Driving through France to Italy - advice
Discussion
Never had an issue with average speed between the tolls.
Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
Are they timing you between tolls now? There are enough hidden cameras between the two carriageways so I thought they only used fixed, non average speed cameras and roving unmarked cars. Having said that, I tend to keep my speeds down to below 150km/h in France and keep Waze on to let me know about camera locations. Waze isn't allowed to alert you to speed camera in France, so instead it alerts you to Police.
LunarOne said:
Are they timing you between tolls now? There are enough hidden cameras between the two carriageways so I thought they only used fixed, non average speed cameras and roving unmarked cars. Having said that, I tend to keep my speeds down to below 150km/h in France and keep Waze on to let me know about camera locations. Waze isn't allowed to alert you to speed camera in France, so instead it alerts you to Police.
No they aren't. Biggest urban legend out there.
There are however, plenty of patrols out there who can catch you by laser or otherwise as well as the cameras.
There are almost twice as many cops per head of population in France as there are in England and Wales so there are more of them out there to catch you.
Just run along at 85mph and you'll get there quickly and have no trouble.
Rushjob said:
LunarOne said:
Are they timing you between tolls now? There are enough hidden cameras between the two carriageways so I thought they only used fixed, non average speed cameras and roving unmarked cars. Having said that, I tend to keep my speeds down to below 150km/h in France and keep Waze on to let me know about camera locations. Waze isn't allowed to alert you to speed camera in France, so instead it alerts you to Police.
No they aren't. Biggest urban legend out there.
There are however, plenty of patrols out there who can catch you by laser or otherwise as well as the cameras.
There are almost twice as many cops per head of population in France as there are in England and Wales so there are more of them out there to catch you.
Just run along at 85mph and you'll get there quickly and have no trouble.
cliffords said:
It's absolutely not a myth. This is going back 19 years I just worked out . Toll booth to Toll both , the barrier would not open on the second one with my ticket until the nice policeman with a gun did it for me and took 90 Euros off me for speeding. With wife and two small kids in back of car .
What you say you remember from 19 years ago is certainly not representative of the reality of the French Autoroute system today.But I only live here ........
cliffords said:
It's absolutely not a myth. This is going back 19 years I just worked out . Toll booth to Toll both , the barrier would not open on the second one with my ticket until the nice policeman with a gun did it for me and took 90 Euros off me for speeding. With wife and two small kids in back of car .
It was also an urban myth back in 2005!!Very old thread, same topic!
It absolutely is an urban myth - The poster who was stopped and fined would have been spotted exceeding the limit and collected at the toll booth - no nonsense about timing. However - you will not get away with extended 150kph speed , the Gendarmes know their patch much better than you do and you'll never spot them in time.
But honestly , tooling along at an indicated 140kph gets it done means you probably have fewer fuel stops overall so it would be quicker. IF you want to drive in a more spirited fashion get off the autoroute and RNs and take it easy through the villages , even those that appear pretty much deserted (i.e. most of them)
But honestly , tooling along at an indicated 140kph gets it done means you probably have fewer fuel stops overall so it would be quicker. IF you want to drive in a more spirited fashion get off the autoroute and RNs and take it easy through the villages , even those that appear pretty much deserted (i.e. most of them)
It is an urban myth , if you get pulled at the toll booth it’s because you’ve been clocked further up speeding or you’ve been caught on the 90 - 70 - 50 approach to the toll booth . It’s like shooting fish in a barrel , my French neighbours used to call it an avoidable tax !
And if the more spirited drivers wish to “ make progress “ make sure they have a passenger with a license and insurance for that car and they’ll probably be fine to continue with their journey, albeit with the passenger now driving . They’ll also probably end up having to apply for a new licence when they get back .
And if the more spirited drivers wish to “ make progress “ make sure they have a passenger with a license and insurance for that car and they’ll probably be fine to continue with their journey, albeit with the passenger now driving . They’ll also probably end up having to apply for a new licence when they get back .
Edited by paulwirral on Tuesday 23 May 20:42
nickfrog said:
If you stick to 140km/h (as per the car's speedo) then you'll be fine. In the dry and in a 130 clicks zone of course.
Absolutely.140 kph on the speedo is likely to be <137 kph true, below the enforcement threshold.
I typically set the cruise at 140-150 kph, and have Waze running to flag any police or camera zones. And stick to the limits within 50 km of Calais or 20 kms of a peage booth.
Thanks for the replies.
To the reply about driving like a tool none of us will be I was referring to there being differing opinions on what is a safe speed and not get nicked which has been also demonstrated on this thread. I will be keeping to 85mph/140kph I can change my digital dash to show either so will be swapping over to kph once in Calais and setting the max speed on the cruise control.
There are no passengers in the cars so no one can afford to get nicked.
Also anyone know what the deal is with walkie talkies? They have been bought to use on the trip but i'm also sceptical on being allowed to use them. I'm thinking to only use mine if split from the group.
To the reply about driving like a tool none of us will be I was referring to there being differing opinions on what is a safe speed and not get nicked which has been also demonstrated on this thread. I will be keeping to 85mph/140kph I can change my digital dash to show either so will be swapping over to kph once in Calais and setting the max speed on the cruise control.
There are no passengers in the cars so no one can afford to get nicked.
Also anyone know what the deal is with walkie talkies? They have been bought to use on the trip but i'm also sceptical on being allowed to use them. I'm thinking to only use mine if split from the group.
brickwall said:
Never had an issue with average speed between the tolls.
Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
This. Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
brickwall said:
Never had an issue with average speed between the tolls.
Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
This. Assuming dry weather on the motorway:
Enforcement threshold is 137 kph.
Up to 156 kph the likely punishment if you get caught is a small fine (€68 IIRC).
Get caught above 168 kph and you’re into immediate ban territory (as one PHer found out recently).
smifffymoto said:
Stick to the limit and you will have no problems. Drive like a t
t and find out how flexible the law is.
I totally agree, France is definitely one place where I stick to the rules. Back in 2000, I went from Avignon up to Lyon and got a toll based speeding fine, around 50 Euros, Also watch out for the sudden decrease in speed signs on 130kph roads, where they go down to 90kph without any warning, then the grey speed camera zaps you.t and find out how flexible the law is.Thankfully a lot of those cameras are being destroyed, the French people don't mess around when the government takes the p**s out of them.
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