travelling without v5

[micky metro]

3 of us going in my t5 campervan, booked for 3am ferry at dover on wednesday, spent weekend sorting van out etc and travel documents etc but for the life of me i cannot find my v5, i suspect i have binned it by mistake. Whats the likely scenario if i travel without it?

[David W.]

Doubt any of the 1000s trucks travelling between uk and Europe each day carry a v5.

[gasmangt3]

Every year I religiously pack documents, safety kit etc, and in 20 years Ive never been asked for any of it, so you will be fine, Im in the same boat as you this year in that I cant find my V5

[Super Slo Mo]

David W. said:

Doubt any of the 1000s trucks travelling between uk and Europe each day carry a v5.

I bet they do.

In my experience, if you get stopped and asked for your documents, you will be in for some pain if you don't have them. A photocopy or scan will not suffice.
The odds of you being stopped might be slim, although I don't know with regards Le Mans, but I have had fleet vehicles held overnight, and prevented from moving on the occasions when they had a rush job to get into Europe and forgot the paperwork.

[Output Flange]

I got stopped for speeding last year and didn't have my V5 with me.

It didn't seem to matter.

[psi310398]

It's a risk. I'd say 9 times out of 10, you would probably get away with it. I'm in and out of France at least once a month and have not been asked for papers for years.

But the Le Mans dimension changes the odds; I suspect that Frogplod will be sitting like jackals around a waterhole waiting to pick off British motorists on their way to Le Mans. That has been their MO in past years.

You only need to come across a Gendarme in a bad mood for it to cause you a world of pain and it is not uncommon for French policemen to be grumpy/foul/vindictive, rather it is their default mode, especially on very hot and busy weekends.

If you are going to risk it, I'd advise sticking to the speed limits and ensuring that your vehicle is entirely legal and do not draw attention to yourself at all.

You might also want to keep off the autoroutes as that is where they will concentrate their efforts.

I drove from Frejus to Calais a couple of weeks ago cross country and did not see a police car outside a settlement over three days. There is a lot of France and not so many police.

HTH

Peter