French police roadside ban for speeding
Discussion
Currently biking home through France.
Got pulled over by cops and they took my wife's licence immediately. They let me off thankfully and made it clear they were doing me a favour.
But it did leave us stuck by the side of the road with 2 bikes, lots of luggage and only one rider.
Despite being slightly smug that I was clocked at a lower speed than the missus I'm now faced with the difficulty of getting back to UK and then returning for the second bike.
Bang to rights for exceeding the limits by a good margin although not dangerously so and the roads are so empty and flowing it's hard to resist. We were doing 130kph in a 90.
They took all our cash in fines too.
Can you imagine if UK cops started doing that to foreigners visiting Blighty.
Any tips on how to get the second bike back gratefully received.
I had to knock on a door in the village were we were stopped and ask a stranger to store it for me.
About 300 miles from calais
Had been a great 2000 mile trip until that point.
Been through France a few times without trouble so obviously a bit overconfident re speeding I guess.
My bad
But wife takes the rap.
Lol
Got pulled over by cops and they took my wife's licence immediately. They let me off thankfully and made it clear they were doing me a favour.
But it did leave us stuck by the side of the road with 2 bikes, lots of luggage and only one rider.
Despite being slightly smug that I was clocked at a lower speed than the missus I'm now faced with the difficulty of getting back to UK and then returning for the second bike.
Bang to rights for exceeding the limits by a good margin although not dangerously so and the roads are so empty and flowing it's hard to resist. We were doing 130kph in a 90.
They took all our cash in fines too.
Can you imagine if UK cops started doing that to foreigners visiting Blighty.
Any tips on how to get the second bike back gratefully received.
I had to knock on a door in the village were we were stopped and ask a stranger to store it for me.
About 300 miles from calais
Had been a great 2000 mile trip until that point.
Been through France a few times without trouble so obviously a bit overconfident re speeding I guess.
My bad
But wife takes the rap.
Lol
It was a small D road. I was keeping off the main N roads and assuming the chances of a cop with a speed gun on a quiet back road with hardly any traffic was unlikely on a Sunday.
How wrong I was.
Also thought about just riding them both home but the cop was very clear about watching for the bike and instant jail if caught.
Not a risk the wife was willing to take.
How wrong I was.
Also thought about just riding them both home but the cop was very clear about watching for the bike and instant jail if caught.
Not a risk the wife was willing to take.
Yes good thinking.
I looked at that but today the only option seems to be 3 to 6 bus journeys via Paris ending with a long taxi ride from Langres if I can get one. Could be a 9 hour journey down.
It's a Bank Holiday here today and everything shut. Also I have to be at an important work event tomorrow.
Might get the Eurostar London to Paris next Friday and then down to Langres from Paris.
Would prefer to send a van
A real ball ache in any event.
I looked at that but today the only option seems to be 3 to 6 bus journeys via Paris ending with a long taxi ride from Langres if I can get one. Could be a 9 hour journey down.
It's a Bank Holiday here today and everything shut. Also I have to be at an important work event tomorrow.
Might get the Eurostar London to Paris next Friday and then down to Langres from Paris.
Would prefer to send a van
A real ball ache in any event.
vonhosen said:
What road was it?
Link?
They pulled us over right here on the d619 after overtaking us in their police car.Link?
https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?u...
near 4-6 Route nationale, 52800 Marnay-sur-Marne, France
I have no idea where they were clocking our speed I guess a couple of miles further back
Edited by A993LAD on Monday 21st May 20:47
Edited by A993LAD on Monday 21st May 20:53
Edited by A993LAD on Monday 21st May 20:54
Edited by A993LAD on Wednesday 23 May 12:43
Zarco said:
Has the OP got the bike back yet?
No not yet sadly but we only returned to the UK on Monday and I have been trying to sort something out.Got a couple of quotes from van delivery people but nothing that can be done very quickly.
Meanwhile we have at least dispatched a bouquet of flowers to the lovely French pensioner that is housing the bike in her garage.
We also got a French friend to phone her and explain in more detail what had happened because she didn't speak any English and our French is very poor.
I'm not sure they want to house the bike for very long so I might have to get on the Eurostar to Paris and then another train out to the bike and ride the bloody thing home again.
What an unnecessary ball ache which is costing me a fortune and completely ruining what could have been quite a good holiday.
Meanwhile my wife has become quite the minor celebrity amongst her friends and acquaintances once she posted on Facebook that she been banned for speeding on her motorbike.
As the OP for this thread I thought I should provide a quick update for anybody interested.
Firstly, we have now repatriated my wife's bike although we have spent much of the week since we returned trying to sort out the bike collection as well as having to make regular calls to the slightly pissed off family of the pensioner couple that agreed to house the bike when we were forced to leave it at the location where we were stopped by the French police.
Top marks to Mike from motomovers.co.uk for contacting me after seeing my original post on piston heads and quickly offering some flexible and competitively priced options. He is a great guy to deal with and I highly recommend his services.
http://www.motomovers.uk/
Secondly, my wife's driving licence arrived in the post a couple of days ago from the French police along with a letter confirming she is banned from driving in France for three months. But they are also requesting her to return during the three-month period for a meeting with a "medical professional" appointed by them for a medical assessment (presumably a psychological assessment for her suitability to drive). Failure to meet this requirement will result in an extension of the French driving ban apparently. As the offence was committed 300 miles south of Calais, which is 500 miles south of my home address (so a 1,000 mile round trip ) and also involves the cost of a Eurotunnel crossing I don't think we will take them up on this invitation. There is no indication on the letter how long the ban might be extended for so we have no idea if it becomes indefinite until the medical examination has been completed? The letter was in French by the way, so I had to type it all into Google translate - I thought there was an Eu directive that all official communication needed to be in the first language of the recipient but maybe not.
The letter officially confirms that my wife was detected at 131kph in the 90kph limit. Just thought I would add that as one of the replies in this thread was asking whether we were really only doing 130 and seemed to be suggesting it might have been much higher to get such a penalty.
I have always found the French roads fantastic for some really fun riding and felt that I have always ridden safely in the open countryside there (although obviously making progress in a spirited way) as well as religiously dropping down to the speed limit through all villages and through any junctions. This experience of having a bike taken away from us 300 miles from the border on a Sunday and having to take a pillion passenger plus luggage 500 miles home, pay a substantial fine on the spot in cash and an even more substantial sum to repatriate the bike has probably put me off bothering to do a tour through France ever again.
Firstly, we have now repatriated my wife's bike although we have spent much of the week since we returned trying to sort out the bike collection as well as having to make regular calls to the slightly pissed off family of the pensioner couple that agreed to house the bike when we were forced to leave it at the location where we were stopped by the French police.
Top marks to Mike from motomovers.co.uk for contacting me after seeing my original post on piston heads and quickly offering some flexible and competitively priced options. He is a great guy to deal with and I highly recommend his services.
http://www.motomovers.uk/
Secondly, my wife's driving licence arrived in the post a couple of days ago from the French police along with a letter confirming she is banned from driving in France for three months. But they are also requesting her to return during the three-month period for a meeting with a "medical professional" appointed by them for a medical assessment (presumably a psychological assessment for her suitability to drive). Failure to meet this requirement will result in an extension of the French driving ban apparently. As the offence was committed 300 miles south of Calais, which is 500 miles south of my home address (so a 1,000 mile round trip ) and also involves the cost of a Eurotunnel crossing I don't think we will take them up on this invitation. There is no indication on the letter how long the ban might be extended for so we have no idea if it becomes indefinite until the medical examination has been completed? The letter was in French by the way, so I had to type it all into Google translate - I thought there was an Eu directive that all official communication needed to be in the first language of the recipient but maybe not.
The letter officially confirms that my wife was detected at 131kph in the 90kph limit. Just thought I would add that as one of the replies in this thread was asking whether we were really only doing 130 and seemed to be suggesting it might have been much higher to get such a penalty.
I have always found the French roads fantastic for some really fun riding and felt that I have always ridden safely in the open countryside there (although obviously making progress in a spirited way) as well as religiously dropping down to the speed limit through all villages and through any junctions. This experience of having a bike taken away from us 300 miles from the border on a Sunday and having to take a pillion passenger plus luggage 500 miles home, pay a substantial fine on the spot in cash and an even more substantial sum to repatriate the bike has probably put me off bothering to do a tour through France ever again.
Edited by A993LAD on Wednesday 30th May 13:52
So, having turned my back on France, perhaps a tour of Scotland is on the cards...............
https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/motoring/speeding...
https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/motoring/speeding...
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