The French get tough (1 Viewer)

[steveclecy]

I know the proposed legislation was published on another thread, but this is Pocket GPS World's take on it:

The announcement last week of new French legislation that will ban speed camera warning devices has been met with anger by motorists.

French Government proposals will outlaw the sale and use of speed camera warning devices. Using a warning device will cost a driver €1,500 in fines with six penalty points whilst selling a device would result in a €30,000 fine and the possibility of two years in prison.

The Government also announced that warning signs would be removed as part of their response to a 13% increase in road fatalities in Q1 of 2011.

I rather guess that means if your Satnav device has speed camera locations preloaded you could run foul of the new law.

Steve

 

[old-mo]

Don`t speed then....

I don`t .....

 

[steveclecy]

Nor do I, but I think they are preloaded on many Satnavs with European maps.

Steve

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[old-mo]

Not rightly sure but I think my new Tom-Tom,,, speed camera warning`s can be turned off..

I wonder if they would still nick you..

 

[niggle]

yes they will,,, and thet have the right to check any device in the vech to see if you have got it in the thing ,,even if its not in use ,,

 

[Landy lover]

Mine does not have speed camera warnings = they are called safety camera warnings - wonder if that is why ??

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[John & Joan]

Not rightly sure but I think my new Tom-Tom,,, speed camera warning`s can be turned off..

I wonder if they would still nick you..

What is being restricted is the active camera location information that pings you when you enter a speed restriction zone or mobile camera zone. Most maps display speed limits on screen and this is permissible according to my reading of the information on another forum.

You can turn the speed camera locations off in most SatNavs. I know you can on my Garmin.

Spain has the same restrictions. No, they will not knick you if it is turned off. In Spain they have been known to stop and check for this if they see a SatNav in a vehicle.

I had mine turned off all winter and didn't miss the incessant pinging one iota.

 

[barryd]

Is this not legislation against radar detectors? These are illegal in many countries including the UK I think. They can be detected and you will be pulled over if that is the case.

However having speed camera locations on a Tom Tom or whatever even if it is illegal there is now way Im sure that they could detect you had them turned on (unless im totally wrong here). How will they know?

I dont use them anyway and i turned the speed limit thing of as it got on my nerves. Been flashed twice in France, never had a ticket but try not to speed normally.

 

[John & Joan]

Is this not legislation against radar detectors? These are illegal in many countries including the UK I think. They can be detected and you will be pulled over if that is the case.

However having speed camera locations on a Tom Tom or whatever even if it is illegal there is now way Im sure that they could detect you had them turned on (unless im totally wrong here). How will they know?

I dont use them anyway and i turned the speed limit thing of as it got on my nerves. Been flashed twice in France, never had a ticket but try not to speed normally.

In Spain they stop vehicles and inspect the satnav. They do not detect it anyother way.

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[barryd]

Well I wouldnt loose any sleep over it then if it involves a french rozzer first of all being there to stop you, then realising your English, then trying to understand an English Sat nav as the French refuse to learn English (they cant have it both ways)

We once got stopped on the bike in France at a check point. You could see the dissapointment on the guys face when he realised we were English. His boss was watching so he went through the paper work but I could have showed him my P45 as he couldnt read my docs anyway. Couldnt wait to move us on.

My general impression in most countries in tourist areas is they actively go out of their way to avoid hassling or pulling over tourists. I appreciate this may not be the case everywhere.

The whole thing seems daft to me anyway. Its been proved that speed cameras dont save lives.

 

[scotjimland]

Its been proved that speed cameras dont save lives.

Not wishing to start a debate Barry ... but according to French they have done..

A decade ago, the death rate on French roads was among the worst in Europe, and the government reacted in 2002 with what some drivers called repressive tactics. Radar cameras were erected at intersections throughout the country, which captured a motorist’s license plate if the car surpassed the speed limit by more than 5 kilometers an hour (3 m.p.h.), deducted points off a motorist’s license and sent a fine through the mail.

The measures were deemed successful. The International Transport Forum said France achieved a reduction of 47 percent in its road-death toll in the first decade of the century, relative to the 1990s. The ministerial report said the average speed in France also dropped 10 kilometers an hour since 2002, or 11.7 percent.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/supporters-of-speed-camera-locators-mobilize-against-french-government/

 

[JayDee]

Well I wouldnt loose any sleep over it then if it involves a french rozzer first of all being there to stop you, then realising your English, then trying to understand an English Sat nav as the French refuse to learn English (they cant have it both ways)

We once got stopped on the bike in France at a check point. You could see the dissapointment on the guys face when he realised we were English. His boss was watching so he went through the paper work but I could have showed him my P45 as he couldnt read my docs anyway. Couldnt wait to move us on.

My general impression in most countries in tourist areas is they actively go out of their way to avoid hassling or pulling over tourists. I appreciate this may not be the case everywhere.

The whole thing seems daft to me anyway. Its been proved that speed cameras dont save lives.

You're right, of course, but they do bring in a bit of revenue and that's what would be missed if everybody kept to the speed limit - hence their desire to keep the locations secret.


John

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[bobandjanie]

We have rarely had the speed camera warnings turned on. Obviously we will not abroad now. When it is turned on though, and no one have a go at this bearing in mind you only have to be 1mph (or 1km) above the speed limit and it bings. This would send our sat nav into a huff after a half dozen (one every four or five seconds) bings. It would shut down! In other words if it thought you were taking no notice it would not offer any other advice No directions. Nothing
Jane

 

[imprint]

Not quite on the subject, but a query for the geeks.

Our satnav shows the vehicle's speed. This is always, but always, 2-3 pmh above the speedo reading.

Which is correct, and why the difference? I know the satnav is based on the time differences between the transmitting sats as their signals arrive, but we're hardly going fast enough for this to affect the result!!

 

[Reallyretired]

According to the published stuff in the other thread this only refers to radar detectors, which as previously stated are illegal in most countries. The French proposal is that locations will no longer be published and so the Sat nav manufacturers will not have the data to put camera positions on their machines.
As I understand it, the effect will be that although you may have speed camera warnings on you sat nav they are unlikely to be correct as they are planning to install lots more cameras and the locations will no longer be available to the sat nav manufacturers.

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[JayDee]

Not quite on the subject, but a query for the geeks.

Our satnav shows the vehicle's speed. This is always, but always, 2-3 pmh above the speedo reading.

Which is correct, and why the difference? I know the satnav is based on the time differences between the transmitting sats as their signals arrive, but we're hardly going fast enough for this to affect the result!!

That's a surprise. I always believed that speedometers had a tendency to read high - our MH (on a Fiat) reads nearly 10% higher that the SatNav and our Shogun reads about 6% higher.

I have always understood that the SatNav has a better level of accuracy (as long as your getting a good signal - eg not in a forest or surrounded by high buildings, cliffs or suchlike). It is, after all, reading your position to within 5 metres every couple of seconds and over a quite short period will come up with a reasonably accurate average speed. We used the GPS on the ships for highly accurate navigational purposes (e.g. calculating the percentage of slack in a cable during the laying operation, though admittedly that was augmented by a referenced set-up).


John

 

[hilldweller]

Not quite on the subject, but a query for the geeks.

Our satnav shows the vehicle's speed. This is always, but always, 2-3 pmh above the speedo reading.

Simple, UK law says speedo must not under read, for obvious reasons, so makers calibrate -10% (ish) to make sure they comply.

Of course it just might be a way to ensure we drive slower.

Anyway, I've had two GPSs at a time agreeing to 0.1 mph and usually around 10% less than indicated mph. So indicated 33 in a 30 or indicated 75 in a 70 perfectly legal.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I agree with what you say, but would (rather pedantically - sorry!) point out that it is only legal if it agrees with the calibrated instrument used by the traffic cop in whatever country that might be hell bent on keeping his ticket quota- sorry, "performance targets" up.

It simply isn't possible to say in court that the satnav said that the speedo was over-reading - a colleague was going to try this but was dissuaded. He was way over the limit anyway.

Having said that, both in my car (pogo+) and the van (tomtom), I use the GPS as a speedo to see what speed I'm really doing and routinely set the cruise control accordingly. It is a risk, but a slight one

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[Reallyretired]

Agree with most posters here. Both my satnavs read 10% lower than the speedo. I set my cruise control to 55 on the motorway by the satnav (speedo reads 60)

 

[imprint]

Thanks, Chaps!
T.

 

[imprint]

The senior partner, in bullish mode, has pointed out that my reference to "Chaps" in the previous post is sexist.

I've reminded her that in law, the male includes the female, whatever the biologists may say...

I'm off now... see you sometime...

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