 Poster: A snowHead
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My parents drove home to France last week & yesterday received 2 french speeding fines. Mum drove the entire journey & swears she didn't see any signs, let alone the cameras, can anyone enlighten me on what the warning signs look like - and if the french have a point system. It's comical really, she doesn't usually get out of 2nd gear - not even for the M25 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I would also be interested in people's experience using Tom Tom that they "may have forgotten" to turn off the speed camera notification. Does the Tom Tom traffic subscription service warn of mobile cameras as well as the fixed? Yes - I am a technophobe !
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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The cameras I've seen look totally different to the UK style Gatso/Truvelo type. Look more like one of the large roadside cabinets containing the electronics for traffic lights (I'm sure there's a technical term), except it's positioned in the central reservation, and is only just higher than the barriers. Almost as stealthy as some of the Swiss ones. Have to admit that I don't recall seeing warning signs, but then my sat nav "knows" about the ones on my route 
Can't help regarding the points system. People spread rumours about timing you between péages - dunno if it is true or myth.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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andy, I remember these, now you mention it, though I don't remember the signs.
Helen Beaumont, fairly obvious then? can't believe we haven't been caught, I shudder to think the speed we do from the tunnel onwards 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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rpft, Think you will find that if the average speed between Peage's excedes the limit you will get a fine ! 
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I have driven to holidays in France many times and always sang the praises of the country for not having speed cameras - I only saw 1 mobile device in 10 years. More recently I have encountered a fixed one on the drive south from Geneva airport to Les Deux Alpes, it is shown on the internet route planners (AA/RAC). I have read that their accident rate is much higher than ours but this could be due to tourists as its the most visited country in the world apparently.
I have been caught and prosecuted once by a handheld in the UK, by a policeman hidng behind a bush - I didn't even see him (I am a fast driver but our local doctor got caught as well) so now I slow right down for every camera and then speed up again.
The other thing they don't have much of in France is yellow lines. I once visited the Eiffel Tower and parked 200 metres away at the side of the road - for free, Traffic For London would never allow this.
Maybe its the community spirit of the French - e.g. voting communist, blockading ports, ambushing english lorries, and the warm way they greet each other every day. - was it the industrial revolution that spoiled us in the UK ?
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provenjohn, will remember this. have just found a site detailing french camera locations & details of the fines & points. Will try to paste.....
http://www.controleradar.org/en.html
hope the link works.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| mike.healy wrote: |
| I am a fast driver but our local doctor got caught as well |
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mike.healy, look at the link on my last post & weep. The cameras are everywhere. We are not crazy, I have seen some english cars doing unbelievable speeds on french toll roads, but you do have to push on a bit on the peage's.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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 This is the one in the Epine Tunnel (The Camera is the Grey box,) they now have and edging of Black and yellow tape!
Our journey to the Alps has speed cameras at these locations (all have the very large warning sign 200+metres in advance!
at barrier marker 81.8 North of Dijon
148.2 Dijon area
183.3 Reims by pass Sthbound
136. Reims bypass Northbound
84.8 Northbound before Calais
and a hand held camera at 38.6 Homeward bound (this camera we have seen on nearly every trip regadless of day of the week)
and then you pay your fine at the Calais Peage plus a few more Euros for not having beam deflectors, warning triangle and GB sticker!!
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Wed 10-01-07 13:26; edited 2 times in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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richmond, Well some may regard me as a bad person for speeding but my defence is that I am no worse than the doctor who would generally be assumed to be a good person.
I guess it was unnecceassry detail, perhaps indicative of some deeper guilt complex.
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boredsurfin, I don't ever put a gb sticker on my car - oops.
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You know it makes sense.
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When I was driving through France in the summer, I was impressed by the fact that every camera seemed to have a warning sign about 500m before it......and that every sign had a camera. Did I get it wrong?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| mike.healy wrote: |
| I am no worse than the doctor who would generally be assumed to be a good person. |
You obviously know different doctors to the ones I know, which is greatly to your credit.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Elizabeth B, There are a couple of the signs near Albertville on the motorway but no camera!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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rpft,
| Quote: |
My parents drove home to France last week & yesterday received 2 french speeding fines.
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Did they get the fines through the post?
If they did this suggests the French Police now have access to our Police computer systems 
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Agenterre, & boredsurfin, my parents live in france, so I think she will get the points. They took 3 days to get back & she is concerned about the last 2 days now. She was clocked at 98 kph in a 90 (think this is about 56 mph) and 118 in a 110 (the margin is 117). One of her friends has the maximum points, but the police only took his license away for 2 weeks - think he was lucky, they threaten to remove the license for 3 yrs for a second offence on the documentation she received. Can't believe this really, they are an elderly couple - who normally creep around at 25 mph 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rpft, I live in France too, cars registered at my home address.... as long as she has a UK licence she is OK, she will just get a computerised statement asking for prompt payment and saying she will get points ( she won't). If she has a French licence she is knackered .. ( my last fine was November.. so pretty recent info)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Elizabeth B, You are right - now I have seen the signs, I remember them & they are everywhere.
http://www.controleradar.org/en/photo.html
This is a link to a photo of the sign - I didn't connect the 'pour votre securite' to speeding somehow
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Agenterre, she has a french licence, I remember how much hassle she had re-registering everything. Is it rude to ask how many points you have? 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I saw three on recent trip back from Les Arcs - 2 fixed and 1 mobile
1 was certainly on the Lyon ring road.
I think as in UK they put signs up and there may or may not be a camera
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Agenterre, French driving test!? Surely they teach tail-gating, oh & don't forget over-taking someone who is over-taking someone else - a must-have skill in france
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My experience of driving in France consists of the annual Hoon to the Le Mans 24hour race. All kinds of cars going all kinds of speeds on the peage (substitute mph for kph as a min, and you get the picture 
My experience of speed cameras is, if it is a fixed Gatso type, don't even lift, as there is no way that you can get fingered, and there is no Anglo-French agreement to carry over points.
If you are zapped by a manned/mobile site, if they decide to, the Gendarmes will be in pursuit and demand payment of fine in CASH. Period. It starts quite reasonable, 50-90 Euros, but can, and has been as high as 750 euros on the spot, depending on how much over the limit you were travelling.
BTW this also applies to Sat Navs that can be interpretted as radar detectors, even if they are just being used as a GPS device. Confiscation AND 750 Euro fine on the spot  
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Does anyone actually have first hand experience of being done at a toll booth by the average speed calculation method and not just nabbed there by the cops for earlier speeding?
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Try tuning in to the local radio station - many give mobile camera locations as part of their morning shows (in between Bryan Adams, Dire Straits, Blondie...)
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You know it makes sense.
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Wear The Fox Hat, blimey, your french must be good
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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rpft, it's improving. Slowly.
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Poster: A snowHead
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There are some changes to the reciprocal agreements due to come into force soon
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/12/29/ndriving29.xml
Although I thought there was already some exchange of info because I received a speeding fine from
the Dutch police about three years ago and I assume the DVLA is where they obtained my info. However did
ignore it and never heard anything else.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Got flashed 3 times between calais and alps, last march doing between 90-100mph, never heard anything.
Mate did get done at the peage based on elapsed time, going balistic in an Aston. Big fine. Now he still drives as fast, but stops before the peage, to bring his average speed down.
I know it's a big nick to have any sort of radar detector in France.
There is a theoretical link between EU for traffic offences, but the froggies can't even sort their own out, let alone pursue foreigners overseas.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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rpft, if you get directions off the via michelin site, it tells you exactly where the cameras are.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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kevinrhead, I heard about this last year, when the new legislation was enacted, but I always assume, like Spyderman, that our govt. agencies are too incompetent to get themselves in order for this type of plan.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Nick Dawes wrote: |
| Does anyone actually have first hand experience of being done at a toll booth by the average speed calculation method and not just nabbed there by the cops for earlier speeding? |
You are right, this is urban legend. The reciprocal agreement is coming, there is already one between the French and Swiss which apparently works pretty well. Since the introduction of fixed speed cameras average speeds have come down a lot in France and there has been a big drop in death rates from about 9,000 to 5,000 over the lifespan of the current government. It is a big success story, unless you are one of the 2million people who has received a fine of course !
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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rpft, regarding the GB sticker. If you have a newer "euro-style" plate with the 12 stars and GB underneath, then GB sticker not required within EU. I'll assume you have an older plate though, for which you just need to plead ignorance to the plod.
Germany and Netherlands have reciprocal agreement for the issuing of tickets, and also have reciprocal agreement for cops crossing the border. 12km is the limit iirc, after which they'll hand over to the host countries cops. Very possible that this also extends to Belgium and Luxembourg etc.? Maybe someone knows.
geri, viamichelin does have speed cameras for France (hence how I knew about the stealthy roadside cabinet ones). Not all country's speed cams are in there though. On a similar note, it does have roadworks etc. too, so for future journeys, enter the date for better accuracy.
I didn't see any km markers in France (unlike in NL and DE where they are every 100m), so was tricky to watch out for the exact location. I just knew the approx stretch of road. NL is handy there too, cos on reduced limit stretches of Snelweg they put a little 100kmh speed marker on top of those km markers. So no 1 second panic to work out which speed you have to brake to when you suddenly see a camera.
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kevinrhead, 'New Laws' .. 'Planned'' ... when it happens I'll worry!
Nick Dawes, I do know someone ( maybe me) who has been done at the peage but as you suggest only 'cos it's a good place to nick you for 'earlier' digressions - can also confirm that Speed detectors get conficated even if they can only see the wire ... 'the time between peages' is factually garbage according to a French cop mate ( ). I and a friend have tested that a few times ... the most difficult thing is actually averaging around 140-ish apart from the early hours of the morning ... mind you , pretty daft to try.
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Not been done for speed at peage... only for causing a whiteout to the cars behind due to 2.5ft of snowdrift still on top whilst driving from Les Gets to GVA. Stopped as requested, and created a snowdrift on the hard shoulder, but still created a white out with the residual snow that we couldn't reach.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
