Speeding fines in France

[Andrew Hesketh]

BBC today: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23619783

[Guest]

Très bon. I hope they soon have these 'binocs' in my area. Regular 50-occasional 70 in a 30 zone.

Mike

[garfyboy]

thanks for posting, i shall bloody well slow down over there, its far to tempting to speed on the long empty roads

andy

[Kevin Tobin]

Just a thought? If we targeted foreign motorists in the UK wouldn't someone complain?

I actually agree with the punishment of speeding. Perhaps it is the way the article is written rather than the French Police?

[Martin Bennitt]

Just a thought? If we targeted foreign motorists in the UK wouldn't someone complain?

I actually agree with the punishment of speeding. Perhaps it is the way the article is written rather than the French Police?

Don't worry, French police target everyone, but they have to stop the Brits (and Danes and Irish) because the UK refuses a reciprocal arrangement. Other foreigners get their fine notices at home from their local authorities acting on behalf of the French police, or those of another country if they are caught speeding there. Similarly, as the story says, I have to be stopped and fined by the British police if I am caught in my French-registered car. I must say I feel more relaxed driving since I bought a car with a speed limiter/cruise control. But the Brits are not the worst offenders.

cheers Martin B

[Guest]

Speeding isn't about nationality? A biker was killed 6 miles from me on Saturday, and a neighbour put in High-Dependancy on Sunday. Both due to reckless speeding/driving.

Mike

[Kevin Tobin]

No I agree it is not to do with Nationality and in my first post said that I agree with punishment.

It is the alleged discrimination of "Brits" or Foreigners that I was querying.

[spof]

I don't think they are discriminating against foreigners as the article refers to locals simply getting a letter in much the same way happens here. By opting out of the information sharing, UK drivers have tp pay up there and then. Its just a timely reminder that being in France doesn't exclude someone from the local road rules.

[bill24chev]

Keep to speed limits then "No Problem"

[healdav]

Believe me, they are not targeting the British or any other foreigners especially. They are targeting everyone.

I drive thousands of kilometres in France every year and have learnt that you just have to factor in the odd fine as part of the driving expenses.

There are, in fact, two types of fine. If you are stopped by the Gendarmerie, they will demand money on the spot. They have no power to send the bill on to you.

If you are picked up by a speed camera (and they now have these in unmarked cars). The nasty surprise will arive in the post everywhere pretty much, except for Britain which refuses to join the reciprocal arrangement, preferring to swear about foreigners who speed in Britain. On problem is that for a car registered outside France the French have to send the fine notice to the local vehicle registry or similar which then gives the address of the car, and then they send the fine. If you haven't paid within a certain time the fine is doubled; but for a non-French car the time limit has often been passed when the owner gets it (I just ignore the extra and send the original fine). You can appeal, but it is a waste of time. The fine notification, only gives the area in which you were speeding, not a precise location for the camera (and they have no numbers, etc anyway), so appealing is pretty near impossible.

In Britain you get a 10% tolerance limit but in France as part of Sarkozy's clever plan, the tolerance is just 3 KILOMETRES per hour. Not much more than 1 mile per hour. I have never come across anyone getting a 375 euro fine, you would have to be doing a hefty speed for that, but 100 euros is common.

One part of the cunning plan was to drop the speed limits and then hide cameras behind the speed limit sign. So, they get motrists who are actually slowing down to the limit.

It all dates from Sarkozy wanting to get the French deficit down and as ever, the motorist is an easy target (interesting that he was himself caught by a camera doing an unbelievable speed and got away with it).

Oh, and think yourself lucky you don't have French pklates as going not very much over the limit means points on the licence. So far, foreigners escape that, but don't hold your breath; it's coming.

And if you think the speed limits are arrived at after a careful technical assessment, a couple of weeks ago on the French news they were showing a young woman in a Prefecture, whose job it is to deal with complaints about the limits. They showed her going to one place where the limit changed 4 times in one kilometre. She looked down the perfectly straight road, scratched her head, got a ladder out of her van, climbed up it, took down the two middle signs, tossed them in the van and drove off! Problem solved. She then went on to the next nonsense. And this is her full time job!

[egbert]

Drivers with right-hand drive vehicles are subject of double fines in France

[Gunner Bailey]

Just a thought? If we targeted foreign motorists in the UK wouldn't someone complain?

In France, tourists and foreign home owners are regarded as Turkeys ready for plucking....

John

[Gunner Bailey]

Reading our local papers in France Courrior Picard and La Voix du Nord. There are regular reports of British motorists going at crazy speeds on the A16 motorway. Once they get past Abbeville they seem to put the hammer down. There were a couple of Estate Agents from Scotland who were caught at (I think) just over 200mph in a Porsche and and a biker who was stopped after a long chase up to 220 mph!!! In both cases the vehicles were confiscated. Speeders beware.

John

[JimSmithson]

Drivers with right-hand drive vehicles are subject of double fines in France

Where have you seen that Egbert?

Jim

[Martin Bennitt]

Reading our local papers in France Courrior Picard and La Voix du Nord. There are regular reports of British motorists going at crazy speeds on the A16 motorway. Once they get past Abbeville they seem to put the hammer down. There were a couple of Estate Agents from Scotland who were caught at (I think) just over 200mph in a Porsche and and a biker who was stopped after a long chase up to 220 mph!!! In both cases the vehicles were confiscated. Speeders beware.

John

The A16 invites speeding. It's quite boring, usually pretty quiet and there are no permanent speed cameras going south from Calais (only one heading north, and a few between Calais and Dunkirk).

cheers Martin B

[centurion]

Reading our local papers in France Courrior Picard and La Voix du Nord. There are regular reports of British motorists going at crazy speeds on the A16 motorway. Once they get past Abbeville they seem to put the hammer down. There were a couple of Estate Agents from Scotland who were caught at (I think) just over 200mph in a Porsche and and a biker who was stopped after a long chase up to 220 mph!!! In both cases the vehicles were confiscated. Speeders beware.

John

Only two types of commercially available road bikes capable of that speed - both jet engined - MTT Turbine Superbike and MTT Streetfighter incredibly expensive (about $200,000) and produced to order in the USA in very limited quantities. Others technically capable are governed to limit them to 180mph.

[Gunner Bailey]

You're right. My UK mind wrote mph when I should have written kph. Well spotted. John

[Paul-B]

The bottom line is, if you speed expect to pay the fine. That happens in any country it's not just the French.

One of the reasons I enjoy driving on the Somme is the quiet country roads. You don't normally have someone coming up behind up pushing you/trying to overtake you.

Stay within the speed limit, stay safe.

[SiegeGunner]

One of the reasons I enjoy driving on the Somme is the quiet country roads. You don't normally have someone coming up behind up pushing you/trying to overtake you.

Indeed not .... but round every corner there is potentially a bloody great lump of agricultural machinery coming at you in the middle of the road ...

[Paul-B]

_{Which makes normal drivers slow down and enjoy the drive.}

[maxi]

I noticed that as we neared Calais on the coast road this year, British registered cars were bombing past me as I was driving at the speed limit.

I thought at the time that if one of them suffered a blow-out there would be a substantial accident.

Maxi

[healdav]

I noticed that as we neared Calais on the coast road this year, British registered cars were bombing past me as I was driving at the speed limit.

I thought at the time that if one of them suffered a blow-out there would be a substantial accident.

Maxi

Amazingly, when the Channel Tunnel first opeend the accident rate went down in that area.

The reason? There were no reservations for the trains, you just queued.

That was all too simple, so they introduced reservations and the accident rate has gone up steadily as people speed to try to make their reserved train. Same phenomenon with the ferries.

[RupertDubrecht]

do not break the law

[healdav]

do not break the law

Now there speaks someone who does not drive in France very often or at all. The problem is not exceeding the speed limit, but knowing wht the speed limit is.

I can take you to several places whree speed limit signs are hidden behind one another (the second one being lower than the first). Frequently there is a sign saying reminder, when there wasn't one saying the start.

It's a lottery. So far the British get away with it, but wait until the British government decides they can target foreign drivers, and then you will see.

[RupertDubrecht]

sat nav states speed allo9wed