Speeding in France(again)
Discussion
Done a rather stupid thing(with hindsight!) A friend was doing a trip down to Rennes so being a nice bloke I lent him my 320d rather than him going down in his 1988 3.5 V8 Range Rover, plus I needed to tow a trailer this weekend. Car has come back in one peace and with fuel in it (for a change) however this morning in the office the comment was made “ we only made the train by 1 minute, we had to do 160kph from Caen to make up the time”. Now clearly at this point my heart sank and I ask if he got any tickets/saw any cameras? Of course the answer was “No”.
Knowing French speed cameras I find it highly unlikely he hasn’t pick up a ticket in the 3 hours! Of course the internet is full of horror stories however should I expect a number of fines over the next few weeks? Or do them summon you to court?
I fear this could be a rather painful lesson on lending my car which may cause some difficulties between the two of us.
Ian,
If it is a British registered car and he wasn't actually stopped by the Gendarmes and made to pay on the spot fines (And for 160 kph that's 90 euros)then you have nothing to worry about at all.
There is NO cross border prosecution between the UK and France at the moment (Or in the near future) so he could have set off a load of cameras and you'll never hear about it.
Don't worry.
If it is a British registered car and he wasn't actually stopped by the Gendarmes and made to pay on the spot fines (And for 160 kph that's 90 euros)then you have nothing to worry about at all.
There is NO cross border prosecution between the UK and France at the moment (Or in the near future) so he could have set off a load of cameras and you'll never hear about it.
Don't worry.
Dblue
Many thanks, so it is unlikely letters will be coming from France? At the end of the day if I do receive fines I will just have to pay up and try and get him to repay me for his sins.
I do drive in France a fair bit, and I am quite happy at 80 mph enjoying 40 MPG, so id rather not annoy them and get a surprise when I next visit!
Many thanks, so it is unlikely letters will be coming from France? At the end of the day if I do receive fines I will just have to pay up and try and get him to repay me for his sins.
I do drive in France a fair bit, and I am quite happy at 80 mph enjoying 40 MPG, so id rather not annoy them and get a surprise when I next visit!
I don't think there is any chance of getting a tug when taking the car back to France. They don't process UK plates through their database.
You will not suffer any consequences as it stands. If you have been banned in France (above 40 kph in excess of the limit ) then they will record it and there is a chance you will be stopped and checked at customs or in rare cases on the autoroute network.
You will not suffer any consequences as it stands. If you have been banned in France (above 40 kph in excess of the limit ) then they will record it and there is a chance you will be stopped and checked at customs or in rare cases on the autoroute network.
There is no ANPR in France nor is there any mechanism for recording automatic camera offences committed by foreign registered cars for subsequent action.
Nothing whatsoever will come of any 'flashes' by your mate so you can sleep easy and not worry about returning to France either
Some mate BTW !
FWIW the system in France is the same as in UK, if you were not driving then you reply to a ticket naming whoever was.
It's not unknown for Brits living here to nominate a 'visiting relative' (cough) when a fine comes through the letterbox knowing that it will never be followed up. It's easier to get away with because French insurance covers the car not the driver so no awkward questions to answer on that score but a dangerous game all the same because there are both forward and rear facing cameras and perjury is a frowned on here as anywhere.
Nothing whatsoever will come of any 'flashes' by your mate so you can sleep easy and not worry about returning to France either
Some mate BTW !
FWIW the system in France is the same as in UK, if you were not driving then you reply to a ticket naming whoever was.
It's not unknown for Brits living here to nominate a 'visiting relative' (cough) when a fine comes through the letterbox knowing that it will never be followed up. It's easier to get away with because French insurance covers the car not the driver so no awkward questions to answer on that score but a dangerous game all the same because there are both forward and rear facing cameras and perjury is a frowned on here as anywhere.
Slightly off topic, but recently a friend who had received a 2 yr driving ban from driving in France (taken to court due to the high speed) thought he'd like a weekend away. He was picked up straight away in Calais and sent home since he was on his own with no one else to drive. Guess they were alerted when his passport was scanned.
45 ANPR average speed cameras were deployed on 1st May.
http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/connaitre-les...
Some are on gantries, some are twin cameras on poles. They have a warning sign like the other cameras. Thats what the next topic is about.
If a foreign registered car frequently crops up on speed cameras the authorities may investigate, but it would be difficult for them to follow it up if the driver wasn't a resident. There's an ongoing case against a French guy who uses a Belgian reg car and a smart lawyer, they'd even tracked his mobile phone movements for their latest attempt to nail him, but as his lawyer said, that only proved that his clients phone was in the car.......
http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/connaitre-les...
Some are on gantries, some are twin cameras on poles. They have a warning sign like the other cameras. Thats what the next topic is about.
If a foreign registered car frequently crops up on speed cameras the authorities may investigate, but it would be difficult for them to follow it up if the driver wasn't a resident. There's an ongoing case against a French guy who uses a Belgian reg car and a smart lawyer, they'd even tracked his mobile phone movements for their latest attempt to nail him, but as his lawyer said, that only proved that his clients phone was in the car.......
From this summer speeding fines resulting from being flashed by mobile/fixed cameras in France become enforceable in UK. A new bill is expected to be passed by the French parliament this month to enable the exchange of data with the UK. Not sure what legislation there is in the UK to enable this to happen though!
Perik Omo said:
From this summer speeding fines resulting from being flashed by mobile/fixed cameras in France become enforceable in UK. A new bill is expected to be passed by the French parliament this month to enable the exchange of data with the UK. Not sure what legislation there is in the UK to enable this to happen though!
Then things have changed drastically. Last year it was proposed that the new European driving licence would unite all EU countries within ten years and that at that point points could be applied in the country of origin.Legally, this would be a nightmare, as the UK has a fixed penalty system to the ACPO 10%+2mph threshold.
France has variable fines, discounts for early payment and additional penalty for late payment and different points allocated at various thresholds but it uses a +5kph threshold and so would not be a qualifying offence in the UK.
There needs to be much more harmonisation before such can be generally applied. Perhaps the new legislation is for where the offences are severe, 160kph+, but I cannot see the current UK government allowing too much parliamentary time to enable reciprocal legislation.
France has variable fines, discounts for early payment and additional penalty for late payment and different points allocated at various thresholds but it uses a +5kph threshold and so would not be a qualifying offence in the UK.
There needs to be much more harmonisation before such can be generally applied. Perhaps the new legislation is for where the offences are severe, 160kph+, but I cannot see the current UK government allowing too much parliamentary time to enable reciprocal legislation.
UK, Ireland & Denmark are not in the reciprocation according to this article
Above countries therefore just need to pay fines on the spot, but cameras will not catch up with you (unless you drive a hire car...)
Above countries therefore just need to pay fines on the spot, but cameras will not catch up with you (unless you drive a hire car...)
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