Technically they are illegal but I have never seen or heard of anybody checking them.
So what happens to the old GPS's?
It was made illegal last year for a GPS to warn you of upcoming fixed radars but subsequently it was agreed that a GPS could warn you of a dangerous place. So Tomtom, for example, now just call French fixed cameras "danger spots" and still warn you of them.
You'll need a Ferrari or better then as the Top Gear lot decided some time back to find out just how fast you had to drive to beat the machine and seem to recall it was something like 190 mph! Good excuse to buy a Ferrari mind you.
Meh. It was 9pm on a summers Sunday evening. A minor road leaving a village. That few hundred yards you get between the end of the village and the sign with the red strike through it telling you the limit has ended.
A long straight road with one (as it turned out, unmarked police) car in the distance.
Oh and I would have put my speed at more like 190kph.
I drive like an angel 99% of the time but life is for living sometimes.
With people like you on the road, Carl....that's the reason I slow down!!
GREAT BIG LIKE :-), will speed up next time!
If you go through them fast enough they don't work :-)
Two different things. It's illegal to have a device which detects radars but it's perfectly OK to have a GPS/SatNav that tells you what speed you're travelling at and pings when you go over the speed limit it has in its memory. I can also set my car's on-board computer to alert me when I go over a pre-set (by me) speed. Mine's set at 135 kph for the motorways which keeps me legal. As to the GPS, you need to keep the data bases up to date. The user's manual will tell you how to set it up to display your real speed and alert you when your break the speed limit. It should also have a radar database now called "dangerous section of road" database!
I wouldn't say it was futile Dick, just a chat about the increasing amount of hidden speed cameras these days. It is true, my fines were when I wasn't paying attention what is irritating is that they were small infringements - although breaking the law nevertheless- and yet, on many occasions people drive around here like a bat out of hell, not getting caught.
I bagged a 145kph in a 70kph limit about 4 years ago and got away with a €90 fine, no points and a good telling off.
I think the policeman I overtook liked my bike :)
Naughty as a pro driver you should know that your speedo under reads by 10%
Over not under. (i'm sure that is what you meant)
Car speedos read OVER by a small margin to save you from yourself. Ask your satnav for the real speed if you are unsure.
I think the educational signs are great and they should have more of them.
I was stopped for speeding recently, my first time ever in 31 years driving (the first 21 in the UK, the last ten in France).
I didn't have my licence with me, the gendarme said it wasn't important. We did the electronic paperwork in his minibus, and at the end he said I'd get a fine in the post, but no points as I don't have a French licence. I said that wasn't correct, I do have a French licence. He said never mind, it was done now, that was that. I didn't set out to give the impression that I had a UK licence, he must have assumed. I was lucky. :-)
I have an on-board GPS but not only does it not ping it doesn't highlight 'danger zones'. I think the GPS is half of the problem actually as it is in the centre of the dashboard and doesn't show your current speed or the speed limit, whereas the speedo is in the usual place under the steering wheel. Problem is, I'm so busy pointing out stuff to people, watching the road for other cars, kids and so on, half an eye on the GPS there's no spare eyes for the speedo :-).
I'm not that bad though, I only have 2 points missing from my licence, 1 for each offence, I get so annoyed when people hurtle past me as I am now super conscientious and really make a big effort to drive about 5km under the limit and use the speed limiter on the motorways.
Ben's advice is great...providing you have a French licence or one where the French system can be used to deduct the points. When driving with a British licence, because the system doesn't work the same, no points can be deducted.
I've only been officially caught once there but each time I go there I am talking away to my clients and suddenly realise that I'm there again. It's because it is a dual carriageway in Vosne Romanee, downhill where the limit is 90 but changes immediately to 50 without the 70 in between. I'd like to think I am perfect as I am female, so naturally a better driver and on the road a lot but hey ho:-)
The "educational" signs, the ones that flash your speed, had started to replace the signs saying "Radar Trap" where you knew there was a trap in the next couple of kilometers. However, there has been an about-turn on this, and the old signs will be returning. This happened at the same time as the u-turn on breath-test kits, where apparently the law will state that you need to have two in your car at all times, but there will be no penalty for not doing so.
I think you might be wrong there Dick.
I have JUST received the news that I passed my driving exam, after driving for 45 years and since 1986 in France. I used to travel back and forth between the US and France and South Africa, but now I am almost always in France. I applied as candidate libre, passed the Code on my own, but had to pay for several lessons before someone would give me access to the necessary dual control vehicle for the exam. Thought I had screwed it up by driving 90, and even slightly above, on a departmental road which is a nono as a "jeune conducteur". Speed limit for them is 80, and I was told to drive as one, but the examiner must have taken pity on me. So I guess I got my license on the cheap for only about 400 euros.