Speeding in the EU

[termietermite]

No firm date for these proposals, but what's been talked about for along time, is getting closer.  Grump - no more burn ups round the M25 for me!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7305058.stm

[JDS]

France and the UK have been sharing driver information since last March although there have not been many prosecutions either way ..... YET. The cameras in France have grown at an alarming rate and as many of them are particually well hidden I can only assume that the Dutch and British have convinced them what a good source of revenue they are (he says, dusting off last month's €90 speeding fine, but that was a j-c at the roadside ) Not good any more.

[BryanC]

Speeding - Le Mans week...?

Not me gov.

dusting off ......, but that was a j-c at the roadside

PS Whats a j-c ? Is it a bit like a B-J but more continental ? 

[Lord Pig-Pen]

What ever heap of shite I drive down in will be so laden with kit that speeding will be a luxury

Unless the silver 300C is back on the road by June....

Do any CA Cobra drivers remember being passed on the Sud Ring road by said silver missile in 04?

[mgmark]

The computers still don't talk to each other - yet.  That's what's been holding back the introduction.   

MG Mark

[Leftie]

Does that mean there is a back-log of pending cases to go through?

FS, I believe that the 'time limit' is 3 months to receive a summons. But not sure on the 'international' time limit.  Although know the French, they will hold a grudge and the European Arrest Warrant will be imposed that the current incompetant government signed for.

Mind you, the French has been imposing 'on the spot' fines approaching e1000. I've heard of quite a few cases, so cash supliment wages etc. Try getting a receipt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jules G]

Well the Dutch  caught up with me last year and were very persistent in chasing me for payment once the car hire company had passed on my details  to them

[JDS]

PS Whats a j-c ? Is it a bit like a B-J but more continental ? 

Jean-Claudes - Slang for the Gendarmes, kind of a French version of 'Dibble'.

[BryanC]

Thanks chum - always up for a bit of French slang to help my best efforts at Franglais.

Slightly O/T - I came across another one ' Harraps Rude French - an alternative French Phrasebook.

Le telephone sonne dans une gendarmerie,
'Allo?' fait une voix d'homme. 'Je viens d'ecraser deux poulets en traversant un village. Qu'est-ce que je dois en faire ?'
'Mettez-les sur le bas-cote de la route, pour que les voitures ne leur roulent pas dessus'
'Et leurs motos qu'est-ce que j'en fais?'

Translates....


The phone rings in a police station,
A gendarme answers the phone and hears a man's voice  at the other end.
Hello - I've just run over two pigs while driving through a village. What should I do with them?
Put them at the side of the road so nobody runs over them.
And what should I do with their motorbikes?

> un poulet = a chicken = a policeman   

[Radar]

There've been efforts at EU level to get driving bans etc recognised throughout Europe since at least 1997. In fact there was a "convention on driving bans"  in the late 1990s which was signed by all EU states but never ratified because of problems getting agreement on which offences should be prosecuted and what the penalties should be (different countries operate different criteria). At the moment, if the French want to prosecute you for speeding, they can - but only if you return to France. Otherwise they can send you as many letters as they like, but thats all they can do. If you have a really big accident - say someone is killed - they would try to get a European arrest warrant. The new legislation would mean that the UK would prosecute its own drivers for offences committed elsewhere. A different kettle of fish. But in Brussels, these things take a long time. There isn't even a formal legislative proposal yet - and once there is it will have to be approved by the member states and the European parliament. Its a couple of years away - minimum.