dwdvagamundo

Thanks, hetismj. In France last fall, saw the camera or something go off several times, but only got one ticket. So I presume that (like red light cameras in the US) the foto is reviewed by a human.

web_munch

We spent 4 weeks last September with a leased car in France & Spain. What really helped is to print out turn by turn directions from Via Michellin, as their directions clearly indicate the locations of speed cameras. It's not just the actual cameras that you have to be careful about, but they also incorporate speed-averaging between two known points of observation, so slowing only at the cameras could still get you into deep yogurt. I was gun-shy for a couple of months, but managed to dodge the heavy hand of the invisible law. Some of the reduced speed zones in Spain clearly looked to serve only as opportunities for additional revenue, as no apparent reason for the suddenly slower limits. Be careful and drive like a gizer!

dwdvagamundo

web-much--we are gizers but my spouse still drives like a maniac. I've got a reputation in the office as an aggressive driver, but when I'm following my wife somewhere, she leaves me in the dust.

NewbE

<but they also incorporate speed-averaging between two known points of observation, so slowing only at the cameras could still get you into deep yogurt.>
Diabolical! And so much more advanced than the detection methods used in the US.

<So technically, was I issued a speeding ticket for driving 1 km/h more than the speed limit? I think thats insane.>
Well, the line has to be somewhere. If they give a "grace" of 3km/h, and you're 4km/h over, then some people will still say they were fined for "only" going 1km/h over.

MaineGG

Just curious... Is there an understood "grace" in France? In my area of southern Maine(USA), most believe one can safely go up to 10mph above the speed limit on a limited access highway, or perhaps up to 5mph over on other streets and roads without getting a ticket. If one drives the speed limit on the Maine Turnpike, one risks being run over. There is no tolerance for exceeding the speed limit in School Zones, though. Of course, we don't have speed cameras around here.

kerouac

Europcar has charged me 25 euros twice as an administrative fee for speeding tickets. One of the tickets was 45 euros and one of them was 90 euros. It depends on by what percentage you exceeded the speed limit. My "expensive" ticket was in an urban zone where I was going 70 in a 50 zone and the cheaper one was on the autoroute at 100 in a 90 zone (due to road works).

kerouac

<I> Is there an understood "grace" in France?</I>

Yes, they take 5 km/h off the speed that was recorded.

rholt

OP here. FYI - based on input from Hertz... 7 of the 8 tickets were 20 km/hr over the limit. The 8th was for 30 km/hr over.

Oh well - it's just money.

Tulips

You have much more chance of being caught by a speed camera in the Netherlands than in Belgium. People drive much faster in Belgium, as a result.
Belgium has 64 deaths on the roads for every million inhabitants. The Netherlands has 34 (2013 figures; http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkeersveiligheid).

These figures were more than double in 2001. Introduction of speed cameras had much to do with that.

8 tickets for more than 20 kms over the limit? That's not just money, it's reckless driving on roads where you are not familiar. Considering how easily you shrug this off, the fines are obviously far too low.

toledodd

drive in europe but just don't speed. interesting concept. people don't seem to understand that "speed limit" means max speed not minimum.

sparkchaser

<i>people don't seem to understand that "speed limit" means max speed not minimum.</i>

On another forum, someone returned from a trip to Switzerland and had accumulated 6 or 8 tickets. They thought the speed limit sign was indicating the minimum speed limit...

RM67

Have to agree with the comments about this being shrugged off lightly. Just so you know, 8 tickets in the UK, assuming they were treated as separate offences, and assuming there was no opportunity to trade the penalties for retraining would net you a minimum fine of £800 and 24 points on your licence. Double the amount needed for a driving ban.

Tulips

You should try this in Finland, where your fine will be calculated based on your income.

lincasanova

definitely deserved tickets.. depending on the base speed could have been double the speed limit.. so very very dangerous.

whatever you do, i'd try to rectify your driving habits, no matter speed cameras or not.

CarolA

Just an FYI. My Garmin GPS warned me when we were entering a camera monitored area in Portugal. I don't remember that in Provence but that may be due to the fact that I was often on smaller back roads

kerouac

At one time the government wanted to remove the signs, but it was decided that prevention is better than repression, so every single speed radar camera in France is preceded by a sign telling you that it is coming up soon (in 1 to 3 km) so really you can only be caught if you are not paying attention in the first place.

Tulips

'My Garmin GPS warned me when we were entering a camera monitored area in Portugal'

As mentioned above, this is illegal in France, fines of up to 1500 euro. You have to disable that feature when driving in France.

Cowboy1968

I can understand that you can fail to see one speed limit sign or misinterpret some parking regulation in a foreign country.

But when you manage to ignore EIGHT speed limit signs (which, by the way, are far more visible in Europe with the red circle than the tiny b/w signs in the US) and EIGHT speed camera trap warning signs during a short trip, I wonder if getting a "better GPS" is what you should worry about most.

MEDIASAPIENS

GPS that warns of speeding cameras are not illegal in EU. In France (for example) speeding camera areas are announced by the XL road sign that has unmistakable picture of the camera and word RADAR in large letters. If that is not a warning then I don't know what is?
As far as paying fines, if you live in EU I would pay , since they might have agreement with countries bordering France, not so sure about further away countries, like Hungary or Sweden etc. If you are from outside of EU ; USA, AUS, CAN, RUS etc. they cannot make you pay in any way, but through your rental Co. Speed traps are not designed to make driving safer (statistics for many years disprove that notion) but government likes your money and loves to impose this form of tax collection, in USA these cameras get shot by people, literally shot. Anyone who pride themselves in paying every fone their lecherous government imposes on them should get little bit more self-aware. Ask yourselves why is Germany has little to no speed limits and France has them all over the place with radar cameras to boot? Why one cannot drive anywhere in France without paying tolls that are twice as high as in any other country , including the USA? French government loves your money , that is why. It has nothing to do with public good else we would not have Sharia patrols in France.

traveller1959

mediasapens - what you have written looks more like a political statement than a helpful post.

And it is full of mistakes.

<<GPS that warns of speeding cameras are not illegal in EU.>>

Whether these devices are illegal or not is not a matter of EU law but of national laws. And in most European states, these devices are illegal. The roadsigns are a totally different matter.

<<they cannot make you pay in any way>>

That's right. But wait what happens to you if you travel to this country next time.

<<Germany has little to no speed limits>>

Seems that you have never been to Germany. German roads are full of speed limits. They are marked by round signs with a number inside. And in towns and on roads other than Autobahnen there are automatic speed limits. And one third of all Autobahnen have speed limits.

<<in USA these cameras get shot by people, literally shot>>

Seems that you praise this behaviour.

Actually, we do not want people like you here in Europe.



<<government likes your money>>

If this is the case why should the French government install a warning sign before each speed trap? And why are the speed cameras clearly visible with yellow/black-striped tape?