads? Does the speed limit drop aggressively when entering villages (like in the UK)? Should I expect any/many/some mobile laser gun toting gendarmes along these roads (being Le Mans week)?
Road classifications in France (UK equivalent in brackets):
A: autoroute (motorway). 130km/h (82MPH) speed limit in rural areas, dropping to 110km/h (68MPH) in rain and in urban areas.
N: route nationale ('A' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
D: route départementale (cross between 'A' and 'B' roads). 90km/h (56MPH)
C: route communale ('B' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
All speeds are unless otherwise stated, eg. you may come across non-motorway dual carriageways (larger 'N' roads) posted at 110km/h (68MPH). Some EU inter-state roads will also carry an 'E' classification as well as the French one (eg. A16/E402)
When entering a village you will pass a rectangular sign in the verge. It will be white, with the town/village name on it in black, with a red border. The speed limit implicitly drops to 50km/h at this point. On the approach to some towns/villages an intermediate speed limit might be posted, eg. 70km/h (45MPH). As you exit the town/village, the name sign sppears again with a red diagonal line through it. The speed limit implicitly changes back at that point.
A: autoroute (motorway). 130km/h (82MPH) speed limit in rural areas, dropping to 110km/h (68MPH) in rain and in urban areas.
N: route nationale ('A' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
D: route départementale (cross between 'A' and 'B' roads). 90km/h (56MPH)
C: route communale ('B' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
All speeds are unless otherwise stated, eg. you may come across non-motorway dual carriageways (larger 'N' roads) posted at 110km/h (68MPH). Some EU inter-state roads will also carry an 'E' classification as well as the French one (eg. A16/E402)
When entering a village you will pass a rectangular sign in the verge. It will be white, with the town/village name on it in black, with a red border. The speed limit implicitly drops to 50km/h at this point. On the approach to some towns/villages an intermediate speed limit might be posted, eg. 70km/h (45MPH). As you exit the town/village, the name sign sppears again with a red diagonal line through it. The speed limit implicitly changes back at that point.
Cider Andy said:
Road classifications in France (UK equivalent in brackets):
A: autoroute (motorway). 130km/h (82MPH) speed limit in rural areas, dropping to 110km/h (68MPH) in rain and in urban areas.
N: route nationale ('A' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
D: route départementale (cross between 'A' and 'B' roads). 90km/h (56MPH)
C: route communale ('B' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
All speeds are unless otherwise stated, eg. you may come across non-motorway dual carriageways (larger 'N' roads) posted at 110km/h (68MPH). Some EU inter-state roads will also carry an 'E' classification as well as the French one (eg. A16/E402)
When entering a village you will pass a rectangular sign in the verge. It will be white, with the town/village name on it in black, with a red border. The speed limit implicitly drops to 50km/h at this point. On the approach to some towns/villages an intermediate speed limit might be posted, eg. 70km/h (45MPH). As you exit the town/village, the name sign sppears again with a red diagonal line through it. The speed limit implicitly changes back at that point.
Thanks for that Andy.A: autoroute (motorway). 130km/h (82MPH) speed limit in rural areas, dropping to 110km/h (68MPH) in rain and in urban areas.
N: route nationale ('A' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
D: route départementale (cross between 'A' and 'B' roads). 90km/h (56MPH)
C: route communale ('B' road). 90km/h (56MPH)
All speeds are unless otherwise stated, eg. you may come across non-motorway dual carriageways (larger 'N' roads) posted at 110km/h (68MPH). Some EU inter-state roads will also carry an 'E' classification as well as the French one (eg. A16/E402)
When entering a village you will pass a rectangular sign in the verge. It will be white, with the town/village name on it in black, with a red border. The speed limit implicitly drops to 50km/h at this point. On the approach to some towns/villages an intermediate speed limit might be posted, eg. 70km/h (45MPH). As you exit the town/village, the name sign sppears again with a red diagonal line through it. The speed limit implicitly changes back at that point.
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff