Hi, is it me or are the police authorites of europe trying to make up there countrys defecit by fining foreign drivers for anything they can get away with, as they take all your documents they are almost holding your truck to ransom.I have had a 3000 euro fine in spain at x mas.Its not just me before the rest of you pipe up that im a rouge!.I also know of several of my freinds, one got fined 300euro in swiss for being 200mm over length, moved his slider to make it right, but they still drew the dosh, and another got nicked in belguim for also too long, 1400 euro, and parked up until he got an overlength permit, truck still there permit will take four weeks, he just a foot too long, .Anybody else feel like they are being robbed?
Is this the speed limiter fine you are talking about?
The thing is the rules are out there, we all know them and we all take risks. I remember driving through the Eastern Bloc and taking the ■■■■ out of the coppers, it was fun to make them write out 20 or 30 tickets for a few crowns or forints, France was coffee money and in Italy we paid for their ice cream.
I have been rather fortunate in my time on the road, the biggest fine I got was £1250 & £850 back duty. I knew the risks and took them. Me and my mate decided in the mid 90’s it just wasn’t worth it anymore after he got parked up in Italy with phone book sized fines.
Both Belgium and Switzerland have the same length limits, 16.50m for an articulated truck and 18.75 for a roadtrain. I have tried to twist the law in Belgium and they have always won, many of our rules are designed or signed off by Belgian civil servants.
Yes mine was the speed limiter thing, but actually they made a mistake, and we are currntly fighting it, although the otheres was bnot for my trucks just good freinds of mine, maybe its payback for vosa stepping up a gear?
I got stung in february by VOSA to the tune of £200 at the site on the M6 by stafford. had 19 euro pallets of fish on loaded Ullapool for spain, was 200kg overweight on the drive axle by UK limits but if i had been weighed in europe would not have been fined as the limit is 1000kg higher so its not just in europe they have fines.
what made it worse was that my boss wanted to pay over the phone but they claimed they couldn’t process the payment until the next morning so i missed the boat to santander and had to go via france hence the extra expense incurred. the VOSA bloke couldn’t give a toss about me being late with fish just wanted to prove a point about who was in charge. at least in france and spain you pay the fine on the spot and carry on with your journey.
this thread seems a bit familiar though 
didn’t you get enough reaction last time you told us about your flying machine 
I did indeed, but this isnt about me, im just hearing that a lot of my freinds are also having problems, especially a lot of the low loader and abnormalload men, another freind of mine just got nicked for the wrong size convoie esceptional size, 300 euro fine for lettering 50mm too big !, had permits ■■■■■■ and still they got the draw! france this time
richmond:
I did indeed, but this isnt about me, im just hearing that a lot of my freinds are also having problems, especially a lot of the low loader and abnormalload men, another freind of mine just got nicked for the wrong size convoie esceptional size, 300 euro fine for lettering 50mm too big !, had permits ■■■■■■ and still they got the draw! france this time
met a couple of brit drivers near lyon last year on the way up from marseille to the uk with a boat on, the gendarmes made them park up because the ■■■■■■ van was white with flashing lights and a convoi sign but according to them the vehicle must be yellow 
I am not having a go at anyone here, but the regulations are drawn up and agreed by all the member states in most cases. Take ADR for instance the placards must be of a standard size. The Kemler board must be fitted in a Landscape orientation.
Registration plates must conform to specification, size, and colour. It isn’t difficult to keep things right, the information is standardised to make it easier for everyone.
Different countries aim to stop different things which they prioritise, In Belgium you can park where you like as long as you do not block a cycle lane, the Germans will have you for parking too close to a residential building, where as here the private clampers will stop us parking in public coach bays.
We have to understand these differences if we are operating vehicles out of our own area. I just looked at the VOSA / HSE prosecutions for a multi agency check. large companies who should know better are being done for not having the correct documents, a tanker company with 2 expired fire extinguishers and a UK haulier carrying a hazardous load without any instructions or markings. There are dozens of cases of foreign operators carrying hazardous but without having instructions in writing, in a language they understand.
welshboyinspain:
richmond:
I did indeed, but this isnt about me, im just hearing that a lot of my freinds are also having problems, especially a lot of the low loader and abnormalload men, another freind of mine just got nicked for the wrong size convoie esceptional size, 300 euro fine for lettering 50mm too big !, had permits ■■■■■■ and still they got the draw! france this timemet a couple of brit drivers near lyon last year on the way up from marseille to the uk with a boat on, the gendarmes made them park up because the ■■■■■■ van was white with flashing lights and a convoi sign but according to them the vehicle must be yellow
Well those are the regulations (not having a go a you btw) and if you don’t want to play by them then don’t get involved. This is the way of things in 2011 - we’ve all done the cowboy act for years, but it’s no longer possible - well not without suffering in the pocket for it. Here endeth the first lesson!
The GDP of spain is now made up of:
Services 45%
Agriculture 5%
LGV toby fines 47%
EU Aid 3%.
limeyphil:
The GDP of spain is now made up of:
Services 45%
Agriculture 5%
LGV toby fines 47%
EU Aid 3%.
And hopefully some more EU aid now that the Germans have tried to destroy our produce export trade.
I have my own fine card,that is loaded up,the old bill accept the Toby payment card in most countries,i even get a discount and a free ride to the nearest Cafe con leche taverna.
Well, just to help englishman getting fined abroad scenario, this week i got undercut by an italian by 250 pounds with a load to london and i got undercut by a dutchman, on a specialist job from holland to london by £3000 pounds !,just quoted a big job to sweden and was told by the customer that i was too dear and he was going to try and find someone cheaper, which at this rate it wont be hard, so wont be many of us going abroad much any time soon !Glad most of my gear is paid for …
The flip flop brigade are welcome to it,they must be running bent to make deadlines.
richmond:
so wont be many of us going abroad much any time soon
I thought there wasn’t many already, when I started going over the water the spoken language in the drivers restaurant on the ferry’s was English, these days if you meet British driver on the boat you are probably on the Isle of wight ferry 