taztastic wrote:

A SatNav, is NOT a radar detector, it is not illegal to have a SatNav which displays the position of a camera............

That was the case Paul, but now changed:
Copy paste from the AA website....
Effective from 3 January 2012 French laws prohibiting drivers from carrying devices capable of detecting speed cameras have been extended to include devices able to warn or inform of the location of speed cameras e.g. satnav or gps systems capable of showing speed camera sites as PoI.
As well as now banning all devices capable of warning drivers of speed camera locations, the French government is installing around 400 new fixed speed cameras and is taking down road signs indicating the location of existing fixed speed camera sites.
What should you do
If you have a satnav capable of displaying French camera locations in France then you must at least disable camera alerts before driving in France. We recommend that you contact the manufacturer of the satnav for advice as it is likely that a software or database update is available that will actually remove camera data for France from the device.
If you have a satnav system built into your car then we recommend contacting the vehicle manufacturer in the first instance.
Bon Voyage...My A E

I have heard that you can still get the POI's of the camera sites but they are now identified as Danger Areas,

We should have built a bypass not a "chunnel"

I will agree with Nick regarding the driving, the roads are dead compared to what we have over here, three or for years ago we had a holiday just outside Geneva, come off the boat, it to top gear, set the cruise and drive, overnight stop just south of Rheims then on to Geneva, the only time we took it out of top gear was for Peages, breaks and the hilly section near Bourg-en-Bresse, (that bit is a long drag) roads are in a lot better condition than ours.
The traffic news over there is strange, they let you know if there are any delays at the Peages, they were giving out the delays and that the queues were up to 100 metres long

I feel the need to "defend" France here!

I go over there (Portsmouth - Caen) about twice a year and drive 300 miles down to stay with friends near Poitiers (I have also done the Calais to Italy trip a number of times). In all the years we have been doing this (by car and motorbike) I have never so much as spoken to the police let alone be stopped by them. The great joy of driving over there is space....you can actually set the cruise control and not have to touch it for miles and miles. If you speed, that's your problem and you reap the consequences.....don't do it, just stick to the limit, sit back and enjoy the space and countryside. If you have driven in France you will know what I mean when you think of the mayhem and hell that is our motorway system. If you don't like paying tolls, use the other roads, they are by and large excellent. Most of the small towns and villages we visit in the Charante have central "squares" where you can rock up and park for free rather than the rip off system we tend to have here.....if you can find a space!

There will always be exceptions, for example driving round Paris is a very specialised form of masochism but then again London 'aint much fun either! All in all, driving in France is just more relaxing than the game of dodgems we play here.

OK..I'll get my coat...... John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

taztastic wrote:

We should have built a bypass not a "chunnel"

"chunnel"??? I thought it was a 'super gun'  2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

The towing speed limit of 90kph with the freelander put a stop to my trips, and got me to sell my caravan.

taztastic wrote:

We should have built a bypass not a "chunnel"

JST wrote:

All in all, driving in France is just more relaxing than the game of dodgems we play here.

OK..I'll get my coat......

the last trip i made to the alps driving was a long slog with the foot firmly planted on the floor doing about 120mph with 135mph (not in my FL2) in sections for long periods at the time too, it was all on quiet roads with just to occasional other road user and I never saw a police car or camera, and if they saw me and the other 3 cars they didn't bother trying to catch us up.

it sounds like things have changed a little, time to dirty the number plates so the camera cant read them and Gumball

Tandemman wrote:

The towing speed limit of 90kph with the freelander put a stop to my trips, and got me to sell my caravan.

Tandeman, it's only 4mph below what you can legally do here

it was when he realised he couldn't even exceed the French limit that he tired of the van.


Anyway France is a big country 4 mph make a big difference on a trip to the south.

I remember driving down years ago in an Astra diesel (isuzu engine). It was very hot weather and while my speed altered between 70 and 90 mph most of the trip, I had to drive with the temp gauge , slowing down when the needle approached the red.
The car never had temp issues before or after just the weather and the persistent high speed driving.(for an astra).

you've got to admire the French peages not cheap but mainly un-crowded direct and fast. At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

chicken george wrote:

it was when he realised he couldn't even exceed the French limit that he tired of the van.


Anyway France is a big country 4 mph make a big difference on a trip to the south.

I remember driving down years ago in an Astra diesel (isuzu engine). It was very hot weather and while my speed altered between 70 and 90 mph most of the trip, I had to drive with the temp gauge , slowing down when the needle approached the red.
The car never had temp issues before or after just the weather and the persistent high speed driving.(for an astra).

you've got to admire the French peages not cheap but mainly un-crowded direct and fast.

There you go CG - if you'd had a caravan on the back of the Astra - you would have driven slower and not overheated - That's why they do it????

And if they do overheat and stop there is somewhere to make the bacon sandwiches and a nice 'cup of tea'  2002 Honda VFR800
2002 Toyota Celica 140 Silver (mid life crisis - again!)
2007 FL2 GS Manual Army Reconnaissance Green + freel2.com sticker
2004 Toyota Celica 140 Black - Gone
2000 Toyota Celica 140 Silver - Gone
1998 Toyota Celica ST Pearl Green - Gone
1996 Nissan Primera 1.6 - Gone
1994 Rover Montego 1.6 Auto - Gone

The towing speed limit used to be 130 kph and when you are doing a 5000km round trip it makes a HUGE difference, The irony is if you pull the same 1500 kg caravan with a smaller car you are still allowed to do 130kph

Some years ago a group of us on bikes were 'making progress' on roads equivalent to our A roads. Up to 80mph and slowing to 30 through villages. I was at the front and when I checked my mirror and noticed we had been joined by an additional bike which stayed with us for quite a few miles before dropping off.

When we finally stopped for coffee my friend at the back said it was a policeman who had been waving at us to go faster!

French roads are great and the people are wonderful towards motorcyclists.

But they are now getting more and more speed cameras so you have to be careful.

Simon