French Speed Cameras

[Ectopic]

Does anyone know what the situation is with French speed camera tickets following you home to the UK? Internet searches offer mixed advice.

Has anyone actually received a ticket in the post in the last, say, two years?

 

[Davey B]

What's the mixed advice?

 

[leadfarmer]

Yeah, I have

 

[Burridge01]

I have,fined no points.

 

[siddo]

I've had some. I voted leave and have yet to pay their invoice.
Same applies to those sent from Spain.

 

[glenn2926]

I’ve triggered a few speed cameras in the motorhome on French motorways. I think it’s because the van is a similar shape to a truck. Trucks have lower speed limits so I guess as soon as a reader has look they see it’s a motorhome so don’t send a ticket.

 

[richardbd]

I've had some. I voted leave and have yet to pay their invoice.
Same applies to those sent from Spain.

Have you been back to either country since?

Plenty of countries where the IT isn’t properly joined up, so immigration and plod leave holes between them. Plenty where the holes are quite well bunged up though…

 

[siddo]

Have you been back to either country since?

Plenty of countries where the IT isn’t properly joined up, so immigration and plod leave holes between them. Plenty where the holes are quite well bunged up though…

Loads of times.
Both by plane and by bike. Nothing happens.
Just bin any demands from them and forget them.

 

[tomtom1200]

I don't think you can get points but I believe you can be banned from driving in France if you are significantly over the limit.

Do you know how much over you were?

 

[Ethaneil]

What's the mixed advice?

Fuck 'em, they never find me. OR, slow down.

Has anyone actually received a ticket in the post in the last, say, two years?

Yes, ish. And, err, yes.

The first was notification from Budget car rental that they had received a request for driver details from the authorities. From the time and date i was able to work out to within a few miles where I was when I 'allegedly' exceeded le speed limit. However, 18 months on I have heard nothing else.

10 months later I get the dreaded letter through the post for my second infraction. By this time we had moved to France, and I was driving our french plated car, showing some visiting friends around the area. FLASH!!!! SAME FECKING CAMERA!!! Saw it that time! Thankfully, the speed was measured at 79kph in a 70. Speedo showed 82-83. Minus the 5kph allowance put me at 74, which allowed me to quickly pay the €48ish fine, with no points. The bigger is that had I gone into the 'points zone', then I would have been required to exchange my UK licence for a french one!

I know none of this is a lot of use. However, even though we aren't in the EU, or Schengen area, there are still routes available for EU countries to get UK keeper details if they really want them.

Bear in mind that france have now made exceeding the speed limit by 50kph a criminal offence with a possible custodial sentence. So you can bet that if you casually cruise into a village at say 100kph in a posted 90, miss the red bordered village name sign (AKA 50kph speed limit), and don't quite get the 'Zone Trente' shortly after, then they could be looking for you as part of a criminal investigation for doing 60mph in a 20!

So you can bet your ass that they are going to make the lawful request to the DVLA for your details. And what are the chances of them declining, especially as Herr Burnham suggests merging them with the DVSA!?!?!?!

 

[Ethaneil]

I don't think you can get points but I believe you can be banned from driving in France if you are significantly over the limit.

Do you know how much over you were?

That's the same in reverse. a foreign driver in the UK can be banned. A new driver record is created with DVLA and the disqualification is held there, despite the person never having held, or even applied for a UK licence.

 

[wessie]

the thing to remember is that while leaving the EU means DVLA is no longer *required* to grass you up, said DVLA can enter into a commercial relationship with anyone. It's a nice little earner for HMRC. The company that enforces the London LEZ fines is quite happily making a shit load of cash from commission from of a number of other countries, especially private companies chasing unpaid motorway tolls where ANPR is used rather than barriers.

 

[tomtom1200]

Fuck 'em, they never find me. OR, slow down.


Yes, ish. And, err, yes.

The first was notification from Budget car rental that they had received a request for driver details from the authorities. From the time and date i was able to work out to within a few miles where I was when I 'allegedly' exceeded le speed limit. However, 18 months on I have heard nothing else.

10 months later I get the dreaded letter through the post for my second infraction. By this time we had moved to France, and I was driving our french plated car, showing some visiting friends around the area. FLASH!!!! SAME FECKING CAMERA!!! Saw it that time! Thankfully, the speed was measured at 79kph in a 70. Speedo showed 82-83. Minus the 5kph allowance put me at 74, which allowed me to quickly pay the €48ish fine, with no points. The bigger is that had I gone into the 'points zone', then I would have been required to exchange my UK licence for a french one!

I know none of this is a lot of use. However, even though we aren't in the EU, or Schengen area, there are still routes available for EU countries to get UK keeper details if they really want them.

Bear in mind that france have now made exceeding the speed limit by 50kph a criminal offence with a possible custodial sentence. So you can bet that if you casually cruise into a village at say 100kph in a posted 90, miss the red bordered village name sign (AKA 50kph speed limit), and don't quite get the 'Zone Trente' shortly after, then they could be looking for you as part of a criminal investigation for doing 60mph in a 20!

So you can bet your ass that they are going to make the lawful request to the DVLA for your details. And what are the chances of them declining, especially as Herr Burnham suggests merging them with the DVSA!?!?!?!

After 18 months in France I realised how much more lenient the UK are! Cameras and speed camera vans are well marked and handheld radars are pretty rare.

From watching TV in France I know the police are very keen on confiscating vehicles for excessive speed if you are stopped in person.

The cameras you can learn the locations and use apps. The police with radars are very difficult and there are lots of them on all sorts of roads from motorway to random villages in middle of nowhere.

 

[leadfarmer]

From watching TV in France I know the police are very keen on confiscating vehicles for excessive speed if you are stopped in person.

I register all our bikes and cars in both names on the carte grise, that way they can’t confiscate the vehicle if you get caught going stupid fast (50 kmh over the limit)

It’s not that I drive or ride fast because I don’t, but sometimes it’s very easy to be well over the limit without being irresponsible or reckless, and the fuckpigs like to hide, they also have quotas of how many people they have to tax. Fuckpigs !

 

[Ectopic]

Yeah, I have

You don't count. You live there. You deserve all you get!

 

[Ectopic]

the thing to remember is that while leaving the EU means DVLA is no longer *required* to grass you up, said DVLA can enter into a commercial relationship with anyone. It's a nice little earner for HMRC. The company that enforces the London LEZ fines is quite happily making a shit load of cash from commission from of a number of other countries, especially private companies chasing unpaid motorway tolls where ANPR is used rather than barriers.

This is the 'mixed advice' in a nutshell. Some sites claiming that as we've left the EU there is no requirement for UK to share details so you're safe. Other sites saying the UK has entered into bilateral agreements with France, so a letter might be received.

Just to be clear, if I get a letter, I'll pay the fine - the same as I did for a Spanish fine received in the post a 7 or 8 years ago - as it was only my fault for exceeding the posted limit. At least there are no points involved.

I saw the camera flash us in a village in Champagne. It was a 50 kmh area and I can't have been doing more than 60.

The frustrating thing is that we took N and D roads to avoid paying the autoroute tolls, which would have been a total of around 35 Euros each way. 4hr45 each way rather than just over 3 on the autoroutes. A fine will mean we'd have been better off on the bloody toll roads (plus better fuel economy on the autoroutes too)!

As an aside, as we approached St Omer on the way home, there was a police road block doing breathalyser tests. I imagine they were looking for locals on their way home after a boozy Sunday lunch. We were caught in the queues for a couple of minutes, but I wasn't breathalysed.

 

[Ectopic]

Loads of times.
Both by plane and by bike. Nothing happens.
Just bin any demands from them and forget them.

I don't want to repeat the well-rehearsed arguments from here and numerous social media sites. However, the fact that you (and most people) seem to have got away without paying the fines doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will.

It's like saying "I once pulled out onto a main road without checking if there was anything coming. I was fine, nothing hit me. So you don't need to bother checking for traffic when pulling out."

And if the worst does happen - you get caught up in a no fault accident or something, the local traffic police run your plate through for a check and find you have an outstanding fine, say - it wont be much of a defence to say "Some blokes on the internet told me I didn't need to pay it."

 

[Ethaneil]

I register all our bikes and cars in both names on the carte grise, that way they can’t confiscate the vehicle if you get caught going stupid fast (50 kmh over the limit)

It’s not that I drive or ride fast because I don’t, but sometimes it’s very easy to be well over the limit without being irresponsible or reckless, and the fuckpigs like to hide, they also have quotas of how many people they have to tax. Fuckpigs !

Ooh, hadn't thought of the dual ownership/non seizure thing. Looks like HRH Wife II may become 50% owner of whatever bike I buy next

Fixed camera are always contentious. However, if UK experience is anything to go by, you're unlikely to come across un gendarme avec un radar unless the posted limit is below the departmental NSL, 90 or 80KPH for single carriageways depending on where you are. They are interested/focused on 'road safety'. So, think urban 30, 50, rural 70 limits.

 

[Ethaneil]

This is the 'mixed advice' in a nutshell. Some sites claiming that as we've left the EU there is no requirement for UK to share details so you're safe. Other sites saying the UK has entered into bilateral agreements with France, so a letter might be received.

Just to be clear, if I get a letter, I'll pay the fine - the same as I did for a Spanish fine received in the post a 7 or 8 years ago - as it was only my fault for exceeding the posted limit. At least there are no points involved.

I saw the camera flash us in a village in Champagne. It was a 50 kmh area and I can't have been doing more than 60.

The frustrating thing is that we took N and D roads to avoid paying the autoroute tolls, which would have been a total of around 35 Euros each way. 4hr45 each way rather than just over 3 on the autoroutes. A fine will mean we'd have been better off on the bloody toll roads (plus better fuel economy on the autoroutes too)!

As an aside, as we approached St Omer on the way home, there was a police road block doing breathalyser tests. I imagine they were looking for locals on their way home after a boozy Sunday lunch. We were caught in the queues for a couple of minutes, but I wasn't breathalysed.

So just a cheeky 20% over? Mine was 79 in a 70. Kilometers! Grips my shit to this very day! But, no points