Sat Nav in France

Mar 14, 2005
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Having put to bed the 'breathalysers in France' thread, can I draw your attention to another posting on the CC website concerning satnav in France
If I understand this, it say is is now illegal to use a sat nav which shows positions of fixed speed cameras, with quite severe penalties.
It suggests the facility should be disabled or not used. Not sure (yet) how this can be done on the built-in unit I have - perhaps just use for route guidance and don't show the map, but you may wish to have a look:
www.caravanclub.co.uk/news - you do not have to be a member to see this part of the site.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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By far the easist thing to do is to remove all speed camera data from your sat nav as France is not the only country where it is not allowed.
David
 
Nov 28, 2011
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Personnally I wouldn't worry about this,it won't be easy to police this,unless you are caught speeding.Best thing is to stick to the speed limits.
I won't be modifying my sat nav.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Alibaba said:
Personnally I wouldn't worry about this,it won't be easy to police this,unless you are caught speeding.Best thing is to stick to the speed limits.
I won't be modifying my sat nav.

I am not sure that is a very sensible decision. You would then be, knowingly, going to a foreign country prepared to disobey their laws. I am not sure you would be sympathetically dealt with by the police if you suggested to them that you did not know it was the law? The likes of TomTom are no longer providing updates on camera locations so in time they will be not much use but you still risk being fined.
David
 
Jul 31, 2010
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Not only are Tomtom not providing updates for French speed cameras, but when you update your system, it actually removes all the French cameras automatically.

Steve W
 
Nov 28, 2011
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The French don't even bother to check if you have a GB sticker or not (against the law) when disembarking from the ferry,so what chance is there you will charged you unless you are stopped for speeding.
There are so many daft and obscure laws in all countries I bet it will be very difficult for anyone to leave their house and go about their usual occaisons without breaking one of them.
 
Aug 11, 2010
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New Garmin units sold in france, will not have speed camera's, but instead will have "danger zones" which apparently is legal.
My tom tom also has this "danger zone" function which i got from tomtomheaven. do not know if Tom tom themselves will follow suit, but Garmin france seems to think it is legal......
 
Mar 14, 2005
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W-W I had the same thoughts about Michelin maps and website. Michelin is I believe (French) State owned. Main droit et main gauche ?
 
Feb 1, 2012
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David Klyne said:
You would then be, knowingly, going to a foreign country prepared to disobey their laws.
smiley-laughing.gif
I should be so worried, thousands of 'visitor's' to the UK break our driving laws, drive without licences, get other's to take the test for them, claim for benefit's and asylum based on more fairy tales than the Grimm's could have dreampt up and generally abuse our hospitality.

Towing a caravan in France how likely is it that caravanner's are blasting past fixed Gatso's. Storing the cam data on SD card that can be removed is one possible option on some machines. You'll have to work out how that score works
smiley-wink.gif
 
Mar 14, 2005
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ZeGecko said:
David Klyne said:
You would then be, knowingly, going to a foreign country prepared to disobey their laws.
smiley-laughing.gif
I should be so worried, thousands of 'visitor's' to the UK break our driving laws, drive without licences, get other's to take the test for them, claim for benefit's and asylum based on more fairy tales than the Grimm's could have dreampt up and generally abuse our hospitality.

Towing a caravan in France how likely is it that caravanner's are blasting past fixed Gatso's. Storing the cam data on SD card that can be removed is one possible option on some machines. You'll have to work out how that score works
smiley-wink.gif
I think I was always taught that two wrongs don't make a right. People must take responsibility for their own actions. I think the British police would be likely to take a pragmatic in their approach with someone visiting this country if the offence was not too serious. I don't think police in other European countries would be. It's all a bit academic anyway because in future you won't be able to get safety camera updates for France anyway so they may as well be cleared off the system before they go out of date.
David
 
Feb 1, 2012
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David Klyne said:
It's all a bit academic anyway because in future you won't be able to get safety camera updates for France anyway so they may as well be cleared off the system before they go out of date.
Why?
Speed camera data downloads may be removed from TomTom or Garmin and other manufacturers sites.
The French or anyone else can't stop private satnav sites providing the data and that was available free or on a pay basis long before Satnav manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon. The independent sites are still updating the data on a daily basis.
The French are deluded if they think they can stop camera data. French police stamp on radar detectors if they catch drivers with them, French drivers who feel the need have found away around that
smiley-wink.gif
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Taken from the Garmin website.

Q1: On the web I read that there’s a new law regarding the use of safety camera warnings in France. What’s it all about?

A1: On 3 January 2012 the French government issued a new law that effectively bans all systems that are able to provide warnings of safety cameras (aka speed cameras). This law includes all sat nav based systems. With immediate effect it has become illegal for anyone travelling in France to have any speed camera warnings on any device across the entire territory of France.

Q2: I have heard that Garmin GPS devices will no longer warn drivers about safety cameras when travelling in France. Is this correct?

A2: New Garmin sat nav systems sold in France will no longer detect the location of safety cameras but rather warn the driver of danger zones. This is in agreement with the new French law released on 3 January 2012 so that all Garmin devices sold to French customers are 100% legal.

UK customers who are travelling in France should disable their French safety camera database before arriving on French territory. Instructions are provided below:

Turn the device on
Touch Tools
Touch Settings
Touch Navigation
Touch Car
Touch Proximity Points
Touch Alerts
Select Garmin Safety Cameras
Touch Save
 
Feb 1, 2012
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otherclive said:
A2: New Garmin sat nav systems sold in France will no longer detect the location of safety cameras but rather warn the driver of danger zones. This is in agreement with the new French law released on 3 January 2012 so that all Garmin devices sold to French customers are 100% legal.
Just shows how barmy and bonkers the French are. Safety cam detection just changes to "DANGER ZONE" and is exactly the same, what the ? is that all about. The French are not big players in satnav so they've just decided too play silly I guess
smiley-wink.gif


Reality check. Garmin instructions will be known to few and a techy mystery for many users and very unlikely to be done by most visiting drivers.
I'm very unlikely to break a French speed limit so there is no way I'll be messing around with my satnav settings just because the French are bonkers!
 
Jul 31, 2009
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ZeGecko said:
The French are not big players in satnav so they've just decided too play silly I guess
smiley-wink.gif
They are relatively big players in GPS based camera detectors (RoadAngel type of devices).
What makes it even sillier, is that the Police & Gendarmerie have no authority to search your car or SatNav, only the Douane (Customs) can do that.
ZeGecko said:
French police stamp on radar detectors if they catch drivers with them, French drivers who feel the need have found away around that
Out of interest, how?
 
Dec 14, 2006
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We don't have a SatNav but our Michelin map does list fixed speed camera positions. I wonder if I should now shout out 'Danger Zone' instead of 'Speed Camera' when I spot one coming up on our route!
 
Jul 31, 2009
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John Griffiths said:
There are so few cameras in France compared to the UK I don't know what all the fuss is about.
True, although Sarky has said more will be installed & the big warning signs will be removed but nothing will happen before the election in April/May & it will all be forgotten about after that
 

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