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French speed limit change 1July

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 marsbar 16 Jun 2018

Just a heads up for those heading to France this summer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44472557

1
 felt 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

So cutting down all those poplars and planes didn't work then?

OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to felt:

*whoosh*

no idea what you are referring to sorry.  

1
 rlrs 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

The limit of 80km/h outside built up areas is the same as in Switzerland:

https://www.ch.ch/en/driving-over-speed-limit/

 Doug 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

There has been widespread felling of the lines of roadside trees in rural France as they were considered to cause a hazard - here's the first link that Google found

https://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2015/04/06/2081691-faut-il-abattre-les-arb...

OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to Doug:

Thanks.  Didn’t know about that.  I visit most years but I don’t always keep up with everything.  

 LeeWood 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

Just got to slam the brakes on when you see a 'radar' warning; but can they trace you anyway with UK number plate after a speed trap ?

1
 John2 16 Jun 2018
In reply to Doug:

The trees were originally planted by Napoleon in order to provide shade for his soldiers as they marched around France. Now they will see their Waterloo.

OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to LeeWood:

Not sure, but if they pull you over it’s on the spot fine I believe.  They have been known to target tourists to check they are carrying hi viz and spare bulbs etc as well.  

 john spence 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

Aldi s selling a foreign driving kit for £19. Contains hi vis, warning triangle, first aid kit, headlight converters, 2x breathalysers ,GB sticker, spare bulb set etc, the Halfords equivalent is £40.

Post edited at 19:30
 Bulls Crack 16 Jun 2018
In reply to LeeWood:

You could of course...sorry to be so boring...keep to the limit and: pas de problème! 

2
OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to Bulls Crack:

I just wanted to make sure people know what the limit is.  It’s rather lower than ours for similar roads. If you’ve driven the same place before it’s easy to auto pilot to the old limit if you aren’t aware.  

 

 MG 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

> Not sure, 

Yes they can.... so a, err, friend, informs me... 

OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to john spence:

That’s good value.

 

 pec 16 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

I wonder if they'll ever do anything about all the crazy overtaking, tailgating and driving whilst pissed? They always seem like greater dangers when driving in France than the relatively low 56mph speed limit.

https://www.thelocal.fr/20141212/france-drink-driving-one-in-three-alcohol

 LeeWood 16 Jun 2018
In reply to Bulls Crack:

> You could of course...sorry to be so boring...keep to the limit and: pas de problème! 

but a good driver must not impede other drivers - go with the flow, I can tell you (over here) all the brake lights go on approaching the cameras  

2
OP marsbar 16 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

Quite.  There seems to be a rather lax approach to child seats etc as well.  

 yorkshireman 17 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

> I wonder if they'll ever do anything about all the crazy overtaking, tailgating and driving whilst pissed? They always seem like greater dangers when driving in France than the relatively low 56mph speed limit.

Well they sort of are - reducing the speed limit. The logic being that crashing at 80kph is less lethal than crashing at 90kph.

This affects me - I live in a small village and the nearest road faster than 90kph at the moment is more than an hour's drive in every direction. I agree that the bigger problem in a lot of places is tailgating and dangerous overtaking but those are much harder offences to enforce than simple speeding, and as I said above in theory should kill fewer people at lower speeds.

However, this uproar from the French yokels is a bit out of proportion. Assume you have a 30km commute - 20 minutes at 90kph. 23 minutes at 80kph. This is hardly bringing the country to a standstill. 

 

 felt 17 Jun 2018
In reply to yorkshireman:

Three minutes is a long time in St Pol de Léon.

 yorkshireman 17 Jun 2018
In reply to felt:

> Three minutes is a long time in St Pol de Léon.

It probably just feels like it :P

 springfall2008 17 Jun 2018
In reply to LeeWood:

> Just got to slam the brakes on when you see a 'radar' warning; but can they trace you anyway with UK number plate after a speed trap ?

Yes they can trace you, and even ask you to pay the fine, but they can't give you points on your license. If they could be bothered to do so is another question.

If you are in a hire car the fine will get deducted from your credit card automatically.

 Toerag 18 Jun 2018
In reply to springfall2008:

>  If you are in a hire car the fine will get deducted from your credit card automatically.

Doesn't happen with UK offences  - the hire car company pass on your details and charge you £40 for doing so.  You get the fine directly from the Police. Don't ask me how I know (and better still, don't ask me twice....) . I'd expect it to work the same with offences committed elsewhere.

 Bulls Crack 18 Jun 2018
In reply to LeeWood:

Not the message from my recent Smart Motorway speeding course! 

 springfall2008 18 Jun 2018
In reply to Toerag:

> >  If you are in a hire car the fine will get deducted from your credit card automatically.

> Doesn't happen with UK offences  - the hire car company pass on your details and charge you £40 for doing so.  You get the fine directly from the Police. Don't ask me how I know (and better still, don't ask me twice....) . I'd expect it to work the same with offences committed elsewhere.


AFAIK not as I think they pay on your behalf, but outside the UK you avoid any points at least

 pec 18 Jun 2018
In reply to yorkshireman:

> Well they sort of are - reducing the speed limit. The logic being that crashing at 80kph is less lethal than crashing at 90kph.

Clearly there's a certain logic to that argument, if we all drove at walking pace there'd be fewer accidents still, but it does require people to actual obey the limit and sometimes these things can be counter productive. Some people obeying the new limit may well result in more crazy overtaking by frustrated tailgaters!

Ultimately French roads will only become safer when there is a sea change in attitudes to driving style. Introducing an often unnecessarily low limit is unlikely to change that, it just generates resentment.

 

 

 

 Neil Williams 18 Jun 2018
In reply to marsbar:

I can see the UK doing a blanket switch to single carriageway NSL being 50 in the not too distant future, to be honest, which would bring us in line.  A lot of Councils already have changed many of their roads by imposing lower limits, and there is, strangely, a noticeable difference from 50 to 60 in attention required for some reason.

Post edited at 14:29
 krikoman 18 Jun 2018
In reply to springfall2008:

> If you are in a hire car the fine will get deducted from your credit card automatically.

Not correct, the hire car company charges you for passing your details on to the police involved. The Police will send you a fine separately (if they can be arsed) or if the offence is a legitamate one, I once got charge for passing on the details of my offence while in Slovenia, only the offence was in Italy where I'd rented the car. I got my money back eventually.

 

 krikoman 18 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

> Ultimately French roads will only become safer when there is a sea change in attitudes to driving style. Introducing an often unnecessarily low limit is unlikely to change that, it just generates resentment.

Interestingly though if you look at the graphs in the OP link we're the highest rural speed limit and have the second lowest death rate.

 Doug 18 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

> Ultimately French roads will only become safer when there is a sea change in attitudes to driving style. Introducing an often unnecessarily low limit is unlikely to change that, it just generates resentment.

Agree, my French partner often remarks that she feels safer driving in the UK "despite being on the wrong side of the road" - mostly because she finds drivers tend to stick to the rules more often & to be more courteous than in France.

 pec 18 Jun 2018
In reply to krikoman:

> Interestingly though if you look at the graphs in the OP link we're the highest rural speed limit and have the second lowest death rate.


But that confirms my point that the speed limit in France isn't the problem.

As an aside, the overall French death rate is nearly twice ours for what is in most respects a similar country to us. So whilst you might expect a poorer country to have a higher death rate due to lower spending on roads, fewer inbuilt safety measures and less well maintained cars etc and vice versa for richer countries, France ought to have a similar death rate to ours.

When you factor in how much more congested our roads are than France (in fact almost every other country in Europe) it makes our safety record even more remarkable.

 krikoman 18 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

> But that confirms my point that the speed limit in France isn't the problem.

Your right, I really must read more betterer.

> When you factor in how much more congested our roads are than France (in fact almost every other country in Europe) it makes our safety record even more remarkable.

Maybe the congestion is the answer

It would be interesting to know the road type comparisons between the UK and France, I think, and I have no evidence of this, we have more dual carriage way than them. Maybe they have more rural road, which according to my local speed awareness instructor is where the majority of our fatalities occur.

Just a guess though.

Wine?

 

 springfall2008 19 Jun 2018
In reply to pec:

I think the reality is most people in the UK drive in cities and on motorways, our rural roads are not most peoples commute. In France people drive fast on rural roads over longer distances and so tend to overtake dangerously to make progress.

 


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