Caught by the fuzz (in France)

SunEye · 08-10-2012, 06:49 AM

Yesterday on my way to catch the ferry from Le Havre I was a bit late and so was pressing on a bit. On the Pont de Normandie near Le Havre they had the speed limit set to 70kph (I'm sure it's usually higher). As I went up the bridge I noticed a blue flashing light and a police bike some way back. I knew exactly what was going to happen. He pulled alongside me and motioned for me to follow him. We went to the car park at the end of the bridge where there were a few police cars and several other bike and car drivers being processed.

I was told that I had been doing 153kph in a 70kph zone and I needed to pay €750. They asked me how much cash I had on me, €65, and then told me I'd be taken to a bank to get the rest of the money. So off I went in a Gendarmerie Ford Focus with two Gendarmes to a bank, where I only managed to withdraw €360 on a couple of cards before I was told by the machine that I had insufficient funds courtesy of a daily withdrawl limit.

We went back to the car park at the Pont de Normandie where I sat in a police van and watch a Gendarme make numerous phone calls and look in various books and fill in bits of paperwork. Despite me asking what was happening I wasn't told anything. What I did know was that he had trouble getting hold of the local procureur (prosectuting lawyer) to tell him what to do because I couldn't pay the fine.

Eventually they decide that €425 was ok, but we needed to go to the Gendamerie to do some more paperwork. So I followed a police car at speeds up to an indicated 100mph to an empty Gendamerie, where I was given a receipt for my money and some paperwork and told that was it, 2 hours after I was stopped and a long time after my ferry had left.

SunEye · 08-10-2012, 07:02 AM

I also had fun getting out of the Gendamerie because the automatic gates wouldn't work. After about 5 minutes the first set opened, possibly because the two Gendames in the building had see me walk back to the building to come and find them to open the gate. The second gate wouldn't open, but now I was outside the first gate I couldn't go back and get someone to open it. Luckily the footpath beside the gate was just big enough for the bike so I managed to get past that way.

Then I had to decide what to do having missed the ferry. So I rode to Saint Nazaire where my girlfriend was staying. I'd not wanted to leave anyway.

That was a horrible 5 hour ride in 4 hours of rain and darkness. With a front light that is frankly a total waste of space. On lit roads you can't even tell that the light is on it's so useless. On dark unlit roads more than 50mph is quite frankly dangerous because you just can see enough of the road ahead.

Now I've got to decide when to get a ferry back to the UK. It won't be tonight, it may even be next weekend.

Grumpy · 08-10-2012, 07:11 AM

Bab luck there, iv'e been lucky so far in my trips into europe and never been caught speeding.
I do believe the French police are far more clever when it comes to setting up spped traps compared with our police.

Char · 08-10-2012, 07:50 AM

you dont have the best of luck

being stopped in any foreign country is my idea of a nightmare

buzzbomb · 08-10-2012, 10:27 AM

Personally I try to do as little driving in france as possible heading to the Belgian border as quick as I can.

The french police seem to take great pleasure in mugging any one with a GB sticker on their vehicle...

as we say up north, "at least **** Turpin wore a mask"...

J.P · 08-10-2012, 10:32 AM

Sorry to hear that SunEye.

08-10-2012, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunEye

Yesterday on my way to catch the ferry from Le Havre I was a bit late and so was pressing on a bit. On the Pont de Normandie near Le Havre they had the speed limit set to 70kph (I'm sure it's usually higher). As I went up the bridge I noticed a blue flashing light and a police bike some way back. I knew exactly what was going to happen. He pulled alongside me and motioned for me to follow him. We went to the car park at the end of the bridge where there were a few police cars and several other bike and car drivers being processed.

I was told that I had been doing 153kph in a 70kph zone and I needed to pay €750. They asked me how much cash I had on me, €65, and then told me I'd be taken to a bank to get the rest of the money. So off I went in a Gendarmerie Ford Focus with two Gendarmes to a bank, where I only managed to withdraw €360 on a couple of cards before I was told by the machine that I had insufficient funds courtesy of a daily withdrawl limit.

We went back to the car park at the Pont de Normandie where I sat in a police van and watch a Gendarme make numerous phone calls and look in various books and fill in bits of paperwork. Despite me asking what was happening I wasn't told anything. What I did know was that he had trouble getting hold of the local procureur (prosectuting lawyer) to tell him what to do because I couldn't pay the fine.

Eventually they decide that €425 was ok, but we needed to go to the Gendamerie to do some more paperwork. So I followed a police car at speeds up to an indicated 100mph to an empty Gendamerie, where I was given a receipt for my money and some paperwork and told that was it, 2 hours after I was stopped and a long time after my ferry had left.

You were lucky. I had the same fine, which I paid, an instant 6 month ban, and a court date back in France a few months later!!

08-10-2012, 12:37 PM

Bad Luck! Sounds lika bit of a 'mare. Was the speed limit clearly signed, or did they just tell you what it was after they nabbed you?

Capo · 08-10-2012, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuttynick

You were lucky. I had the same fine, which I paid, an instant 6 month ban, and a court date back in France a few months later!!

Did you go?

Dukedesmo · 08-10-2012, 12:49 PM

Bad luck, I had a similar incident some years ago, caught at 201kmh on the A26 between Reims and Calais, had insufficient cash for the 'contribution' and so was escorted to the nearest bank to secure the funds then sent on my way.

Thought that was the end of it until I got a letter from the French court a few months later asking for a little more - I duly 'filed' that one.

But given the amount of people who've had similar experiences, you'd think the Gendarmes would invest in credit card machines, it would save them alot of time & hassle. They must have wasted at least an hour with me...

Saint aka ML · 08-10-2012, 02:54 PM

Two questions, first did they show you proof, two how fast were you going

I went over that bridge flag out on 749

J.P · 08-10-2012, 03:18 PM

There's one very simple way to avoid the hassle.

Stick to the speed limit.

Saint aka ML · 08-10-2012, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.P

There's one very simple way to avoid the hassle.

Stick to the speed limit.

Agreed, then again less fun.

I have no mirrors how would they react to me saying SMIDSY?

08-10-2012, 03:40 PM

Sorry to hear about that SunEye, put it behind you and enjoy your riding.

SunEye · 08-10-2012, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Bab luck there, iv'e been lucky so far in my trips into europe and never been caught speeding.
I do believe the French police are far more clever when it comes to setting up spped traps compared with our police.

I have done tens of thousands of miles in France and this is the first time I have been stopped for speeding. Only the second time in my life that I have been caught speeding and I've had a licence since 1986.

The gendamerie are prone to hiding when implementing a speed trap. I have seen many where you could not see them until you passed them. Many French see it as just a revenue generating exercise. In reality they are responding to the French government's desire to reduce road deaths, which they mistakenly attribute to excessive speed.

08-10-2012, 06:49 AM	#1
SunEye Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bognor Regis Bike: Other Ducati Posts: 589	Caught by the fuzz (in France) Yesterday on my way to catch the ferry from Le Havre I was a bit late and so was pressing on a bit. On the Pont de Normandie near Le Havre they had the speed limit set to 70kph (I'm sure it's usually higher). As I went up the bridge I noticed a blue flashing light and a police bike some way back. I knew exactly what was going to happen. He pulled alongside me and motioned for me to follow him. We went to the car park at the end of the bridge where there were a few police cars and several other bike and car drivers being processed. I was told that I had been doing 153kph in a 70kph zone and I needed to pay €750. They asked me how much cash I had on me, €65, and then told me I'd be taken to a bank to get the rest of the money. So off I went in a Gendarmerie Ford Focus with two Gendarmes to a bank, where I only managed to withdraw €360 on a couple of cards before I was told by the machine that I had insufficient funds courtesy of a daily withdrawl limit. We went back to the car park at the Pont de Normandie where I sat in a police van and watch a Gendarme make numerous phone calls and look in various books and fill in bits of paperwork. Despite me asking what was happening I wasn't told anything. What I did know was that he had trouble getting hold of the local procureur (prosectuting lawyer) to tell him what to do because I couldn't pay the fine. Eventually they decide that €425 was ok, but we needed to go to the Gendamerie to do some more paperwork. So I followed a police car at speeds up to an indicated 100mph to an empty Gendamerie, where I was given a receipt for my money and some paperwork and told that was it, 2 hours after I was stopped and a long time after my ferry had left.

08-10-2012, 07:11 AM	#3
Grumpy record breaker!! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Peterborough Bike: M1200R Posts: 2,154	Bab luck there, iv'e been lucky so far in my trips into europe and never been caught speeding. I do believe the French police are far more clever when it comes to setting up spped traps compared with our police. __________________ It's not the destination, but the journey that matters Definition of a motorbike, a devise for overtaking cars!

08-10-2012, 07:50 AM	#4
Char We're all mad here Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Wiltshire Bike: Other Not a Ducati Posts: 1,536	you dont have the best of luck being stopped in any foreign country is my idea of a nightmare __________________ If you don't know where you are going any road can take you there

08-10-2012, 10:32 AM	#6
J.P No more Monster... Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London Bike: Other Not a Ducati Posts: 4,326	Sorry to hear that SunEye. __________________ J.JP ------------------------------- My Mum says, there's no such thing as Monsters.

08-10-2012, 12:49 PM	#10
Dukedesmo Registered User Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Leics Bike: M900 Posts: 2,848	Bad luck, I had a similar incident some years ago, caught at 201kmh on the A26 between Reims and Calais, had insufficient cash for the 'contribution' and so was escorted to the nearest bank to secure the funds then sent on my way. Thought that was the end of it until I got a letter from the French court a few months later asking for a little more - I duly 'filed' that one. But given the amount of people who've had similar experiences, you'd think the Gendarmes would invest in credit card machines, it would save them alot of time & hassle. They must have wasted at least an hour with me... __________________ M900, 916, LeMans II.

08-10-2012, 07:02 AM	#2
SunEye Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bognor Regis Bike: Other Ducati Posts: 589	I also had fun getting out of the Gendamerie because the automatic gates wouldn't work. After about 5 minutes the first set opened, possibly because the two Gendames in the building had see me walk back to the building to come and find them to open the gate. The second gate wouldn't open, but now I was outside the first gate I couldn't go back and get someone to open it. Luckily the footpath beside the gate was just big enough for the bike so I managed to get past that way. Then I had to decide what to do having missed the ferry. So I rode to Saint Nazaire where my girlfriend was staying. I'd not wanted to leave anyway. That was a horrible 5 hour ride in 4 hours of rain and darkness. With a front light that is frankly a total waste of space. On lit roads you can't even tell that the light is on it's so useless. On dark unlit roads more than 50mph is quite frankly dangerous because you just can see enough of the road ahead. Now I've got to decide when to get a ferry back to the UK. It won't be tonight, it may even be next weekend.

08-10-2012, 10:27 AM	#5
buzzbomb Gold Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: widnes Bike: M1100s Posts: 780	Personally I try to do as little driving in france as possible heading to the Belgian border as quick as I can. The french police seem to take great pleasure in mugging any one with a GB sticker on their vehicle... as we say up north, "at least **** Turpin wore a mask"...

08-10-2012, 12:37 PM	#8
JerryT Guest Posts: n/a	Bad Luck! Sounds lika bit of a 'mare. Was the speed limit clearly signed, or did they just tell you what it was after they nabbed you?

08-10-2012, 02:54 PM	#11
Saint aka ML Junior ah to be young Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: London Bike: Multiple Monsters Posts: 2,058	Two questions, first did they show you proof, two how fast were you going I went over that bridge flag out on 749 __________________ "I am Lucazade"

08-10-2012, 03:18 PM	#12
J.P No more Monster... Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London Bike: Other Not a Ducati Posts: 4,326	There's one very simple way to avoid the hassle. Stick to the speed limit. __________________ J.JP ------------------------------- My Mum says, there's no such thing as Monsters.

08-10-2012, 03:40 PM	#14
urbanfireblade Guest Posts: n/a	Sorry to hear about that SunEye, put it behind you and enjoy your riding.