French speed traps

mercia_man

A warning about new laws for those taking their bikes for a spot of cycling in France.

I’ve just received a fixed penalty fine letter telling me my camper van was clocked at 86 kph (53.4 mph) on an empty, wide and straight two lane country road near St Quentin in northern France in September. France recently cut its general speed limit on non-motorways from 90 to 80 kph (effectively 50 mph) and the UK has signed a deal in which the DVLA hands over details of registered keeper to the French authorities.

My fine was 45 euros for early payment, going up if I delayed. With ANPR on toll motorways etc, I would risk being stopped and fined heavily if I failed to pay.

The good news is it’s a simple matter to pay by credit card online and I don’t get any points on my UK licence.

Brits can no longer speed with impunity in France. But French people can still do so in UK due to an anomaly in the system.

Mr_Cellophane

I'm sure the French can't add points on your licence.

monkimark

Isn't that what he said?

A friend of a friend got caught doing naughty speeds in France last year on a motorbike and they basically seized the bike at the side of the road and didn't release it until the (very expensive) fine was paid on the spot.

DeVlaeminck

The new limits mean you do have to be on your guard as on some roads they are much lower than the equivalent in the UK and their cameras are far less visible than ours.

I've been flashed several times in France - not proud of it but in 34 years driving I've only ever had 3 points in the UK and that was in my youth so I'm not the most reckless driver - luckily never had a fine come through from them despite the last one being after the date the DVLA were supposed to be providing our details.

davep1

I've had two from Italy in the last couple of years. The first one took 14 months to catch up with me, the second 10 months.

The first one I think was about €90, although there was something about an admin fee too. I did think about just pretending I hadn't get the notification, but when I googled it, someone in a similar position had to deal with debt collecting agency and his fine got up to €500 with all the add on fees. The second one was €45 and easy to pay online, maybe this is the same system as the French.
Both were non-motorway trunk road type things. The Autostrada is a bit easier to spot the cameras, and the locals slow dramatically near them, but these off motorway ones are very hard to spot.

DeVlaeminck

14 months ! In that case I may not be clear I'm currently only 9 months in since being flashed near Argeles sur mer. Hopefully France are a little more efficient and would have caught up with me by now if they wanted to.

kingstongraham

Two from Spain last year - from the only speed camera on La Palma. Came through about a month after we'd returned.

yellowv2

Received one today from France. 87 kph in an 80 limit last September, went online to pay and it states for tickets received within 91 days from offence. Obviously this is outside that limit so seeking advice on whether to pay.

mercia_man

yellowv2 wrote:

Received one today from France. 87 kph in an 80 limit last September, went online to pay and it states for tickets received within 91 days from offence. Obviously this is outside that limit so seeking advice on whether to pay.

Have you checked your letter? Although my offence was committed on Sep 9 last year, I only got my letter yesterday and my reduced fixed fine notification gave me 46 days to pay 45 euros from Mar 4, 2019, the official violation notice date. The gap from last Sep was presumably the period in which DVLA found my address and notified the public office in Rennes. The fine would increase to 68 and then 180 euros depending on payment delay. You go onto website, enter your full remote payment number, it tells you what your fine is and you can tick a box for email receipt to print out.

The new blanket 50 mph limit for all two lane roads, including the equivalent of U.K. A and B roads, means we will have to get used to driving significantly slower than at home. I got snapped by a camera at the bottom of a dip on an empty rolling A equivalent road. My speed increased to 86 kph as I rolled downhill - I should have applied my brakes to keep at 80 (50 mph).

How times change. Back in my 80s motorcycling days, I used to ride from Calais to Nice on the autoroute at a steady 115 mph on my Laverda. Nowadays I stick to the limit - or try to.

yellowv2

I have spoken to the RAC legal dept. who were unable to offer any concrete advice regarding French law, so I decided to just pay it, as only 45 euros.
What they also said was that they have had a lot of enquiries today, and because of Brexit looming (supposedly) the French seem to have suddenly sent a whole lot of speeding violations at once.
Mercia Man was your Laverda a "Jota" by chance? I was also a motor cyclist back then and had 'Guzzi Le Mans'.

mercia_man

My Laverda was a Mirage 1200 TS, silver with small fairing and side panels. I was very fond of Italian bikes and loved the Le Mans. I road tested many exciting bikes in the 80s in my job as a journalist.

yellowv2

Ah, Yes I remember the Mirage.
If I remember correctly a slightly modified version of the Jota.
If you were a journolist it is possible I have read some of your articles? Which publications did you write for?
I was,(still am fond of Italian bikes, recently had an Aprilia RSV SP V twin) and still insist on running Campagnolo on my bikes.

mercia_man

I worked for a regional daily, the Shropshire Star, and tested motorcycles for our motoring supplement as a sideline to my day job as chief reporter, news editor and journalism trainer. Test sessions at Donington Park or a day’s comparison of high performance two-stroke enduro bikes in the Welsh mountains made a nice change from the office.

laurentian

The Jota was the bike on the poster on my bedroom wall as a kid . . . the fastest ever production bike at the time if I remember correctly (?) . . . memories . . .

straas

Hoping I've avoided any - I was in france last june when the speed limits actually changed.

I had no idea they'd changed till someone told me, most of the road signs were still 90km/h

davep1

On my more recent Italian one, I had to sign for delivery. There was a statement about paying within 5 days of receipt for €45 or after that I think it went up to something over €100.

Cheeseface22

I feel for those who have been caught up: it doesn't sound like just a simple matter of "follow the speed limit and you won't have to worry about a fine."

Some more information I found, after reading about this thread:

The complete reference on speed and traffic rules (Last update 13.9.2018)

Traffic Offences in Europe 2018 Update (First published 08/01/2018)

handful

laurentian wrote:

The Jota was the bike on the poster on my bedroom wall as a kid . . . the fastest ever production bike at the time if I remember correctly (?) . . . memories . . .

I used to lust after the Jota as well. I still look out for them on ebay now! I settled for a Honda CBX in the end back in the day.

yellowv2

Much as I liked the Jota, for me my mk1 moto guzzi Le Mans was the one. Wish I kept it looking at current prices!

proto

monkimark wrote:

Isn't that what he said?

A friend of a friend got caught doing naughty speeds in France last year on a motorbike and they basically seized the bike at the side of the road and didn't release it until the (very expensive) fine was paid on the spot.

My motorcycle days are behind me, but will confess to over 270kph somewhere between Calais and Rheims on my Fireblade

Had a Moto Guzzi 850T for a while. Really nice bike. I had the tank and side panels painted in Tricolore colours. Looked great.

milese

I got one from near Roscoff about a month ago from the end of August last year, so about 7 months delay.

56km in a 50km = 45 euros.

I was in convoy with a mate and he got the same, post landing on the same day.

ddraver

Cheeseface22 wrote:

I feel for those who have been caught up: it doesn't sound like just a simple matter of "follow the speed limit and you won't have to worry about a fine."

Some more information I found, after reading about this thread:

The complete reference on speed and traffic rules (Last update 13.9.2018)

Traffic Offences in Europe 2018 Update (First published 08/01/2018)

Well...it is, except the speed limit has dropped to 80 now. Same as Switzerland so I don't struggle too much. Having said that the Gilet Jaunes have sprayed most of them over this year which has made it easier...

Matthewfalle

we used to go across on the bikes and go flat out from the harbour. last one to the destination bought drinks & dinner all night.

the paris ring road trick was also a frequent one.

#halcyonicolddays

Matthewfalle

the good old days

https://youtu.be/ti07Nk_libg