I got a letter from the République Française today. Even before I opened it, I knew what it had to be. After all, what else could the République Française have to write to me about? 116 kmh on a départementale, ie a road limited to 90. Or in your money, a bit over 70 on a national speed limit road where I should have been doing 55. First off, I'm not going to whinge (well, OK, only a bit). I done the deed and coughing up €90 is not going to completely kill me. And it is my first French speeding fine ever in 30 years of speeding in France. The speed limit in France has been 55mph for as long as I can remember, and I never bought a Ducati of any shape or form with the intention of sticking to it. I've racked up many thousands of miles on French roads. So frankly, this is a result. No, what disappointed me a bit was looking at Google Maps (which you can do also). Steetview the road from Villers-le-Lac to Morteau and you will see that it follows a river in a flat valley. No villages or hazards in sight. Well surfaced, great visibility. Of course I wasn't doing 90 kph! What do you take me for? So the French have also got on the revenue bandwagon and decided to increase their tax collection. In the current economic climate, it's hardly surprising. But a bit of a PITA all the same.
I'm surprised that the whole of the civilised world isn't riddled with cameras. It's only a matter of time.
It pretty much is now. But this was a Mesta - the French portable one. So looks as if the gendarmerie just wanted to make a few francs on a Sunday afternoon. As I recall, this is the trip that Fig berated me over because he implied I wasn't making any progress. True - I kept getting stuck behind little old ladies and went through a lot of villages. One of the rare times you could twist the grip a fraction and look what happens! Oh woe. Oh poor me.
I'm amazed that the yanks haven't jumped on the band wagon yet. I understand that some places have them but I've not seen one yet there.
The fine thing is a bitter pill you can swallow, the whole bollocks of points on your licience and increased insurance premiums for the next five years over here is another.
We don't have any of that lark. In any case, do French misdemeanours get pointed up on your UK licence?
i do 45k miles a year and pay my fines by batches of 10.... you can have 3 speedlimits and 3 cams on 1 mile of same type of road here... talking of stress....
If they do then it's a recent thing. I was done in Italy a couple of years ago and all I got was a €90 fine.
In the US everybody has a gun, and speed limit signs are commonly used for target practice. How long do you think a Gatso box would last?
i racked up a few points in the states and never bothered with the fines. been travelling there for nearly 20 years..just the usual arrogant tossers at customs but ive never had the fines come back to haunt me. Im pretty sure europe is the same, but when the powers that be have their way and were all under a central government then it'll be a different story.
No they don't, and while many people say it's due to change soon, they've been saying that for years. Make the most of it, guys...
