2000TLondon

I've no experience of driving in France, but assume plenty of people have, so any general tips, please? I'm off next week for few days, read a thread that said the french police aren't particulalry friendly.

What are the laws and consequences of bending them?

Is your licence safe over there at the moment, heard they were coming to an arrangement with UK for points system.....

Are the fines extortionate? Not that I intend to go hell for leather,(necessarily) but just like to know all my options and consequences!

Cheers!

douglasb

Fines will be cash, on the spot. Radar detectors are a huge "no-no".

Speed limits are different (lower) when it is raining.

Shropshire-Guy

Speedlimit on Motorway is 130 kms an hr. One thing i will tell you, if it rains, the limit instantly reduces to 90 km i think , but don,t quote me on that.But i do know they take a very serious view on speeding in the wet. We went last year ( first time like you). Didn,t have a problem at all im pleased to say. Roads are far better then over here and less hassle from other motorists.


O make sure you stay on the right side of the road to, unlike i did first thing in the morning , after staying in Hotel for the night. Just jumped into car and ****, about 400 yds on wrong side. Good job it was a quite road . lol

geldy

so keep loads of cash on you if you intend to speed - because until you have been to an atm to get some your car stays where it is - its poetic justice in a way

MadMark

I just did 100mph everywhere (like home) and nobody batted an eyelid ........

WR1

The thing that struck me was the lack of roadworks...

Must be a UK thing probably caused by the lack of taxes we pay over here

douglasb

Also, if you are using the toll roads, the ticket notes the time that you left the pay booth. Arrive at the next one too soon and win a valuable prize! (It isn't just the police that can get you for speeding)

brybusa

If you wanna get the FULL lowdown, buy this months BIKE magazine, complete run down on the 2 different types of police, what to do and say,where safest to go for it, and likely cost of fines!!

as mentioned previous, fines can be huge!!(Up to 4k apparently!! AND failure to pay WILL mean vehicle compounded!

also mentions French aiming for the legal right to endorse EU drivers....So, we could end up paying the fine in france AND having the points endorsement in the UK!!.

Apparently, the French want to have this law in force by this July.....

2000TLondon

Excellent, like the tip about the toll roads! Prepared to use a lot of common sense, and off to buy BIKE.

Cheers, it's not quite the gumball, but.....

bits'n'pieces

French police now have a link into the DVLA in the UK, exceed 80mph on a toll road you get a fine, and you'll also get 3 points on your UK driving licence... Not fair but true I'm afraid.

Faire D'Income

This is incorrect. I got nicked last Friday doing 165 km/h in a 130 km/h and had the option (as does everybody) of either paying the fine, which was 90 Euros in this case, or attending the French magistrates court - an alternative that I didn't fancy. Luckily, I was driving my wife's car so she volunteered to pay half which reduced the cost a little although I consider myself lucky as I'd been taking the **** since leaving southern Spain the day before.

In dry conditions the speed limit is 130 km/h and in the wet it drops to 110 km/h so you have been warned and as for being timed between toll booths, this can happen provided the Gendarmes are waiting for you - it doesn't not happen automatically.

My advice is:

Make sure you have cash in Euros.

Ensure that you have all relevant documents such as driving licence, insurance (including green card) and vehicle documents.

Don't take the **** near to Calais/the Tunnel or whichever port you are leaving to or from. Having said that, I was nicked just north of Bordeaux together with some Belgians and Germans which was not entirely coincidental as I didn't spot one French plate in the Police station car park.

If you have a radar detector then take it out of the car as they're not legal in France, they are in Germany and the Netherlands as well (I think) so if you get nicked with one then you will be for the high jump. Garage door openers I'm not sure about but it's probably best not to chance it.

In conclusion, I'd say the Gendarmes are no better or worse than our lot although they are certainly less enthusiastic about targetting drivers, but if they do it seems to be foreigners in my opinion. Lastly, you can get "flashed" by units on the side of the peage which look like GATSO grey boxes but in essence these are there for warnings, not as a means of generating cash. Finally, I'd say that if you see a sign (usually in black script on a white background, usually in italics) that says something along the lines of "Gendarmerie a la prochaine sortie" then it's probably a good idea to slow down for a bit as it's at these spots that they set up their radar traps.

Melina

As an STi owner in France, whether you like it or not, you get acquainted with the police on a frequent basis. They just love to stop us.

One and half years ago, the French government was put under pressure to reduce the death tolls on the French roads which resulted in a number of measures being put in place. First of all, French police actually had to work....

Radars, both fixed and movings ones, are everywhere and here is a link to their positions:

http://www1.securiteroutiere.gouv.fr...dars_fixes.htm

If you exceed 50 km, the fine is 3,500 euros, confiscation of car and licence.

The death toll has been reduced by 22 percent from 2003 to 2004.

Faire D'Income

Melina. Are all of those installations live or are some of them dummy units? Also, do they look like grey boxes about 1.5m tall with several lamps on the front of them?

Melina

I got these from a quality web site and presume they are correct ones.
In any case, it is not worth taking the risk.

Jaybird-UK

good info here http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/driving-in-france.htm

Rewolf

Quick tip for toll roads.....

Take a 5 - 10 minute break at one of the (excellent) services areas, and the time on the Ticket will be OK. Hey, this is France; have a bottle of wine while you are there...or maybe not.

The best option in France - just like the UK, is to find some nice little white roads...not enough traffic to justify speed traps, but somehow still very well maintained (no potholes!), and in the right parts of the country, you get mile after mile of open road, visibility can be excellent, and no traffic at all. In fact you can often go much faster on these roads than on the A road equivalent which will be full of lorries that are avoiding the tolls. Make sure that your navigator can read a map properly - somehow left becomes right very easily when you are on the wrong side of the road.

Oh, finally - unless the new clampdown has changed things, if the motorist coming the other way flashes their lights at you on an open road, it means that the Police have a speed trap set up just around the corner. Be good, and do the same to other drivers once you pass it. If only people in the UK did the same thing for Talivans.

Err, nearly forgot: Police at a speed trap are more likely to be hiding in the bushes with their radar/laser on a tripod by the road side. You can spot them because they don't wear dayglow yellow, they wear army type cammoflage. Their mates down the road will be in the subtle dark blue car with virtually no markings.

Personnally I've never been caught in France, although I did pass this dark blue Renault which then flashed its lights a few times - whoops; I had just gone past a police car at a (quite) few mph over the limit. Wasn't in a scooby, and they didn't do anything though, so I guess I was lucky.

2000TLondon

Picked up the copy of BIKE magazine, and it states pretty much the same stuff. I'm not too worried, I don't hang about but I'm sensible, just ignorant, but not anymore!

BIKE journalists agree the french old bill are less prioritised with speeding, obviously there is more road per car too, and in general less police on the roads than here.

Also, BIKE say the timing between toll booths is a myth, and there is no link to the uK DVLA until at least July, which even then is unlikely. I do like the way the bIKE journalist suggests outrunning the french police at times, at risk of a kicking in the van!!!!

Sounds good... Thanks for the tips.

Jerome

I don't know if this is practical for you, but consider getting a hire car in France.

Firstly you have the advantage of having the steering wheel on the correct side for the country.

Secondly, your car will have French plates, dramatically reducing your chances of being stopped.

SirFozzalot

Is there a problem with loud exhausts in France....i.e. are they more likely to pull you over? Can they fine you or anything for being too loud??? By too loud I mean the general sort of Firestorm/Blitz etc. set-up you get over here or is it worth chucking the original STi back box on to keep a more stealthy approach

zoton

Sir Fozzalot

I change my Firestorm back to Prodrive if going very far south in France. I suspect the least you do to draw attention is a good thing.

The long miles at cruising speeds is nicer too.

Mark

BigGuy

I highly recommend Jerome's advice!!! Rent/hire a car. You won't have to worry as much about your car being stollen (a pass time in France) especially if you plan on spending the night there and if you go to the south you have the additional worry of finding your car all banged up in the parking. When I go to the Alsace for the day to see my mother, I always park the car where I can see it and have an additional steering lock/bar. When going to Nice in the south, I automatically rent a car. There is no other way for me. I have had 3 cars broken in and nearly stollen and my friend has had 4 cars actually stollen and the ones he didn't have stollen he has had all kind of parts off his car stollen.

micared

if you get caught using a radar detector in france, bear in mind the additional likely expense of having to replace it, as the police over there are known to confiscate them. also don't visit dinan in your scoob, mine was vandalised there, and if you're english you won't get much sympathy.

SirFozzalot

hmm....sounds like a lovely place to visit!

No worse than alot of places in the UK though I guess!