From today's letters in the Travel Section of the Saturday Telegraph:
"The French highway code
We love France and travel there up to eight times a year. Last time, when we drove in our own UK-registered car, we were stopped for speeding south of Poitiers on an N-road, in the middle of nowhere.
Fair cop, I thought: we were doing 131kph (81mph) on a road with a 90kph (56mph) limit. I paid the fine of _135 (about £91). But the police officer also confiscated my UK driving licence and told me I was being given an immediate driving ban of one month, valid in France only.
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I was astonished. What would have happened had I been alone or with a partner who couldn't drive? As it was, I was with my husband, who was ill. The police shrugged and drove off. My husband had to drive to a friend's house two hours away, where we arranged to put the car on a train for the return journey to Britain. Is this usual practice in France or were we unlucky?
Gill replies:
Yours was a substantial breach of the speed limit and, under French law, the police have the right to confiscate a driving licence on the spot if you are caught travelling at more than 25kph over the speed limit. If you had been travelling at more than 50kph over the limit, your vehicle would have been confiscated.
Your experience is an important reminder to British drivers to familiarise themselves with the French highway code before crossing the Channel this summer, especially in UK-registered cars.
Under new French laws, foreign-registered cars caught speeding on camera will be recorded on a national register - not good news if you are a regular visitor.
Speeding can result in an on-the-spot fine of up to _375 (about £250). If you don't have this amount to hand, the police can keep your vehicle until you come up with the cash.
You must carry a driving licence, the V5 vehicle registration document and a current certificate of insurance. Working hazard flashers (or a warning triangle) and a spare set of light bulbs are also legal requirements in France.
Remember, too, that the drink-driving limit is stricter than in Britain: you are over the limit if you have more than 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (it's 80mg in Britain).
Radar traps are frequent, even (as this reader discovered) on remote country roads. Most importantly, urban speed limits start at the town sign, which doesn't always coincide with the position of the 50kph (31mph) sign.
Outside built-up areas, there are two sets of speed limits: one for dry weather, the other for wet. In dry weather it is 90kph (56mph) on rural roads; 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways and non-toll motorways; and 130kph (80mph) on toll motorways. When it is wet, these limits are reduced to 80kph (49mph); 100kph (62mph) and 110kph (68mph) respectively."
"The French highway code
We love France and travel there up to eight times a year. Last time, when we drove in our own UK-registered car, we were stopped for speeding south of Poitiers on an N-road, in the middle of nowhere.
Fair cop, I thought: we were doing 131kph (81mph) on a road with a 90kph (56mph) limit. I paid the fine of _135 (about £91). But the police officer also confiscated my UK driving licence and told me I was being given an immediate driving ban of one month, valid in France only.
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I was astonished. What would have happened had I been alone or with a partner who couldn't drive? As it was, I was with my husband, who was ill. The police shrugged and drove off. My husband had to drive to a friend's house two hours away, where we arranged to put the car on a train for the return journey to Britain. Is this usual practice in France or were we unlucky?
Gill replies:
Yours was a substantial breach of the speed limit and, under French law, the police have the right to confiscate a driving licence on the spot if you are caught travelling at more than 25kph over the speed limit. If you had been travelling at more than 50kph over the limit, your vehicle would have been confiscated.
Your experience is an important reminder to British drivers to familiarise themselves with the French highway code before crossing the Channel this summer, especially in UK-registered cars.
Under new French laws, foreign-registered cars caught speeding on camera will be recorded on a national register - not good news if you are a regular visitor.
Speeding can result in an on-the-spot fine of up to _375 (about £250). If you don't have this amount to hand, the police can keep your vehicle until you come up with the cash.
You must carry a driving licence, the V5 vehicle registration document and a current certificate of insurance. Working hazard flashers (or a warning triangle) and a spare set of light bulbs are also legal requirements in France.
Remember, too, that the drink-driving limit is stricter than in Britain: you are over the limit if you have more than 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood (it's 80mg in Britain).
Radar traps are frequent, even (as this reader discovered) on remote country roads. Most importantly, urban speed limits start at the town sign, which doesn't always coincide with the position of the 50kph (31mph) sign.
Outside built-up areas, there are two sets of speed limits: one for dry weather, the other for wet. In dry weather it is 90kph (56mph) on rural roads; 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways and non-toll motorways; and 130kph (80mph) on toll motorways. When it is wet, these limits are reduced to 80kph (49mph); 100kph (62mph) and 110kph (68mph) respectively."
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