xyz99

You might be right, but we were on roads where we thought speed limit was 70, then when we saw a sign it was 90. We saw signs with 45 km/h in places, and I don't recall seeing any such speed limit in any of the articles I read in preparation for this trip.

>> This is the law in the US, also, you don't find speed limit signs all over rural roads.
Maybe so, but our GPS at home shows the speed limit and at least 95% of the times that is accurate. Our French TomTom did not...

And I'll stop here.

joannyc

StCirq

There have been recent articles in various local and national newspapers about how many roads there are (obviously, D and N roads, not autoroutes) in France that don't have any speed signs. Apparently it confuses locals as well as tourists. Very few of the roads we travel on around here have speed signage. I have never seen a 45km speed sign, just 30, 50, 70, and 90 (plus up to 110 on the autoroutes), but maybe since last July when the new speed limits went into effect they exist.

It would be practically impossible for us to get a speeding ticket in our car, and we've never gotten one.

xyz99

>> It would be practically impossible for us to get a speeding ticket in our car, and we've never gotten one.

LOL, St.Cirq, that's funny. We did not speed (I think), but we found the lack of signs confusing. Maybe it's done on purpose? The 45 km/h sign was so unusual, we were both surprised.

tomboy

The problem in France is that, especially to a non-French person, it's not clearly evident when one is leaving an urban area and entering a rural area, or vice versa.

A few years ago, we were cruising along at 85 kph on a rural road, rounded a curve, and BAM, hidden in the bushes was a sign for the village; two feet behind it was a speed camera. On seeing them (perhaps 50' ahead), I jammed on the brakes (still in "the rural") as though to avoid a deer, but by the time I got down to 50 kph, I was 5-10 feet past the village sign. = ticket

kerouac

On the contrary, information about leaving an urban area is the most clearly marked -- the sign with the town name with a diagonal slash across it. That means, unless otherwise indicated, that the speed has changed from 50 to 80km/h.

ahbonvraiment

StCirq

Even leaving St-Cirq (population 112, of which we are 2), there is a sign with the slash on it indicating you are leaving the commune. Now, here that doesn't mean the speed has gone from 50 kph to 80 kph (you couldn't drive 50 kph in St-Cirq even if you wanted to, never mind 80 kph after you leave), but I agree with kerouac that if there's one kind of sign you can depend on, it's the one with the slash telling you you've just left someplace.

xyz99, we drive a microcar, one of those miniature cars you don't need a license for that's essentially a scooter with doors. We can't drive on the autoroutes - not permitted in a microcar. Maximum speed is about 65 kph, and that's downhill (steep downhill, in neutral). It's adorable, and all we need, and we'd have to be doing something utterly reckless in the middle of a small village to get a speeding ticket.

jpie

StCirq-I love your little microcar-I remeber seeing it last year. It is my new "aspirational" retirement car

StCirq

It's a wonderful little beast, jpie, and really all that we need. The only real downside, for us anyway, is the insurance, which costs a small fortune.

xyz99

We saw quite a few micro cars in France, really cute, although I did not know their proper name. I would love one when I retire. Just thinking how easy it would be to park it

hetismij2

Here microcars are called brommobiels (Mopeds are brommers here) and have a maximum speed of 45km/h. You have to have a brommer licence (AM) for it. Since they mostly have a two cylinder diesel engine (or worse a two stroke petrol engine) they are not very environmentally friendly. There are a few electric ones now.
AS I have a full driving licence i am automatically given an AM licence, so one of these decades I may end up with one, though it would be tricky to use around here as everyone hops on and off the motorway to get to other parts of the town.
Typical of the French to not follow the EU directive on licensing for them .

jpie

It is interesting to note the high insurance cost of the micro car in France-I wasn't aware of that before. Hopefully as electric and electric hybrid gains traction the choices will increase and the price of insurance will go down! We tried to get the new Peugeot 3008 plug in hybrid for our open europe lease car this year in France but unfortunately it won't be available until later in the year than when we get there.

tomboy

Uh, the concern is NOT about getting a speeding ticket for going 50kph in an 80kph zone just out of town; it's about the high probability of getting a ticket for going 80kph 300 feet outside of the village being approached around a curve which has a 50kph sign planted among undergrowth, with a speed camera atop it. It's pretty obvious when one is approaching Paris that you're nearing an urban area; far less obvious when one is approaching Violes, or Ispagnac, or Conques, or Dommes.

Melissa_G

Off to a great start, I’m looking forward to revisiting old favorites as well as making new discoveries in Paris

StCirq

jpie, the high insurance costs are 1) because they are so small, and if involved in an accident could endure significant damage, and 2) you can drive one at the age of 14! Also because you don't have to pass the driving test/take the usually required driving courses.

xyz99

Interesting points of view. In a way, I'm glad I was not the only one baffled by the lack of speed limit signs. We saw same types of roads, outside villages/towns with 1 lane going each direction, some with 50 (which we thought was the speed limit inside the village), some with 70, some with 80 or even 90. But most with no sign at all. How do you know what to do? We generally stayed at 70 on such roads, until we saw a sign. I hope that was the safe thing to do, we'll see, as I read of people getting their speed ticket even after 6 months.

StuDudley

>> approached around a curve which has a 50kph sign planted among undergrowth, <<

So true. I think "they" plant trees in front of the signs on purpose, so people like you & me can't see them, get tickets, and therefore more revenue for "some entity". My wife & I joke about this quite frequently while driving in France and we spot a sign covered by foliage. .

Stu Dudley

TravelerKaren

We have found the same thing as xyz99. I usually drive 50 unless the road specifically says 70, 80 or 90. There have been times the posted limit was 90 and then it went to 70 or lower along the same road without warning. So far I have avoided a ticket in France. I did get one from Australia a year after we returned for going 2km over the speed limit.

geetika