do you think it is time to start a petition regarding the french, and spanish fines?
will it do any good?
who would we petition?
the uk government? 
the EU in brussels?
or would we get more sense from the nearest mental asylum?
probably.
limeyphil:
will it do any good?
No
limeyphil:
or would we get more sense from the nearest mental asylum?
Yes
Yes , actually, i think that is an outstanding idea, i did four int trips last year and paid out 6k in fines/ held to ransom/ robbed by the police, i think that you should get a debate on the whole eurpean on the spot/ held to ransom fine debacle, at least it would get it noticed, i thiink the general public have no idea what goes on.I have stopped doing int work now because of it. go fo it.
Nicolas Sarkozy, The French President, is sitting in his office when his telephone rings.
âHello, Mr. Sarkozy!â a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Clare, Ireland. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!
âWell, Paddy,â Sarkozy replied, âThis is indeed important news! How big is your army?â
âRight now,â says Paddy, after a momentâs calculation, âthere is myself, me Cousin Sean, me next door neighbour Seamus, and the entire darts team from the pub. That makes eight!â
Sarkozy paused. âI must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100,000 men in my army waiting to move on my command.â
âBegoora!â says Paddy. âIâll have to ring you back.â
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy calls again âMr. Sarkozy, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!â
âAnd what equipment would that be Paddy?â Sarkozy asks.
âWell, we have two carbines, a bulldozer, and Murphyâs farm tractor.â
Sarkozy sighs amused. âI must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I have increased my army to 150,000 since we last spoke.â
âSaints preserve us!â says Paddy. âIâll have to get back to you.â
Sure enough, Paddy rings again the next day. âMr. Sarkozy, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We have modified Jackie McLaughlinâs ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Bar have joined us as well!â
Sarkozy was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. âI must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military bases are surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I have increased my army to 200,000!â
" Mary and Joseph!" says Paddy, âI will have to ring you back.â
Sure enough, Paddy calls again the next day. âTop oâ the morninâ, Mr Sarkozy! I am sorry to inform you that we have had to call off the war.â
âReally? I am sorry to hear that,â says Sarkozy. âWhy the sudden change of heart?â
âWell,â says Paddy, âwe had a long chat over a few pints of Guinness, and decided there is no way we can feed 200,000 prisoners.â
A few years ago,you could get done for vagrancy,if you could not supply evidence at the road side,that you had means to pay for break downs and tyre call outs,it was a fine.
hereâs an original idea for you limeyphil,
donât commit an offence then thereâs no fine to pay 
even the VOSTAPO are introducing fines now for us johnny foreigners maybe itâs their idea of revenge
They used to fine us for no spare tyre,Sunbilla that was.
toby1234abc:
They used to fine us for no spare tyre,Sunbilla that was.
carry a spare tyre on the trailer then, works out cheaper 
I have not seen any Insight logistics lts trucks around,are they still going or finished trading?
I had a wheel carrier made up on my Scania 142.
toby1234abc:
I have not seen any Insight logistics lts trucks around,are they still going or finished trading?
plenty of them they are on the bilbao or santander every trip ask hombre he uses the long boats every week
Good old Steve Walker,i used to have to run in to an office off Main Street in Gib,to collect a big bag of running money,he used Sorek Shipping,ran by a Danish guy,you would get a hot drink or a chilled beer,or the use of the shower.
Gilbert must be still there too.
richmond:
Yes , actually, i think that is an outstanding idea, i did four int trips last year and paid out 6k in fines/ held to ransom/ robbed by the police, i think that you should get a debate on the whole eurpean on the spot/ held to ransom fine debacle, at least it would get it noticed, i thiink the general public have no idea what goes on.I have stopped doing int work now because of it. go fo it.
6 grand in 4 trips 
I doubt Iâve paid out one grand in several decades n.b. most of em I was bang to rights for though 
Guys, get back on track, how about starting a petiton on a way to contest fines in europe, simply without being held to ransome in the mean time, seeing as we are all europeans now , and its fair play across the board it shouldnt be that hard.i thought this wa one of the better ideas we have seen on here, and itd going off track already stop fighting each other, we are colleages , fight those who do us ill !
Woodland:
Hauliers allowed to appeal finesIRU launch new appeal process
The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is hosting the Euro Control Route (ECR), Disproportionate Fines & Sanctions online complaints desk.
This is being used as a cornerstone of the public-private partnership between the IRU and the EU Enforcement Community, aiming to create a harmonised and efficient enforcement of EU road transport legislation.
Brussels â The IRU and ECR have teamed up to host, on their respective websites, the Euro Control Route Disproportionate Fines & Sanctions online complaint desk, as a key part of the industryâs and EU Enforcement Communityâs commitment to work together to further improve road safety, working conditions and fair competition through better enforcement at EU level.
*The ECR complaint desk will allow transport operators and drivers to report controls or penalties that they consider unfair with regards to compliance with the EU Driving and Rest Times and Tachograph Regulations. It is widely acknowledged by control bodies and industry alike that these rules, their application and sanctioning can differ dramatically from country to country.**Acting ECR General Delegate, Gerard Schipper, said, âWe are genuinely concerned when we hear about unfair or damagingly inconsistent enforcement practices in Europe. Our goal is to understand what is really happening in road side enforcement and remedy control practices that might need to be corrected. Itâs only through international cooperation both within ECR and with partners like IRU that we can achieve thisâ.*While reporting this information to the complaints desk is not the same as making an appeal, the collection of such data will enable the IRU, together with ECR control bodies across the EU, to better understand the state of enforcement, what is going wrong and where and how improvements can be made, with a view to use this information to effectively improve the consistency of Regulatory controls and eliminate unfair practices where possible.
IRU General Delegate, Michael Nielsen, concluded, âOur transport operators today are working right across the European Union. Harmonised enforcement to complement the common EU regulatory framework is instrumental in enabling transport operators to do their job properly, efficiently and with certainty. Fines should be fair, proportionate, yet dissuasive to effectively improve regulatory compliance.
We are therefore very pleased with this joint effort and commitment from our enforcement partners to meet our common goals of improving road safety, working conditions and fair competition through better enforcement.â
The IRU-ECR online complaint desk is currently available in English, French, German and Romanian, with Polish, Hungarian, Lithuanian and other languages to be added in early 2012.
Irish Trucker News Published on 18 January 2012
There are other ways and means too. 
richmond:
Guys, get back on track, how about starting a petiton on a way to contest fines in europe, simply without being held to ransome in the mean time, seeing as we are all europeans now , and its fair play across the board it shouldnt be that hard.i thought this wa one of the better ideas we have seen on here, and itd going off track already stop fighting each other, we are colleages , fight those who do us ill !
What are you petitioning for? the right to run bent or using your own interpretation of the rules?
There is already an appeal process, you go to court and argue your case, instead of just giving them a returnable bond that ensures you will attend a hearing. If you donât agree with a situation at the roadside, ask for the head sherang to come out.
Any fines that I have paid were well deserved, sometimes to the point of me thinking, I got off lightly there and counting my blessings that they didnât dig deeper 
I have never been fined for headboard illuminations, missing tyres, uncovered spare wheels, laminated authorisations or carrying a driver as a passenger without a driver card.
I have been done for overtaking in a no overtaking zone, speeding, insufficient rest, excessive driving hours and not wearing a seatbelt. I even got fined 72DM once in Germany for knocking someoneâs mirror off in a factory car park.
Two of us were stopped for speeding in Czechoslovakia, I was the leading truck yet it was my mate behind who got the fine, much of it is down to the attitude of the driver 
billybigrig:
Woodland:
Hauliers allowed to appeal finesIRU launch new appeal process
The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is hosting the Euro Control Route (ECR), Disproportionate Fines & Sanctions online complaints desk.
This is being used as a cornerstone of the public-private partnership between the IRU and the EU Enforcement Community, aiming to create a harmonised and efficient enforcement of EU road transport legislation.
Brussels â The IRU and ECR have teamed up to host, on their respective websites, the Euro Control Route Disproportionate Fines & Sanctions online complaint desk, as a key part of the industryâs and EU Enforcement Communityâs commitment to work together to further improve road safety, working conditions and fair competition through better enforcement at EU level.
*The ECR complaint desk will allow transport operators and drivers to report controls or penalties that they consider unfair with regards to compliance with the EU Driving and Rest Times and Tachograph Regulations. It is widely acknowledged by control bodies and industry alike that these rules, their application and sanctioning can differ dramatically from country to country.**Acting ECR General Delegate, Gerard Schipper, said, âWe are genuinely concerned when we hear about unfair or damagingly inconsistent enforcement practices in Europe. Our goal is to understand what is really happening in road side enforcement and remedy control practices that might need to be corrected. Itâs only through international cooperation both within ECR and with partners like IRU that we can achieve thisâ.*While reporting this information to the complaints desk is not the same as making an appeal, the collection of such data will enable the IRU, together with ECR control bodies across the EU, to better understand the state of enforcement, what is going wrong and where and how improvements can be made, with a view to use this information to effectively improve the consistency of Regulatory controls and eliminate unfair practices where possible.
IRU General Delegate, Michael Nielsen, concluded, âOur transport operators today are working right across the European Union. Harmonised enforcement to complement the common EU regulatory framework is instrumental in enabling transport operators to do their job properly, efficiently and with certainty. Fines should be fair, proportionate, yet dissuasive to effectively improve regulatory compliance.
We are therefore very pleased with this joint effort and commitment from our enforcement partners to meet our common goals of improving road safety, working conditions and fair competition through better enforcement.â
The IRU-ECR online complaint desk is currently available in English, French, German and Romanian, with Polish, Hungarian, Lithuanian and other languages to be added in early 2012.
Irish Trucker News Published on 18 January 2012
There are other ways and means too.
Were you inspected for compliance with driving and rest time rules, but donĂ´t agree with the sanction? If so, you can make that known via this website and indicate how you believe, together with control bodies around the EU, that we can improve the performance of controls.
As you know the rules for driving and rest times are the same throughout Europe. However, it is also true that the interpretation of these rules, their application and sanctioning can differ from country to country, which can in some cases undermine the rules.
Providing us with details of your control experiences will help Euro ContrĂ´le Route, the European representative for control bodies and a key IRU Partner, gain a better understanding of how European regulations on driving and rest times are enforced today and what can go wrong.
With the help of your information, Euro ContrĂ´le Route is drawing up an inventory of these pressure points and will pass this information on to the concerned countries so that solutions can be found. This will allow us to work together towards improved enforcement throughout the EU.
While we must point out that this is not a complaint and appeal procedure, and that your sanction cannot be reviewed or waived, logging your experiences with us can potentially help us find ways to reduce the chances of it happening again in the future. However, for specific complaint and appeal procedures, we must refer you to the authority which imposed the sanction.
Understanding your businesses and your roadside control experiences are vital, so please help us make enforcement better by sharing any information you may have regarding unfair sanctions.
Just pointing out a genuine channel of registration of the problem Malc. I suspect it would be a better way than yet another bloody petition
HTH
Wheel Nut:
richmond:
Guys, get back on track, how about starting a petiton on a way to contest fines in europe, simply without being held to ransome in the mean time, seeing as we are all europeans now , and its fair play across the board it shouldnt be that hard.i thought this wa one of the better ideas we have seen on here, and itd going off track already stop fighting each other, we are colleages , fight those who do us ill !What are you petitioning for? the right to run bent or using your own interpretation of the rules?
There is already an appeal process, you go to court and argue your case, instead of just giving them a returnable bond that ensures you will attend a hearing. If you donât agree with a situation at the roadside, ask for the head sherang to come out.
Any fines that I have paid were well deserved, sometimes to the point of me thinking, I got off lightly there and counting my blessings that they didnât dig deeper
I have never been fined for headboard illuminations, missing tyres, uncovered spare wheels, laminated authorisations or carrying a driver as a passenger without a driver card.
I have been done for overtaking in a no overtaking zone, speeding, insufficient rest, excessive driving hours
This^
Never paid any money out in in any of the popular âI got fined a squillion quid and my first bornâ countries, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, despite their best attempts at stealing money with made up rules on many occasions.
New measures and tougher penalties come into force this week
A decree containing number of miscellaneous provisions effecting French road traffic law will be published bringing into force a series of tougher measures applying to
Drivers on French roads.
. End of the road for radar warning devices
Equipment which detects a radar signal has always been banned in France but the new laws take matters a step further by banningâ driver aids âwhich incorporate data giving a warning of where speed cameras are located . Arguably this information is already in the public domain with Michelin maps, for example posting details of fixed radar positions but in the face of opposition both from motoristsâ organisations and satnav manufacturers the French government has decided to press ahead with this measure.
Already some manufacturer of satnav equipment have taken the lead by stopping the
Inclusion of data on speed traps in new equipment but, for users of existing equipment compliance with the new law will depend on whether they bother to connect up with a manufacturerâs website for a software update to remove what will become the prohibited software. For the police enforcing the new law will not be an easy task particularly as many vehicles now c ome with embedded software systems which the non-technologically inclined driver may find difficult to disengage.
Nonetheless the penalty for the new offence is steep- a fine of up to 1500ââÂŹ and the loss of up to 6 points on a driverâs licence.
Using a telephone while driving- fine increased
Up till now,the fine for using a mobile whilst driving in France had been set at what had almost become a nominal 35 ââÂŹ and loss of 2 points on a French licence From this week, the penalty for using a mobile phone whilst driving in France will go up to 135ââÂŹ with the loss of 3 points.
. Watch a movie while driving
There have been sporadic reports from police in the South of France that lorry drivers, particularly foreign ones,watching movies whilst driving had become a particular concern.
Drivers caught watching a movie whilst at the wheel will now face a fine of 1500ââÂŹ , instead of the present tariff of 135ââÂŹ . In addition either 2 or 3 points will be deducted from a drivers licence and any audio-visual equipment will be confiscated.
Straying on to the hard shoulder on autoroutes.
The principal cause of drivers straying on to the hard shoulder is driver fatigue and up till now straying temporarily into emergency lane on autoroutes in France was not an offence.
Under pressure from the autoroute companies anxious for the safety of their workforce, the French Government has introduced a new offence, effectively of clipping the hard shoulder , for which the penalty will be 135 euroâ s Also the existing fine for driving on the hard shoulder on French autoroutes increases from 35 to 135 euroâs.