france driving notes (not very boaty)

[tcm]

over luncghtime i have just learnt from Mrs tcm of the ful story of her drive back home, which she completed in a v respectable 12hours from med to london. She took the car loaded with end of season gear whilst i and B1 and cholic took boat to pisa and flew back a few days later.

Anyway, she's driving along the aroute up from south and kids (13 and 10) say look mum, if you drive this slowly it'll take forever. Now, I wd wd havetoldem to shuttit, but she didn't, gunned it up to 115ish and south of Lyons gets stopped by the cops who escort her off to the station, whereupon present multiple translations of verbiage which amounts to the fact they saw her in posession of radar detector so it's a 750 euro fine and confiscation of said detector whose volume control was evidently turned down plus speeding of 90 euros. No cheques or credit cards and they'll impound the car til the dosh turns up so hah now what eh say the half a dozen cops? Anyway, she fortunately had the loot, and paid up, whilst trying to shut up kids who are familiar with french colloquialisms. Back in the car the kids were retsrained from getting the spare radar detector. Suppose the message is that radar detectors are banned in france, so travel at speed on autoroutes should be done v early, or v late, outside the 35 hour week. Carry cash for fines, or drive slowly, or fly (in an aeroplane). Don't have a radar detector.

 

[TwoStroke]

Same with radar jammers - they don't like them too! Have to make sure they are hidden very well - and disconnected./forums/images/icons/frown.gif

<font color=red>... I want to be back on the water!

 

[EME]

Ouch

If that isn't a salutory tale for all, it is POSSESSION that is the law in France.
Favourite place for the gendarmerie/police/crs to nab you is at the tolls on the autoroutes. You slow down they look in..you're nicked
I know cos they did me.. not that expensive though!!
2000 ffr from memory ???



<font color=black>I am WHAT I say I am

 

[hlb]

Hmm. Seems like speeding in France is quite reasonably priced. Hardly worth going slow, still worse a radar detector.

<font color=blue>Haydn

 

[jfm]

Sheesh. It wasn't exactly discreet was it? When Emma dropped us in Golfe Juan t' other week, in your car, you had a Valentine 1 rubber suckered right in the middle of the screen, below the rear view mirror, with big curly wire dangling down to the cig lighter. I mean, the cops couldn't miss it. I told her what the rozzers would do if they caught her, so she gunned it back to Antibes asap to avoid em. More discrete siting of V1 needed imho!

 

[tcm]

she didnae tell me bout your valuable (750 euros) advice. Normally i drive in the dark. Also er, damn.

 

[adarcy]

Re: france radar detectors

Yup

Got done for 2000FF in wifies car circa 2 years ago even tho it looked like a portable CD player stuck on the dash. The flic was only tootling along on the hard shoulder pulling away from his mate who was doing somebody and we were in a queue doing about 30 mph - life aint FAIR. Made us follow him for about 10 miles to aire presuming we needed to be taken to cash machine seemed a bit miffed when we handed the dosh over (didn't have French bank A/C then).
Anyway, we had already found out there seemed to be no radars except close to the entrances to the toll booths, tall (? microwave) arial setups and some big factories with doors ( as the detector handbook said).
Following this (and tcm's advice) that one shouldn't rocket away from the toll booths, ALWAYS get the speed down to 130/110 kph BEFORE the 800m/1Km sign before the toll (they usually give 2Km notice and keep it around 100 mph the rest of the time.
Can't say whether Mrs tcm got done for the detector or the 115, commiserations anyway.
Saw the badgeless E near Diana23 in Antibes mit v obvious detector but no-one obvious on back of dishevelled L23 to talk to. Also reckoned that if you were there I could hardly warn you via herewhen I/we got back. Sorry but totally forgot about you maybe going into internet cafes.

Still living in the 19th century.

Anthony

 

[claymore]

Did I read, was I told or did I simply imagine that they calculate your speed between peages and if you've got there too soon they can fine you?

regards
Claymore

 

[tcm]

Re: france radar detectors

didn't know you hang out in antibes?

radar-wise, seems to be just on their sayso. Either you pay up, or it'sa court jobbie?Noter that radar detectors go off at movement detectors too, so movement detector which prompts the ticket to come out of the machine makes v1 go off.
Incidentally, i looked carefully at lcd screen in booth when had to get out, and thereis no record (it seems) shown of time taken, or speed. Best run at night.

And what was dishevelled bout the L23? Boohoo he sed my boat was dishevelled...

 

[tcm]

daily telegraph potboiler

every spring they put this about.

So, purely for research purposes, i filled up before the peage, averaged loads over the speed limit, and presented the ticket. I looked into the offic escreen v carefully, and no alalrms, or anytghing.

If you are a wimp, you can pretend yerv lost it, and pay the maximum (which it usualluy is for brits anyway). But anyway, i paid, and no alalrm bells went off at all.

We will have to ask learner what this all about, probably french liberty to wham down the motorway is sacrosanct, much better than america where having guns is a primary freedom.

 

[oldgit]

Re: daily telegraph potboiler

On road from Clemont de wotsit to Paris and failed to notice nondescript estate with tailgate up facing wrong way on hardshoulder,complete with gendarmerie and radar gun inside.Spent next couple of hours driving and blaming wife n trying to work out how to rustle up cash for fine.On arrival at peage absolute chaos people and cars swarming everywhere. The fire people had gone on strike and were allowing all cars through the paybooths at no motorway charge and no fine
Similer thing in Paris recently when museum folks went on strike.
They all go it to work to keep punters happy but will not charge any entrance fees.
Neat or what...............

And here is the weekend weather..

 

[Strathglass]

Re: daily telegraph potboiler

AQ few years ago I was on my way into france and at about Le Mans I was stopped for going rather fast (100mph +) on a GB plated rhd car. The fine was an on the spot equ to £80.
Fortunately I had the cash, in french coins, (bought fron exchange company at half price).
When I got half way counting the fine they said enough and altered the paperwork to reflect this.

The shins of SHMBO suffered somewhat however when she became embarrased at the coin counting and started to say that she had several larger denomination French notes.
Fortunately she did not speak French and the French Polis could not understand her English.

Iain

 

[EME]

Real French Strike

2 years ago the unemployed went on strike for more dole money !!

Took over all peages and looked for 'contributions' from Jo Soap.!!!!! I PAID UP !!

..Brilliant...Class...

<font color=black>I am WHAT I say I am

 

[oldgit]

Re: daily telegraph potboiler

Our Gallic Cousins have a style to everhing that they do which we roastbifs cans only dream about over a half litre of warm real ale.Better mountains better rivers better scenery better strikes better unobtainable femmes etc etc,Still we have got err umm..........

And here is the weekend weather..

 

[claymore]

Re: daily telegraph potboiler

That may be so - but they are the absolute pits at turfing up a decent meal for vegetarians.
There - pick the bones out of that!

regards
Claymore

 

[david_e]

Re; Flash car story

is hard to believe this story;

1 Reliant Robin only does over a ton if going down very steep hill

2 from med to London is uphill (at least it is on map)

3 No room on RR dash for anything, let alone radar detector

4 many RR's don't have fag liter that works long enough

 

[qsiv]

I didnt realise the fines were still so low.

I havent driven briskly in france since I did Le Havre to St Malo in well under 1Hr 20 - good average for 170 odd miles. I did leave at 03:00 on the 2nd Jan - I saw only one car all the way. I guess the locals were still recovering a fine Reveillon the night before. Daft thing was that I had to spend an hour in station cafe before calling SWMBO as I would have been told off for speeding!

When we go skiing I now hardly venture above the average speed of the herd as I believed they had thrown away there sense of humour over speeding, unlike twenty years ago when my then boss and two chums heade off to Le Mans in three Ferraris. They came over the crest of a hill, three abreast and 'nicely maxed out' as he put it. Just over the crest were about 20 flic on beeg motos. As the group passed them they all stood up on the pegs, and saluted.

Wouldnt happen now ..

 

[EME]

Re: daily telegraph potboiler

Heck

Now you're into major complexity. There are actually 2 major companies whch run the Peages in France, which you may already have noticed.

In pure French style the 'peage monitor' is only run by one of them and only on certain autoroutes, we have the full facts in a french book somewhere...(trust the French to warn their own).....I'll bring it back next weekened and post the full story.

Oh ... and we have a telepeage system ( stick on the windscreen) and blast through peages in outside lane very fast and it automatically records where time etc and direct debits your bank account every 8 weeks or so.......I use everywhere and have been known to exceed average 130 clicks limit...no knocks on door in last 10 years .. therfore suggest that Telepeage is also exempt from CRS snooping...


<font color=black>I am WHAT I say I am<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Learner on 14/11/2002 08:43 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[adarcy]

Re: poor tcm

poor memory that is.

You may remember we said we were going to the Cap and tried to arrange a meet but you were tied to half term hols. So we presumed you'd be arriving after we left.
Went and looked at D2 and E estate, "guessed" it was yours from the name on the card in the windscreen, was surprised 'you' were there and lurked about but saw no one.

OK - dishevelled - well the cushions were not stacked in perfect piles on the back and I'm sure there was a slightly askew fold on one of the covers. One does expect even the only known skipperless Leopard to have certain standards, one just cannot get the staff nowadays <BG>
(and don't come looking at our dirt-encrusted boat)

Re speeding (ahem) autoroutes and being timed at the peages
I've read this repeatedly but never seen anyone pulled over at the barrier or a flic being called along the booths. We always use a credit card (English or French) at the booths and never seen anyone being "held in" as if the machine worked out they had been speeding, so I reckon it is just a scare story.

BTW have you tested the average time it takes using the Paris route rather than the Reims/Troyes/Dijon? We use the latter as years ago the faffing about outer Paris seemed to take ages.

 

[tcm]

Re: breakfast in calais, breakfast in nice

Of course, normal route is troyes etc but if southbound, starighter and better-lit motorways in and out of paris are best for nighttime speed runs if arriving paris 3am for example. Also quickest to have no music at all, else there's a tendency to slow to hear.

pity we missed each other. Next time, march up to boat and shout for short people doubtless skulking inside to do summink useful and make contact with parents. Can't have been far away. Must've bin lunchtime. Back again easter etc etc. and should pm phone nos. Wwe were there 2 weeks as stupid skool has massive hols.