Caught speeding
 

.. in France in a rental car. Coming back from Val Thorens on 2nd January......Allowed 12 hours for a 7 hour journey. Got stuck in a 110KM tailback on the A6 heading for Paris. Eventually the traffic cleared and I managed to get the piece of turd Chevrolet Spark (that the hire company reckoned was a Ford Mondeo or similar) up to the 130 kph speed limit. Came up to a long bend and spotted a 70kph limit (just for the bend - was still on a toll road.) By this point there was no other traffic on the road, and TomTom was telling us we had 3 minutes spare to catch the flight. I knew that if I slowed to 70, it would take several miles to get back to 130 in the 'spark' (I think it might be powered by static,) so I booted on. Got a single head on flash about 10cm after I passed the 70 sign.

Now Hertz have charged me 30 quid to tell the cheese eating surrender monkey plod people that it was me. Google seems to indicate that this is a 1500 euro fine :eek:...... and we missed the flight, which cost us about 600 quid extra anyway.

Anyone been the victim of a French scamera while in a rental car? Do they chase you for it?

they can't enforce a frog ticket in the UK yet, will soon change though. Not sure on the hertz contract you have signed..

I was told/warned a few years ago by a native that speed-limited bends on Mways were a favourite scammering spot for French plod. Wasn't sure how much credence to lend it at the time, but judging from this it's more than likely true.

Must be too few real crims to go out and catch, obviously.

That what I am worried about. - Couple of years back with a Hertz car in the states, I got a 60 dollar fine for blocking traffic at a left turn when the lights were red (got the fine from a camera about a month after we came home.) They just charged it to my card, but it did say on the agreement that they would pay for traffic violations and charge me subsequently. It doesn't this time, but I have heard stories of fines being sold to debt collectors.

In that case you'll probably be fine. I'd be extremely surprised if the hyper-regulated French financial system allows for any of that debt-selling-on shenanigans that you get here or in the States.

Thanks for telling me.... NOT. You are officially off my Christmas card list



:p

I've heard of people being summond back to France and spent 7night in Jail with a 3000euro fine and a 12month ban from coming into the country in the next year!!

the same bloke also kept telling me that Skoda's were better than scoobs and that santa was real!


:D lol

Have a word with Alcazar. He's up on the French laws regarding speeding fines etc.
Hope you get sorted in your favour :)

I got flashed as I did a lot of driving through France when I lived in Spain. Never heard anything at all. They can not enforce speeding tickets in the UK. If you get caught and stopped while you're there that is a different matter and as you said can cost thousands of euros depending upon what speed you were doing.

Don't do that. I am going back in 5 weeks anyway. Her indoors reckons they will have a welcoming party ready to scoop me, (or get me extradited first.) Both of you are not as funny as each other



p.s. - Skodas and Santa - He obviously knows stuff that you don't

They cant summon you but if you get caught either by them recognising your plate or you are unlucky to be random spot checked they will have your previous unpaid speeding offences on record and then its off to their local nick Im afraid. Just drive carefully and dont draw attention to yourself.

We've done some very naughty speeds on French toll roads and not heard a dickie bird, but that may be because it's our own, British registered car.

Bad luck. :(

What's Val Thorens like? That's one resort on our possible list for March :)

cancel the card before they can take any more from it too

a set of cheap ebay 'slightly wrong' plates would sort out the camera problems , but maybe not if stopped , get some James Bond revolving ones :D

Who the feck is going to chase an iroish for cash nowadays , theyll know theyre onto a loser from the get go :lol: ;)

Brilliant - you could be there for a year and still not cover half the place. Snow is virtually guaranteed as the top end runs start at around 3400m. It was cold when we were there (-20C and lower) but it should be OK in March

(although, to be fair, if it has some snow and a hill, I tend to think every resort is brilliant :D )

Maybe I should apply for a Eurozone bail out :D

Might be a problem if you went back to France again though.

Les

Me too, I've liked everywhere I've been until the next year which is slightly better. I loved the Serre Chevalier last year, but Alpe D'Huez was better and wherever we go in March might be even better! Each resort has its place and good points, but I know what you mean! :)

AFAIK, not yet enforceable in the UK. There was a lot of talk about enforcing the cash aspect, but not the points, (surprise, surprise, but it's NOT about revenue), but so far it hasn't happened.

I've just looked it up: if you were doing 130kph in a 70kph limit, ie: 60 OVER the posted limit, it does carry a €1500 maximum fine and confiscation of your car, Doesn't say whether it's until paid.
Had you been STOPPED, it would have been instant, with imprisonmnet until the fine was paid.

A French national would also have got 6 points for it.

If it were me, I'd ignore the Hertz letter, but yes, cancel the card if they have your details.

And next time you are in France, ask on here and loads of us will post do's and don't to keep your money safe.
One thing ALWAYS to remember is that unlike the UK, if you see a speed camera sign in France, THERE WILL BE A CAMERA! http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...1t:429,r:2,s:0

Pay the fine mate.

I got caught speeding in Holland about 2yrs ago in a rental car. I received a fine through the post about a month later. Not a word of English on it but I could make out I had 3 opportunities to pay it. 1st opportunity within 14days was I believe 150 EUR, 2nd within 28 days 250 EUR, 3rd, 400 EUR.

I lobbed it in the bin and never thought anything of it.

Last year, I had a trip back to Schiphol airport and low and behold when I was passing through passport control, my name flashed up, I was taken into a side room by the Airport police and told that If I didnt pay up there and then I would be taken to the nearest police Station to spend the night behind bars to go to a Dutch court the next day :eek:

I told them I had not received anything through the post, I told them I was not aware, I asked to see evidence of the speeding ticket. They wouldnt move an inch.

I finally got my card out to pay them and they let me pass through passport control.

I actually came onto scoobynet (old account before I lost my password) to ask advice when I first received the ticket, 90% of people said to bin it, it was totally unenforceable but look what happened.

If you're ever going to go back to France, pay it at your earliest opportunity.

As above if you go back to France and they catch you you've had it. If you're not going back for a long time they cant do much about it. Im pretty sure that the French are not granted access to the registered keepers address. A few countries are such as Belgium and obviously from above, Holland. The French wont care about this though if they catch you in France.

Also it depends on what speed you were caught doing. If it was 120mph then for the sake of avoiding a thousand euro fine I wouldnt set foot in their fly riddled country again.

It was KPH, which was the limit a few inches before the camera. Problem with avoiding France is that they have big snowy hills near the bottom.


Cheers Alcazar - card cancelled.....

Leo - I've just applied for an Irish passport..... it makes me a completely different person as I used my UK one for ID when hiring the car..... there are some benefits living over here :D

Sorry I wasnt referring to your speed I just chose 120 mph (193kph) as a very high speed.

Like the passport idea. Is there no way that they could work out it was you?

The only linking factors are name and date of birth, but I used to work with a guy with the same name and DOB as me. (Then we scarily went out and bought a silver ZX6-R on the same day from the same dealer without having any discussion about it previously)

They probably could work it out from the speeding piccie, but I sort of think it would be a long shot. I was British when I was speeding. Now I am Oirish :D

(Whats the chances of French plod monitoring Scoobynet :eek: )

:Suspiciou

That is a bit weird.

Fortunate that you can change your passport. Im pretty sure that the French cant actually get your name unlike Holland and Belgium, its only if you drive back and they take your number plate. I spent ages researching this when I got flashed a few years ago as I need to drive back a few months later to Spain. Nice to have that extra assurance though of a different passport.

It was a hire car and Hertz have already given them my name, address, DL number and passport details, and charged me 30 Euro for the 'extensive administration involved'




As far as the 'other me' goes, the coincidences are stupidly unreal. AT one point I was thinking that life was predetermined based on your name and DOB, but when we looked into it, the coincidences were more to do with working together and having the same interests, than any sort of matrix type plan

You did the crime, now pay the fine.

Or dont ever go to France again.