Speed Detectors

[phil_dougan]

I am planning a drive down to st Tropez with the missus next year but i want to fit a speed camera n plod detector to the car which is the best do u all think???

[DucatiGary]

tomtom sat nav with the speed camera overlay.

the french BiB have a very shallow view on radar/laser detectors and the maximum fine for using one is some crazy amount of euro's, although im told they usually just stop you give you a hard time and stamp on the detector.

with a tomtom sat nav, you just say its a sat nav.

ive got eh french camera overlay if you want it, I got it of a french website for free, if you want me to email it you send me a mssg through my profile.

[sleep envy]

phil_dougan said:

I am planning a drive down to st Tropez with the missus next year but i want to fit a speed camera n plod detector to the car which is the best do u all think???

make sure you've got €750 spare just in case les flics see your detecteur, zey nes pas like zem you rosbif

[phil_dougan]

hahah @ that french lingo have you been using linguaphone!!! i shall have a look at these tom toms and get back to u "ducattigary"

[bigbox]

I got caught flying (not literally) through France doing 159kph (the flic showed us the speed gun) - no insurance docs / no drivers licence - just a passport as proof of ID... got €90 fine which to be honest was a massive relief (especially considering the speeds we'd been doing prior to that as we were having to knock off 1h 30m from the Tomtom guesstimate to catch our ferry)

[tracer.smart]

I have a Bel 550 laser detector, as well as a Tom Tom 910. The Bel works for all frequencies in use across Western Europe - have used successfully in France, Belgium (very important for these two as generally want to get through them as fast as possible), Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. For maximum effect have a co-pilot with generous cleavage so she can stash both devices in the event you're stopped by ze Politzei or Gendarmes.

[wetwipe]

In a five day trip in France we were stopped three times by plod. Nicked for speeding twice and pulled once for, in the first instance being british and secondly because we were running below the speed limit they assumed we had detctors and wanted to search the cars.

Be in no doubt. If you get caught with one in France you will receive a huge bollocking, a smashed detector, and a financial shafting.

Best advice is to be good on the autoroutes, find some twistys and then really hammer it as they are not policed at all.

[cyberface]

Is there any way of using a GPS-equipped laptop... I'd be wary of using a Tomtom since a particularly spiteful gendarme could claim it's a radar detector and smash it up, whereas a laptop / mapping software / gps is a lot less suspicious.

I've used Autoroute with GPS for live mapping on a laptop before but not sure if speed camera databases are available in the correct format for the software to use. If the speed camera databases are open and documented then it'd be a piece of piss to convert to the correct format for the software you're using, of course.

I guess the pocket PC / palm pilot option would be more portable, but then again a particularly uninformed gendarme could mistake it for a Road Angel or similar.

They're really trying to make all English drivers unwelcome aren't they?

[bcnrml]

wetwipe said:

Best advice is to be good on the autoroutes,

Agreed, especially between Paris and the Channel, and within about 100 miles South of Paris, and usually near Le Mans. Nice post and pictures elsewhere, by the way Wetwipe. Got some questions to ask you (will do so via the other thread).

wetwipe said:

find some twistys and then really hammer it as they are not policed at all.

However, be careful on the twisties around the Millau, Aurillac and Clermont Ferrand areas (if they are on your route). These are very eagerly policed (scoobies and bikes).

If you use the A10-A71-A75 route, you can make rapid progress when you get to the A71 and A75, but be careful southbound after a rest area called Gites aux Loup (scoobies and a gendarmerie post within 20km of that place).

The French speed camera database (previously mentioned by another poster) seems to be regularly updated, so keep checking before you go.

As DucatiGary posted earlier, TomTom with speed camera overlay should easily do (kept me out of trouble for three years). Never had problems with the Gendarmerie - loads of others use it, so not unusual.

Edited by bcnrml on Tuesday 24th October 18:58

[phil_dougan]

great advice guys, thanks very much!!! :thumbsup:

[tracer.smart]

Re GPS laptop - closest I came to it was T-Mobile SD phone and Co-Pilot.

Co-Pilot is a complete waste of money - I used it on a European Road trip and it caused more frustration than the Italians style of driving. Phone crashed repeatedly or locked up, instructions were confused, maps were out of date and customer support frankly not very helpful. It almost had my co-pilot in tears of frustration as we hadn't brought paper backups. We now have a large collection of roadmaps...

The Tom Tom 910 is in comparison amazing. I used it for getting around at the WRC this year in Finland. The maps were spot on - even down to the dirt tracks in the forest. Have also used with no hassle in Germany, France and Belgium this year. Speed camera alerting is a sub-feature, but in combination with my Bel 550 gives you certainty. I generally get first warning from the 910, then second / final from the 550 which also picks up laser.

[Yex]

The Gendarmes will search the whole car if they want to be really awkward. Someone I know was late for his ferry a while back and was pulled over after being radar gunned for a rather silly speed. He offered to pay whatever they were going to fine him but they searched the whole car and found his detector hidden under some bags in the boot. It was obviously not being used but he was heavily fined for speeding and being in possession of the detector and also had his license revoked on the spot. He had to arrange for someone to fly out to collect car and drive back as well as paying for fines etc and losing his detector.

Guess it depends on the guy(s) who pull you over but they do seem to err on the side of ba**ard.

Yex