Currie01

On Yahoo maps directions throughout Normandy, Brittany, and Loire Valley, there are some of these marked. I know what toll roads are, but not sure what partial means. Does anyone know how much these might cost?

ira

Hi C,

Is it something like a partial bridge?

Diz01

It probably means that some sections are tolls and some are not. Often in France the autoroutes around cities are not tolled.

For cost try www.viamichelin.com. It will give the time of the drive, the cost of petrol and the cost of tolls.

Diz01

Currie01

Thanks!

Mucky

It means as Diz says, just a partial stretch of the road is tolled.

Be careful though, they know exactly how long it takes for you to get from the start to the pay booth at the correct speed, if you are too quick you may get a speeding fine.

Moral is stick to speedlimits.

Muck

PalenQ

I guess things have changed from several years ago when there seemingly were no enforced speed limits on autoroutes.

I remember going about 80 mph and a cavalcade of police cars blew by us and none of the speeding drivers slowed down like they would of in the States.

But crackdown is good - always wondered why toll roads could not use the timings as proof of speeding.

superheterodyne

>> always wondered why toll roads could not use the timings as proof of speeding. <<

I don't think that the speed control through toll ticket has been enforced yet. I know there are experimentations, but I've always heard they were "pedagogical".

There is a legal problem : a toll booth "clock" is not a cinemometer, nor an official measurement apparatus, checked and reviewed by the technical departments of the State.

PalenQ

But if such speed checks at check out were instituted i think it'd be a boon for roadside service plazas as folks like Germans would have to rest up so as to not get a ticket- could well help the economy!

Mucky

I agree Superhet,
These machines should be calibrated and who knows maybe they are, however I have friends that have been fined on the spot and this was several years ago.
I don't know about you, but I don't think I would be in a position to argue the toss in French about measurement uncertainty and calibration or whether I should pay a fine or not.

But the French do have a knack of being a law unto themselves so the chances are there is no calibration and the clocks are purposely set 15 mins closer to each other to generate €€€€€€....

Muck

Pvoyageuse

"But crackdown is good - always wondered why toll roads could not use the timings as proof of speeding".


Because toll people have no authority (Thank God) to issue speeding tickets.

kerouac

There are now 2000 automated radar machines on autoroutes and all sorts of other roads (including streets in downtown Paris and other cities).

This has made a tremendous change in the way people drive. Speeding tickets are received by local drivers in 48 hours, and they are quite expensive. As for drivers of other countries, so far only Germans and Luxembourgers are subject to respecting French speeding tickets through reciprocal agreements (but other agreements are being signed rapidly). Of course, for those of you renting cars, you know what all of that fine print says on your contract.

altamiro

>There are now 2000 automated radar machines on autoroutes

So few?

In Germany and particularly Switzerland it seems like every post sprouts one.

kerouac

But in Germany and Switzerland, a lot of the boxes are empty fakes. The French have not yet started to install fake radar boxes (but they will, sooner or later).

Alec

Speeding conviction through timed toll ticket is an urban myth. Speed control is done through automated cameras (look like grey mailing boxes on the side of the road) and by speed trap (radar or laser; use of speed camera detector - not GPS based - is illegal and owner, let alone user, is subject to stiff fines). There are many sites that pinpoint the location of speed cameras, including viamichelin.com and http://english.controleradar.org/ (very good site with up-to-date info on fines etc).

MyriamC

Kerouac, those automated radar machines drove us mad!
Our GPS kept beeping (our Garmin detects automated radar machines) all the way through France from north to south.

Mucky

Alec, Urban Myth it may be these days, but I have friends that travelled in France down to Paris. They picked up their ticket on the toll machine and arrived at the booth to pay some time later only to be hit by a speeding ticket because of the time it took them. That was not an urban myth. It was however 15 or so years ago, before I suspect the speed camera was commonly used.

Muck

altamiro

Mucky,

toll booths are parts of a PRIVATE organisation (and always were), they donīt have and never had an authority to issue speeding tickets. You know, "law" is not an exclusive US invention. 15 years can muddle the memories pretty well - Iīm sure there were other things involved. Speed cameras were around almost forever.

flanneruk

Urban myth or not, the story has long been that motorists arriving at toll booths not infrequently have found a gendarme next to the toll booth, checking transactions.

I've seen them at it at least twice at the last A26 toll plaza before Calais.

kerouac

There are lots of gendarmes waiting at various toll booths for a very simple reason: there are plenty of "mobile radars" along the autoroutes -- sometimes you can see them set up on the overpasses, and sometimes they are hidden in the bushes.

In any case, the major speeders are reported to the gendarmes at the toll booth, who merely have them pull over after paying the toll to continue the festivities in the parking zone.

altamiro

I assume the toll booths are simply the place where a driver can be stopped and ticket can be issued with the minimal disruption of the traffic flow - and I can see how this could grow into the urban myth of toll company issuing speeding tickets.