French police nab cannonball run drivers.

[Dr JonboyG]

Marquis_Rex said:

Down with the rich !DOWN with the rich!
It's not FAIR that they have money and I don't!

Er, it's more like I have class and they certainly don't.

em. Cocks like them drive recklessly and irresponsibly, and when the law is looking for an opportunity to further crack down on the roads, tttish behaviour like this only gives them an excuse.

You want to race? Take it to the ing track. For the £40k entrance fee you could afford a season or two.

[apache]

Marquis_Rex said:

Paul-C said:

Marquis_Rex said:

Down with the rich !DOWN with the rich!
It's not FAIR that they have money and I don't!

At least you are honest rather than disguising your jealousy as a righteous dig

There was sarcasm in my comment - I hope you got!
I abhor the jealous bitter attitude that seems to be mainly prevalent in the UK, particularly the Chavy areas!

amen to that, if I had the dosh I'd be in there myself

[apache]

code monkey said:

pretty much anytime I watch coverage of the cannonball on men and motors or any other channel the cars are being driven dangerously and with no regard to other drivers.

mate, it's TV, it isn't going to appeal to the great unwashed if every shot is of a well driven car

[M@H]

Big_M said:

And I have earned the right to be self righteous - 30 years of driving and nil points

...well thats just jinxed it

[nel]

apache said:

amen to that, if I had the dosh I'd be in there myself

If you mean that if you had the wonga you'd be cannonballing yourself then all I can say is each to his own. It wouldn't be my cup of tea even if I was rolling in it, but even so I don't feel like judging the two who got caught in the absence of the facts. I've gone much faster than 240 kph on an empty french motorway so don't have an issue with the speed.

Anyway, the cops have now established a system that I don't agree with, so I'm happy when someone speeding safely gets away with it. Hell, even the guy in his porker turbo caught burning round the M25 who then got off on a technicality - good for him just because it's one in the eye for the repressive authorities.

[sadako]

nel said:

apache said:

amen to that, if I had the dosh I'd be in there myself

If you mean that if you had the wonga you'd be cannonballing yourself then all I can say is each to his own. It wouldn't be my cup of tea even if I was rolling in it, but even so I don't feel like judging the two who got caught in the absence of the facts. I've gone much faster than 240 kph on an empty french motorway so don't have an issue with the speed.

Anyway, the cops have now established a system that I don't agree with, so I'm happy when someone speeding safely gets away with it. Hell, even the guy in his porker turbo caught burning round the M25 who then got off on a technicality - good for him just because it's one in the eye for the repressive authorities.

When the CPS starts to uphold the letter of the law without regard for the spirit of the law, it is only fair we do likewise

[Marki]

nel said:

but even so I don't feel like judging the two who got caught in the absence of the facts. I've gone much faster than 240 kph on an empty french motorway so don't have an issue with the speed.

Nor do i but the facts seem to be that they were speeding and got nicked .

[towman]

dazren said:

Observation is not enough, gone are the days where speed enforcment was carried out in the sporting manner of "the driver's spotted us so, he's concentrating, we'll ignore him". I've known of French Police zapping people from behind bushes. No sliproads or bridges etc, just a loan motorbike cop parked up behind a hedge! with cars being pulled over further up the autoroute.

DAZ

They have a new trick - One high profile speed trap followed by a hidden one about half a mile later!

[mr_tony]

HAving spent 2 weeks hooning about france recently some observations on avoiding french traffic police :

1. If you're going to speed do it early in teh am. French cops don't get up early it seems. NEver saw a single one before 8am.

2. Lunchtime is also a good time to comit criminal acts in France - everybody in rurla france stops for lunch for 2 hours - the streets empty, and (yes it's true!) the cafes shut for lunch. The cops also go off for a good 5 course and sportingly expect you to as well.

3. AFter 6p[m - every self respecting Gendarme is heading home via the bar/

4. Stay off the autoroutes. This helps a lot. During my entire day on the Route Napoleon / Col de Vence (I saw no cops of any kind from one end near lyon to the other 6 hours later).

5. If you can't stay off the autoroutes then anywhere within 100 miles of Calais you stick to the limit dead on. Away from there then things seem a litle better. Other than that avoid the obvious traps by knowing where the peage is and slowing down several miles in advance - many lazy traps are set within a couple of km of the peyage so they've got you stationary...

[flemke]

mr_tony said:

3. AFter 6p[m - every self respecting Gendarme is heading home via the bar

Have been pulled at 9:15 pm on the Autoroute by a pair of cops operating a speed trap on the overpass of a junction, their car hidden by bushes.

[nel]

flemke said:

mr_tony said:

3. AFter 6p[m - every self respecting Gendarme is heading home via the bar

Have been pulled at 9:15 pm on the Autoroute by a pair of cops operating a speed trap on the overpass of a junction, their car hidden by bushes.

Have twice been flashed (and completely fecking blinded!) by mobile radar units in the early hours of the morning, i.e. 1 and 2 a.m. respectively. One was on a motorway, the other on a dual carriageway 'nationale', both unlit and empty at the time of the offence. Got a brief ban for the latter unfortunately.

Even those with the best 'nose' for a speed trap - I challenge you to detect a car with radar unit parked 3/4s obscured behind a bridge support on an unlit road.....unless you have a radar detector. Have to say, despite the sanctions for these devices in France I'm toying with buying one for late night drives.

[smilerbaker]

Dr JonboyG said:

Marquis_Rex said:

Down with the rich !DOWN with the rich!
It's not FAIR that they have money and I don't!

Er, it's more like I have class and they certainly don't.

em. Cocks like them drive recklessly and irresponsibly, and when the law is looking for an opportunity to further crack down on the roads, tttish behaviour like this only gives them an excuse.

You want to race? Take it to the ing track. For the £40k entrance fee you could afford a season or two.

is £4500 entry fee not 40k

[johnph]

Dr JonboyG said:

Marquis_Rex said:

Down with the rich !DOWN with the rich!
It's not FAIR that they have money and I don't!

Er, it's more like I have class and they certainly don't.

em. Cocks like them drive recklessly and irresponsibly, and when the law is looking for an opportunity to further crack down on the roads, tttish behaviour like this only gives them an excuse.

You want to race? Take it to the ing track. For the £40k entrance fee you could afford a season or two.

Agree with you there - they ruin the image of sportscars and portray people who own sportscars as reckless and stupid which we know is far from the truth. Cropley mentioned them in autocar a few weeks ago saying they give motorsport a bad name.

[mr_tony]

nel said:

flemke said:

mr_tony said:

3. AFter 6p[m - every self respecting Gendarme is heading home via the bar

Have been pulled at 9:15 pm on the Autoroute by a pair of cops operating a speed trap on the overpass of a junction, their car hidden by bushes.

Have twice been flashed (and completely fecking blinded!) by mobile radar units in the early hours of the morning, i.e. 1 and 2 a.m. respectively. One was on a motorway, the other on a dual carriageway 'nationale', both unlit and empty at the time of the offence. Got a brief ban for the latter unfortunately.

Even those with the best 'nose' for a speed trap - I challenge you to detect a car with radar unit parked 3/4s obscured behind a bridge support on an unlit road.....unless you have a radar detector. Have to say, despite the sanctions for these devices in France I'm toying with buying one for late night drives.

Ouch!
You guys probably do a lot mmore milage in France than I, but I guess I don't tend to drive much at night over there anyway. I guess though on the major routes, and around the bigger cities / transport hubs like calais there are cops around all the time I've just been lucky (or inobservant) nto to see them.

Despite not seeing many police at all I drove much more conservatively in France this summer due to the EVO story. The route Napoleon really was handy here as the road is challenging enough to enjoy at reasonably sane speeds a lot of the time..

They certainly are sneaky though - saw on the way back from Eurohoon earlier in the year - a very obvious trap followed by a hidden one only a couple of miles later. Gits!

[tinman0]

nel said:

Hard luck to those who got caught, even though I'm not sure that you do other performance car drivers a great favour. Presumably that means that 28 runners slipped the net and have (by now) finished hooning across Italy, hopefully without incident.

there are only 30 vehicles on Cannonball?

[Dr JonboyG]

smilerbaker said:

Dr JonboyG said:

Marquis_Rex said:

Down with the rich !DOWN with the rich!
It's not FAIR that they have money and I don't!

Er, it's more like I have class and they certainly don't.

em. Cocks like them drive recklessly and irresponsibly, and when the law is looking for an opportunity to further crack down on the roads, tttish behaviour like this only gives them an excuse.

You want to race? Take it to the ing track. For the £40k entrance fee you could afford a season or two.

is £4500 entry fee not 40k

Cannonball, Gumball, all the same rubbish.

[Marki]

Dr JonboyG said:

Cannonball, Gumball, all the same rubbish.

[nel]

Just heard on French radio on the way home - probably be in the British press tomorrow.

The court at Bethune found them guilty of racing on the A26 at speeds of up to 200 kph (shock horror - not 125 mph!!). 3 month suspended prison sentence, Ferrari and Porsche definitively confiscated for sale by the state, and 1000€ fines! Talk about an over-reaction to a victimless crime! Same problem as in the UK - you'd get less than that for GBH in France! I assume that the vehicle confiscation will be over-turned on appeal or by a European court, but they have certainly sent a strong signal about Gumballs, Cannonballs, etc.

[tinman0]

nel said:

Just heard on French radio on the way home - probably be in the British press tomorrow.

The court at Bethune found them guilty of racing on the A26 at speeds of up to 200 kph (shock horror - not 125 mph!!). 3 month suspended prison sentence, Ferrari and Porsche definitively confiscated for sale by the state, and 1000€ fines! Talk about an over-reaction to a victimless crime! Same problem as in the UK - you'd get less than that for GBH in France! I assume that the vehicle confiscation will be over-turned on appeal or by a European court, but they have certainly sent a strong signal about Gumballs, Cannonballs, etc.

They key word here is "racing".

[dazren]

tinman0 said:

They key word here is "racing".

Totally agree. OF course how do you define the term? Two cars doing more than the posted limit. They can't be just driving in convoy, they must be racing each other!

DAZ