Speeding in Europe
Discussion
I have just had an on the spot fine in France of 5000 F/Fr. I had to pay up in cash or have the car impounded till it was paid. It took 2 hours to get the money. I was accused of doing 193km/h on the A26 approacing Calais in Bethune. But the Gendarmes would not show me any proof of their claim, Just the obligatory shoulder shrug. Do any readers have any thoughts or knowledge in this area. Apparently they have three tarrifs 130 to 169 = 600 F/Fr. 169 to 179 = 900 F/Fr anything over 179 you get 5000 F/Fr I just wish I had been in something quick to have made it worthwhile.
The Gendarme usually wait for tourists to zoom past and then guess their speed.
You get stopped and given an on the spot fine (and even taken to a ATM to get the money). Most of the time the money goes straight into their pockets.
I have a friend who now lives in Paris and speaks fluent French and even he could not get a decent explanation out of them. He complained to the local JP (don't know what they are called in France) and the JP said that the Gendarme's word was all he needed to prosecute.
You get stopped and given an on the spot fine (and even taken to a ATM to get the money). Most of the time the money goes straight into their pockets.
I have a friend who now lives in Paris and speaks fluent French and even he could not get a decent explanation out of them. He complained to the local JP (don't know what they are called in France) and the JP said that the Gendarme's word was all he needed to prosecute.
10 years ago (or so) I was stopped just after a peage, and fined about 1,000 francs (can't remember the speed) they had taken the average speed between peage, and calculated that I must have been speeding over the distance.
Funnily enough, about 6 weeks later I had a credit paid to my bank account, for about 300 francs, as a result (I can only guess) of when it went before le beak.
Funnily enough, about 6 weeks later I had a credit paid to my bank account, for about 300 francs, as a result (I can only guess) of when it went before le beak.
The approach to the Calais Peage is always a hot target for picking off speeders (particularly Brits)
Usually, they have some old banger parked on the hard shoulder about 10 miles away with a speed camera in the boot. Then they radio the reg and speed up to the Gendarmes at the toll booth.
This is what happened to me a couple of years ago!
It's one to watch out for, particularly after Le Mans.
Usually, they have some old banger parked on the hard shoulder about 10 miles away with a speed camera in the boot. Then they radio the reg and speed up to the Gendarmes at the toll booth.
This is what happened to me a couple of years ago!
It's one to watch out for, particularly after Le Mans.
quote:
The approach to the Calais Peage is always a hot target for picking off speeders (particularly Brits)
Usually, they have some old banger parked on the hard shoulder about 10 miles away with a speed camera in the boot. Then they radio the reg and speed up to the Gendarmes at the toll booth.
This is what happened to me a couple of years ago!
It's one to watch out for, particularly after Le Mans.
...and it's still happening.
Saturday Jan.5th 2002, 16:00h - Dark blue Volvo estate parked in a lay-by 25 miles from the peage on the A26 with a camera in the front, facing forwards - you only see the flash if you check your mirror as you go past (I did). Then another - usually a marked police car (out of sight)in a service road entrance about 10 miles short of the peage with a pod mounted camera (saw him first and I can vouch for the claimed braking power of the Cerbera) Phew!!
Strangely enough, I didn't get stopped at all - and neither did the other 6 or 7 cars that passed the unmarked car at about the same time as me, well above the 130kmph limit.
Nevertheless, I consider myself very lucky and will never, ever, ever, even dream of doing more than 130kmph on french autoroutes again........ until I've bought a detector, a couple of grill mounted HARM launchers and a Chaff dispenser, that is.
Edited by octane junkie on Thursday 10th January 18:33
quote:
Strangely enough, I didn't get stopped at all - and neither did the other 6 or 7 cars that passed the unmarked car at about the same time as me, well above the 130kmph limit.
Edited by octane junkie on Thursday 10th January 18:33
I've been on that stretch of motorway more often than I've had hot dinners, on the way to/from Germany.
In my view, if the motorway is pretty empty and you're below 160 km/h (= 100 mph), they'll either not bother or let you off lightly.
Watch the belgians though, they deliberately target foreigners. A friend got done doing 138 km/h instead of 120 km/h (11 mph more than allowed), and they socked him for 130 Quid
Rgds, WalterU
I got flashed in the Summer when heading towards Le Mans in my Cerby on the pre qualifing weekend, we were chasing a GTS-R Viper for a closer look (you dont see many of the R's on the road) and were doing about 240kmh when we went past a crappy old estate with a flash, can only presume we were going too fast or something.
We have family in France and I am told if you get caught speeding above 180kmh you are in the sh*t, with 5000FF (£500) fines and a possible custodial sentence. Good job we did not get caught last September when we top ended my 996 down the A26, it did 293kmh flat out - which i think is almost 180mph!
Benno
Edited by bennno on Thursday 10th January 22:34
We have family in France and I am told if you get caught speeding above 180kmh you are in the sh*t, with 5000FF (£500) fines and a possible custodial sentence. Good job we did not get caught last September when we top ended my 996 down the A26, it did 293kmh flat out - which i think is almost 180mph!
Benno
Edited by bennno on Thursday 10th January 22:34
I was chatting to an italian chappy the other day who knows all the european speeding rules very well ( drives a new ferrari every year!!GULP)and i met him at a racing course..
apparently with the three speeding bands in france relate also to the amount of paper work they have to fill out
600ff is about 5 lines
900 ff is about 1 page
5000ff is about 5 pages
when i got stopped on the way back from Le Mans in 2000 at 217KPH i should have got the full 500quid but i played very dumb and apolgetic and couldnt find half the documents the conversations was somthing like
Do you have your driving licence
erm no i forgot it
do you have the registration
erm no i didnt bring it
do you have your passport
er yeah somewhere franticly emptying the boot looking for it
do you have erm (slight pause) 600ff
Oh yes sir here.
Ok then takes the money writes out a recipt
then writes 217kph on a piece of paper puts a line through it shakes his head and writes 110kph.
we shake hands and bugger off.
This italian chappy said i was very very lucky and it must have been down to the paper work he didnt want to fill out, as because i got a receipt he must have put it through the system...
apparently with the three speeding bands in france relate also to the amount of paper work they have to fill out
600ff is about 5 lines
900 ff is about 1 page
5000ff is about 5 pages
when i got stopped on the way back from Le Mans in 2000 at 217KPH i should have got the full 500quid but i played very dumb and apolgetic and couldnt find half the documents the conversations was somthing like
Do you have your driving licence
erm no i forgot it
do you have the registration
erm no i didnt bring it
do you have your passport
er yeah somewhere franticly emptying the boot looking for it
do you have erm (slight pause) 600ff
Oh yes sir here.
Ok then takes the money writes out a recipt
then writes 217kph on a piece of paper puts a line through it shakes his head and writes 110kph.
we shake hands and bugger off.
This italian chappy said i was very very lucky and it must have been down to the paper work he didnt want to fill out, as because i got a receipt he must have put it through the system...
quote:
Watch the belgians though, they deliberately target foreigners. A friend got done doing 138 km/h instead of 120 km/h (11 mph more than allowed), and they socked him for 130 Quid
Rgds, WalterU
I don't speed in Belgium, Walter - it makes the fillings fall out of my teeth, the roads are so bad. First time I tried it, on the E40 between Bruxelles and Liege, I had to go back and collect all the bits that had fallen off the Cerbera - even the latch plate fell off when I opend the door!! Oh, and does anyone know why they turn the lights out on the E17 at night??
quote:
I don't speed in Belgium, Walter - it makes the fillings fall out of my teeth, the roads are so bad. First time I tried it, on the E40 between Bruxelles and Liege, I had to go back and collect all the bits that had fallen off the Cerbera - even the latch plate fell off when I opend the door!! Oh, and does anyone know why they turn the lights out on the E17 at night??
that will be the "King Baudouin highway" then. That used to be the worst motorway in Western Europe (and that includes East Germany!)
. Its now improved considerably. I don't know when they resurfaced it - I rarely cross over to Germany via Aachen, almost always via Venlo.
In the old days I got shaken so much on that motorway I had to have a piss every 30 mins.
Rgds, WalterU
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