naittaw Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Travelled in convoy with a friend on the A75. Up hill and down dale. Quiet Sunday on the road. Caught friend on the uphill stretches and slipped back downhill. Two motorcycle Gendarmes pulled me in. Tailgateing illegal. On the spot 90 euros. The warning is that what is everyday driving on English motorways is illegal in France, but also note that if you don't haved the 90 euros in cash you are stuck. I'm not sure the full consequences, but it was made clear that I did not move until fine paid. Taxi to cash machine perhaps ? They were genuine, I have the official paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Usual thing wrong place at the wrong time ! How far behind were you ? Would the 2 second rule been OK distance-wise ? or was it a "French interpretation" of tail gateing Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ina Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Last year we were pulled up by 2 gendarmes on the roadside, we thought it was just to check paperwork etc. Turned out they accused us of not stopping at the STOP sign, before turning right. We know we did, but as it was a dangerous bend, after stopping, we crept very slowly forwards, rather than just driving straight out. The gendarmes were behind some trees further down the road, and of course it was our word against theirs. If they had 'chosen' to only see us creeping forward, there was nothing we could do to prove otherwise. They demanded 90 Euros, we didn't have 90 Euros. We had just got across to France and were heading to a campsite, before getting cash out the next day. We had about 50 Euros on us. They were adamant we pay, otherwise the vehicle stayed where it was. We were nowhere near a town or a cash machine, so we said that we would have to get to a cash machine before we could pay, and how could we do that without transport? Answer: we would have to take you and give you a receipt. After that, what seemed to be the senior one of the 2, said: you can go, but take it as a warning for next time. It seemed a bit suspicious to us, that they said that if they took us, they 'would have to give us a receipt'. In other words: had we had the 90 Euros on us and paid, would we not have got a receipt? We obviously would have asked for one, but it has always made us wonder whether it was a back-pocket job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naittaw Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 The receipt reads, in french and my translation, "Driving a vehicle less than a safe distance from the vehicle in front" and gives references to the French Code - 412.12 I & II and 412.12 V & VII. I don't know whether a "safe distance" is definded there. It will surely depend on conditions anyway. I hold my hand up and say I was close, but on empty dual carriageway and at moderate speed up hill the risk to ourselves was minimal and to anyone else nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naittaw Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 Hymer 584, are you sure they were not saying "we will have to take you there and give you the bill" i.e. charge you additional for the transport ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna miller Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Reminds me of the time (about 15 years ago),I was driving a lorry through France on route to Italy,in a small village during the night, I didn't stop completely at a stop sign. Was pulled over by Gendarme who proceeded to lecture me in French for about 20 mins on the laws of the road, I must admit, I didn't understand anything he said, and just acted dumb. At the end of the Lecture, he told me (in perfect English) that for the sake of stopping for 1 or 2 seconds, he had kept me there for 20 mins to show me the error of my ways. The fine was 200 ciggies or 300 French Francs (about £35 them days). In the good old days, most truckers kept ciggies for on the spot fines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I have only ever been stopped once since 1972 on French small roads by their Police. At a junction earlier this year. They wanted to see papers so we showed them papers. We spoke (OK OK the WIFE spoke!) in French and I smiled at the nice lady Police person. They then waved us on. Was I glad that I turned round 5 miles after leaving home and went back for the vehicle papers, insurance etc. Normally I never bother! Be warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotchjock Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I seem to remember reading that for "larger vehicles", you must be 50metres behind the vehicle in front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ina Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 naittaw - 2007-10-09 2:06 PM Hymer 584, are you sure they were not saying "we will have to take you there and give you the bill" i.e. charge you additional for the transport ? The conversation started off in English, my French is good enough to get by, but by no means perfect, so we ended up using a mixture of French and English. At first we thought they only wanted to check papers, as that was what they asked for to begin with. No problem, as we always carry everything like that in the safe. It was only after they'd seen those, and we thought that was it, they said that we had not stopped at the stop sign. They did say in English, that they would have to give us a receipt, definitely used the word receipt. Now unless they got their English words mixed up, and meant to say 'bill' rather than 'receipt', that is how the conversation went. We have been going to France for about 30 years now, and that is only the second time we have been stopped. The first time, years ago, WAS only a spot-check on papers, which were all in order, so this was the first time we were stopped for an alleged offence. Ina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamworthkamper Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 The French word for bill is receipt .In a resturant when you ask for the bill the waiter always says here is your receipt. Before we went to france for the first time 4 or 5 years ago a trucker I worked with told me always carry 100 euros incase . I think adleast half goes in there pocket but never been stop yet thank god .As neither mine or the good lady french is very good . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Sorry, but we don't want anyone visiting France speaking Franglais, like your waiter, do we? My understanding is that the Franch for receipt is 'un recu' (c-cedilla), and for a bill is 'une addition' in a restaurant or 'une facture' more formally (as in an invoice). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDG Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I spent 30 years in a UK police force (sorry we are meant to call it police service these days); and I always avoided contact with continental registered cars unless I really needed to. It was more trouble that it was worth trying to understand their language and except from a few swear words in Welsh I only speak english, you can bet they would not admit to speaking english. I suspect most french police work on the same principal. Traffic police are however slightly different, and it may be different now but the motorbikes in France used to be ridden by CRS who specialise in riots and motorway patrol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naittaw Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 Just to update my recent experience that started all this. The Officers in question carried a fairly large reference book with translations in a number of languages. The "Extraits du Code de la route" given to me is in 5 European languages. From that you discover that the "on-the-spot" fine is levied only on those who can offer "no proof of any domicile or employment in the French territory". This suggests that they are on the look out for dangerous driving tourists ! French drivers stopped also have points put on their licence, others do not ! It is also worth noting that, according to the same document in the English translation provided, "Any person having infringed the Highway Code regulations who cannot produce any proof of a domicile or employment in the French territory or a guarantee officially approved by the French administration is liable to have his (or her) vehicle retained. In order to avoid such immobilisation and legal proceedings, such person can immediately pay a lump sum fine to the officer reporting the offence who shall remit him (or her) a receipt from a counterfoil book." So be prepared ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ina Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Mel E - 2007-10-10 3:50 PM My understanding is that the Franch for receipt is 'un recu' (c-cedilla), and for a bill is 'une addition' in a restaurant or 'une facture' more formally (as in an invoice). Yes, that is my understanding too. Quite often on campsites too, they will say that they will get the ''facture'. And in restaurants, we always ask for 'l'addition'. I've never heard a waiter call it anything else but 'l'addition' either. Ina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 My French speaker says that when you ask for the bill you ask for a L'addition. If you want a receipt is a reçu . Hope thats added to the confusion! C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olley Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Last week in service station between Rouen and Calais, French customs came over after they had been searching a coach, had we got any wine or cigarette's? I said we had some wine (80 odd bottles) but after seeing the cat, they lost interest and made a fuss of her instead. According to a guy on the ferry they are stopping people who have been shopping in Belgium, and maybe confiscating or charging duty. So what they were doing between Rouen and Calais I don't know We also got stopped at the first toll after the Spanish border along with a stack of lorries, no idea why, after looking at our passports and trying to converse in poor English they gave up and waived us on. Might be a good ploy even if your fluent French speaker. Olley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 After years of driving trucks transiting France for Italy.Spain and Switzerland I have found that the most popular part of the year for being stopped was the run up to Christmas!!!! I wonder why??? Regards Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Until last year, all the Frech border posts had been closed down following integration across Europe (the so-called Single European Act). You drove from France to Spain watching the buildings gathering dust and the windows getting dirtier. Following the rise in terrorist acts, they have all re-opened and, even at fairly quiet times, there can be long queues to get through. As part of the huge tax rise in France on cigarettes, etc., to discourage smoking, the border customs will now only allow you to import some 400 cigarettes into France. It seems that pleas that you are in transit, or that they are for personal use and therefore permitted under EU legislation, fall on the usual temporary deafness which is almost unique as obviously part of the formal training of all French officials! Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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