Dave225 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Having read much of the doucumentation on the new French speed limits for trailers I note the Caravan Club has tried its best to get a clear answer but has concluded with a bit of a ‘fudge’ Although they state that they have been advised by the French authorities that speed stickers are not mandatory for UK trailers they cannot guarantee that any UK person may not get hassle from a French policeman if they are not displayed. Rather than try to argue my case at a roadside in France I have bought the relevant speed stickers at about £2 each, so not mega bucks. However, I am loathe to stick them on the actual van as they will bake in the sun and no doubt only come off with some paint, plus they do not look particularly attractive. So I am hoping to ‘fudge’ as well by sticking them on a piece of clear plastic and sellotaping this to the inside of the rear window while in France. My rear window is offset to the left so is on the offside for France so I hope will suffice any Froggie Plod. Anyone feel that this may work, or am I asking for even more trouble? I have no intentions of actually breaking the new speed limits anyway, although I will have to be more careful as my newer car does not have kilometres on the speedo anymore. A retrograde step by Volvo I feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klyne Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Seems a lot of bother to me. Given that they are so cheap why not remove them aften each trip and put new ones on for the next trip? Most caravans have fibreglass rear panels so it should not really be a problem removing them at some stage in the future. An residual marks could be removed with a good polish. You could well do more damage to the rear window by sellotape baking onto the window. My understanding is that they should be postioned on the left side of the caravan rear at about the same height as the number plate. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
602 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Hi, Buy a blank number plate, stick all the labels to that, then stick plate to your van with double-sided pads. Is there room for a GB sticker or national flag too? Why take them off? If you've been abroad .... flaunt it. (lol) 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 To answer both comments. My van has aluminium panels at the rear. Ii is a EU cheapie van so the paint is relatively thin as I have found through my mistakes in the past. The manufacturer also went the way of the Dodo a few years ago, so repairing any damage would be difficult, so i am trying to preserve what I have for as long as I can. As for using a number plate the Regs require a 2 discs each with a minimum diameter of 6 inches, so that would not work. As I mentioned I have found, ok nicked a piece of thin perspex from my wife's craft box which is just the size for both discs. My only concern is that the Regs state the discs should be 'low down on the left hand side' which means my window idea is possibly a bit high. I know I am splitting hairs, but a French Plod on a bad day is looking for anything. Now if we still had Nelson or Wellington in the country, or even Sharpe, I would easily stick 2 fingers up to the French and tell them that Britannia rules OK, and if they don't like it, we will send the Germans back, but as we are now a nation of wimps due to being browbeaten so much over the years, that I am trying to avoid conflict. OK, I am a wimp too. I am getting too old and my blood pressure is a concern anyway, so I tend to take the easy option nowadays. B....r it, I am going to stick the pad in the window and they can jail me if they like. I will also watch what the Dutch are doing as they usually tell the French to 'get stuffed'. The fact that I am restricted due to a rule that states that the manufacturer of my car states I could theoretically carry a weight I would never ever do, is also an irritation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Dave225 - 2011-03-11 8:18 PM although I will have to be more careful as my newer car does not have kilometres on the speedo anymore. A retrograde step by Volvo I feel. Have you got a satnav Dave? as they can be set to kilometres :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 Thanks for the suggestion. I don't have a sat nav as we use the oldfashioned things called maps. However No:1 daughter has a spare which i suppose we could acquire. I am usually ok with speed limits but if they start to get picky about 56 mph and 58 mph etc, then I may have to slow to ensure I am within it. I do have cruise control so that could be an option. I fully accept I am probably getting 'lathered' over nothing, but as the recession bites our EU cousins always look for ways to top up their incomes, and Brits are soft targets. I could also be cheeky and state it is the 'boss' who is usually wacking along, but then she hits me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
602 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Hi, 6" diameter? Do you mean 150mm? No, I'm not trying to be pedantic, its just that if your van is British, and the plates are for France, what figures do you display? KPH? MPH? Both would be meaningless in one country or the other. Perhaps there should be an extra plate with KPH or MPH stuck alongside the numerals .... then we could demand that French trucks in UK comply. (lol) Or maybe have MPH values on a yellow plate? Be careful that you get the right size characters, if there is such a thing as a "right size". Years ago, a UK driver was prosecuted for having a home made L-plate that was 1" too big. Out of curiosity, what figures should I display on the rear of my little Freedom (uprated to 850kg MGW) ...... even if I don't need to. I have read that if Monsieur Plod stops you, he will find something to book you for. If he doesn't, he is automatically assumed to have taken a bribe. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocsid Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I put my sticker on an off-cut of white fascia board and this I cable tie to my caravans left rear grab handle. Then cut it off and keep it ready for next year. Mine are UK supplied 150 mm diameter white back-ground stickers but I am informed by a French acquaintance that I really should have 150 mm characters black on a white background. They dont have to be on a disc at all and not with the red outer ring mine have. That is what "they have to display" if the towing vehicle has over 3500 kgs gross train-weight "capability"; note it is not what the trailer is at all, its just the towing vehicles limit. To be honest I did not all the French with heavier tow cars complied, just the odd few and I saw no Dutch larger vehicles complying at all. These speed limits are a pain and make for a tiring journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 The stickers must be a minimum of 15 cm which equates to 5.9 inches, so 6 inches is fine. I bought mine from Speedstickers as recommended by the Caravan Club, and yes, the speeds are shown as 90 km and 80 km. Again, what is the niggle is that it is the Gross Train Mass which defines all this, and this is shown on your VIN plate and is far higher than you would ever realisitcally use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samnjan Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Hi, This document should satisfy the French police In response to your letter concerning the speed records that must be affixed to trucks and caravans UK, circulating France (Article R.413-13 of the French highway code), I can make the following response elements The Vienna Convention of 8 November 1968 deals with international traffic. The principle was that vehicles in international traffic shall conform to the rules in its country of registration. In practice we see the heavy-weight foreign travel to France with their own speed records. [/ I] heavy-weight French abroad do not change speed records at the border to accommodate the country traversed. But in any case, it should respect the rule that applies maximum speed on the road where it circulates. I hope that answers your question and cordially, The office of legislation and regulation Delegation to the safety and traffic flow Ministry of ecology, energy, sustainable development and the sea And in French En réponse à votre courrier relatif aux disques de vitesse qui doivent être apposés sur les poids-lourds et caravanes britanniques, circulant en France (article R.413-13 du code de la route français), je peux vous apporter les éléments de réponse suivants : La Convention de Vienne du 8 novembre 1968 traite de la circulation internationale. Le principe est qu'un véhicule en circulation internationale doit être conforme aux règles appliquées dans son pays d'immatriculation. Dans la pratique nous voyons les Poids-lourds étrangers circuler en France avec leurs propres disques de vitesse . Les Poids-lourds français à l'étranger ne changent pas de disques de vitesse à la frontière pour s'adapter au pays traversé. En revanche, dans tous les cas, il convient de respecter la règle de vitesse maximale qui s'applique sur la route où on circule. En espérant avoir répondu à votre question et bien cordialement, Le bureau de la législation et de la réglementation Délégation à la sécurité et à la circulation routières Ministère de l'écologie, de l'énergie, du développement durable et de la mer When you go to France take copies of the above & should you get stoped by the police they should sort out your problem ;-) I have never used speed stickers on my van (total train weight just under 4 tonnes) & dont intend to as long as I adhere to the local speed limit. By the way have you ever seen any British regestered lorries with speed stickers in France, nor me Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Thanks for the comments. We are currently in the south of Spain having driven all the way down through France and I admit I have yet to see any speed stickers on any caravan, so mine are tucked away in a folder. There also seemed to be a little laissey faire regarding following the linits and a speed between 55 and 63 mph (going downhill) seemed to bother no one, although any sight of 'plods' caused a reduction of course, just in case. It was a similar situation in Spain. I am supposed to be limited to 80 kph (50 mph) but nobody was following that one. Even the speed limits on autoroutes has been reduced to 110 kph for cars, but the average speed is still around 80 mph. I guess in time there will be a tightening but at the moment, fortunately, things seem to be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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