Take extra care of your speed!

My husband and i were discussing what would happen if we had any speeding tickets sent to the uk in the first couple of months before we got our French plates because I don’t think our old plate in the UK would link us with the new plates. This is purely hypothetical but just wondered if a ticket could get lost in thin air as it were. The dvla don’t have our french address but may be linked to gov.co.uk generally.
The dwp knew we had moved without us telling them so I assume HMRC tell them.
There’s nowhere to hide in the 21st century.

Vorfahrt Rechts.

I notice the “if” and the “hypothetical” suggesting you have some tickets on the way or already gone. So what hey ho the joys of driving, you win some and you lose some. I had a camera go off yesterday and i was only driving at 95 in a 130 zone. The mind boggles.

No tickets expected. Just me being hypothetical.

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:wink: Is there a “minimum” limit in the 130kh zone ?? … I believe slow-moving vehicles are banned…:zipper_mouth_face:

there is no precise minimum speed, but the Code de la Route states you should not drive abnormally slowly in view of road conditions, in a way that will bother other drivers. Going too slowly can result in a fine of €35.
I was driving on an almost empty motorway.

In that situation with an almost ‘open’ motorway before me I tend to find my speed drifting upwards …

Driving in trainers seems to make me heavy footed on the pedal but I always use my sat nav because the ping alerts me to my speed.

I use cruise control, makes life easier and i was enjoying the weather and the countryside on my way to work. So no hurry.

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Stellas post reminded me of a story a few years ago (Yorkshire I think) where a couple of PCs on duty checking car speeds observed an RAF fighter in the air coming towards them. For a larf, they pointed the handheld device at the aircraft to record its speed.
After that, the device no longer worked.
Their chief went to the RAF station to complain about it having been ‘disabled’ only to be told that the officers were lucky to still be alive! Seems that the weapons system on the aircraft saw the beam from the radar gun as a threat and automatically armed itself and was about to fire and would have done but for the quick reactions of the on-board weapons officer/navigator.
A suitably chastened complainant left the station office toot sweet :joy:

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It’s a well known story in the speed gun using fraternity, there are slight variations but essentially the same. I have no reason to believe it isn’t basically true

My immediate reaction to that explanation is that whoever was giving it would need excessively large cheeks to accommodate the huge amount of tongue which was being forced into them along with the tale. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

Ah, yes - Snopes has this one filed.

It’s been doing the rounds for the last 10 years online, and probably well before that - it isn’t true.

(Over the years) I do know that Associations have been asked NOT to shine the lights up into the skies… some of the modern stuff is amazingly bright and travels for miles…

There are various reasons put forward to back up the request… disorientating planes is favourite… (birds, planes, Superman :zipper_mouth_face::upside_down_face: ) whatever, we endeavour to comply …

Haven’t got one of those in mine. I have driven cars that do have them but I never use it as :-

  1. I like to be in control.
  2. I don’t like the ‘swoopy feeling’ not sure that’s a technical word :dizzy_face: that it gives me, makes me feel carsick.
    Has anyone else experienced this with cruise control ?
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The system would notify the pilot and send out a friend/foe blip but it wouldnt arm itself unless the system was already hot ready to fire (which is extremly doubtfull) . At the end of the day it is the pilot who pushes the button. But it would have been a “they didnt see that coming” type of scenario.

I know of the surging you mention, but i must admit, i havent noticed it on either of my Volvos. And i am also in control as well.

You remain in control - just in a slightly different way - even on cruise I will normally be adjusting the target speed - higher if I want to swiftly overtake, lower if I can see slower moving traffic ahead.

All cruise control systems disengage if you change gear or hit the brakes.

No, can’t say I have. In fact having difficulty understanding your odd feeling - why would driving at constant speed using a cruise control be any different to driving at constant speed with your foot on the throttle.

I will try to explain …
When driving in a hilly area the car seems to surge (thanks Thomas, that’s the word) on the ascent and descent.
My partner turns cruise control off when I am a passenger in his car as he knows it makes me carsick, as does reading, yes he has tried cheating and engaging it when I am relaxing but I can feel it every time …
I enjoy driving and don’t want to have to be adjusting controls, I do all that via my brain and the pedals :wink:

You are only sensing the engine working harder to maintain a constant speed up the gradient - it would be the same if you were manually controlling the speed - perhaps you have become accustomed to easing off the accelerator slightly up hill hence the feeling that something odd is happening.

Certainly there should not be a surge downhill - normally the system will cut fuel and let gravity take over, this can mean overshooting the target speed as a cruise control system won’t apply the brakes (at least none that I know of do).

As I said all the cruise control systems I’ve used allow the target speed to be adjusted, if you prefer to loose a bit of speed up hill (which is better for fuel consumption after all) this should be possible.

But if, at the end of the day, you don’t like using them I don’t see anything wrong in that.

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