I was in a conversation the other evening with 3 other drivers and I was defending the French.
One guy who said he was sick of the bent coppers and that he refused to go to France. He had threatened his boss with dumping the truck unless the boss paid the fine. I was quite surprised at his attitude and asked what had happened.
He then explained that he was driving his truck down a route national and did not stop at a stop sign. He was then pulled over and fined the standard 90 euros. He rang his boss and his boss told him to pay the fine. Now he cant get it back.
How thick is the driver? The Stop signs are written in English. They actually say STOP. or Cedez le passage for a give way sign where you dont need to stop.
If the driver wants to drive like a prat, he deserves being fined by coppers, bent or not
I was given a copy of truck and driver too and there was an article about the French fining drivers for not doing daily checks. It only takes 10 minutes according to them. just time for a petit cafe and a croissant on crossed hammers of course.
I also noticed David had a letter in the same magazine about the resto routiers. If we dont use them we will all be eating Macdonalds in a few years. They are an experience to eat in and at least you get to talk to a real person for a couple of hours as the French don’t allow you to eat alone
similar thing happened to me in Germany many years ago ,I turned left didnt stop only gave way the police were watching stopped me !st checked my euro tax and permit
then my disc and then told me the speed limit in the N roads was 60 kph not the 90 i had been doing,
then explained about the no stop
“i used the usuall story sorry officer my first time in Germany”
his reply was “you dont have stop signs in England?” fair cop!! and fined me 17 D mark. couldnt pay quick enough … reciept to home address when i got home
Wheel Nut:
I also noticed David had a letter in the same magazine about the resto routiers. If we dont use them we will all be eating Macdonalds in a few years. They are an experience to eat in and at least you get to talk to a real person for a couple of hours as the French don’t allow you to eat alone
■■■■ it! Cover Blown. How on earth did you know? They didn’t print the sig at the bottom.
But the point is a good one, and ■■■■ Flute should have known better, especially in the Besançon stretch.
On the question of Stop signs there has been some debate on a local website about the Gendarmes not bothering to ascertain whether someone has actually stopped or not before booking them anyway. But this comes into the MMTM realms and I have no evidence. I do know that a bloke on a pushbike was booked for not coming to a complete rest, but he admitted it. So, be warned, they are watching.
A lot of drivers don’t seem to appreciate that you have to come to a full halt, at least momentarily, at a stop sign. It isn’t a give way sign. It means what it says on the tin.
I have been fined twice in France, and both times were fair, but the police have also tried to fine me twice, unreasonably. Once because I hadn’t written the total day’s mileage on yesterday’s chart (you don’t have to) and once because I hadn’t left the disc in all night. Luckily I had a copy of Croner’s in the cab and Croner’s stated that you don’t need to. However, because the French like to see an overnight rest recorded, I leave the card in nowadays…
On both these latter occasions I talked my way out of it.
I have never had a problem with the French until January this year. I knew I was in trouble when she told me NOT to call her sweetheart but to call her Officer As it happens the amount she fined me was ridiculous but I did get it back from the company after they failed to appeal on my behalf despite writing to me and telling me they would.
It was my own fault I got done but it was purely an admin error on my part. A good few coppers would have let me off. Cost the company €945
TheBear:
I have never had a problem with the French until January this year. I knew I was in trouble when she told me NOT to call her sweetheart but to call her Officer As it happens the amount she fined me was ridiculous but I did get it back from the company after they failed to appeal on my behalf despite writing to me and telling me they would.
It was my own fault I got done but it was purely an admin error on my part. A good few coppers would have let me off. Cost the company €945
TheBear:
she was about 4’3" and about 20 stone with a 63" bust. you know the type I mean. I gave her my best ‘George Clooney’ smile and it got me nowhere pmsl
Wrong chat-up line, that’s all.
You should have just said “By Gum, you don’t sweat much for a fat lass” and you would have been in there!
TheBear:
she was about 4’3" and about 20 stone with a 63" bust. you know the type I mean. I gave her my best ‘George Clooney’ smile and it got me nowhere pmsl
Wrong chat-up line, that’s all.
You should have just said “By Gum, you don’t sweat much for a fat lass” and you would have been in there!
FPMSL Nice one, Harry Mind you, as I handed over €945 I did ask if she had ever had any… she looked at me blankly lol
There is no defined time, so long as the wheels come to a halt even for the tiniest fraction of a second.
I always stop for a second, maybe two, in order to avoid any argument about whether I did or didn’t come to a complete halt. After all, I only encounter two or three a day at most, and fifteen seconds wasted a week won’t kill me.
Just out of intrest what was the admin error that cost your company
945 euros ,seems quite abit ? would be intrested to know as i do
removals to France now and then ■■
Also is there a standard sort of fine,i was talking to a driver the other day
who informed me that the french police were looking back through your
old tachos and if they saw you doing 100 kms they were fining you even
if you were in England at the time ? we all know that its easy to creep up
to that speed when going downhill.
DEANB:
,i was talking to a driver the other day who informed me that the french police were looking back through your old tachos and if they saw you doing 100 kms they were fining you even if you were in England at the time ? we all know that its easy to creep up to that speed when going downhill.
Ah, the old going down hill trick
German Polizei. “You have been speeding driver, you must pay. Ze limit in Germany is 80 km/h”
Unamed driver. “Sorry officer, I must have been going down hill”
Polizei. “You must still pay, even in Germany we dont have any hills that go down for 3 hours”
I don’t know if it was because I was English driving a French wagon, a bit of a novelty I suppose, but I’ve always had the greatest kindness and conseration from French police, gendarmes and ministry men. And there have been times when I could have been done.
Maybe it’s my sunny personality, or perhaps that I’ve always followed the rule ‘keep your gob shut even if you’re in the right, they may be about to let you off’.
DEANB:
,i was talking to a driver the other day who informed me that the french police were looking back through your old tachos and if they saw you doing 100 kms they were fining you even if you were in England at the time ? we all know that its easy to creep up to that speed when going downhill.
Ah, the old going down hill trick
German Polizei. “You have been speeding driver, you must pay. Ze limit in Germany is 80 km/h”
Unamed driver. “Sorry officer, I must have been going down hill”
Polizei. “You must still pay, even in Germany we dont have any hills that go down for 3 hours”
Cracker, Malc. But I really did say that after my 110km/hr trace was pointed out, and the German policeman looked thoughtful for a moment then said, ‘OK, but we would be grateful if you could keep it below 100’.
And off I went.
Perhaps it’s not just the French who find me ■■■■.
Wheel Nut:
“Parking”…“You must pay neuf cent franc monsewer”
Ah yes “parking , neuf cent franc” the first phrase taught in Gendarme Academy
Wasn’t it funny that pretty much regardless of the offence, when you got the letter some months later that after a court hearing (allegedly) the fine always came to around about 890 ff Therefore you could go and collect your 10ff ish( about a pound or so) change from the appropriate Gendarmerie or Court did anyone ever go and demand it ■■?
I only did it once in Spain . While parked for a long weekend (French Bank Holiday) at Irun. We hopped the train to the beach at San Sebastian so I took my letter to the Policia Floral HQ to rightfully reclaim the1650 Pesata (about 6 pound 50) change They were quite amazed at the cheek of the Englishman but did after much headscratching and an hour of paperwork pony up the dough
on crossed hammers of course.
How on earth did you know? They didn’t print the sig at the bottom. 
As it happens the amount she fined me was ridiculous but I did get it back from the company after they failed to appeal on my behalf despite writing to me and telling me they would.
Have you seen The Bear?
