Gidders:
The cynic in me thinks it is all about raising revenue for the government.In theory the slower we travel the fewer accidents there should be so how slow is preferable.Apart from that there’s lies,damned lies,and statistics.You could prove the opposite of any argument from selecting from the same set of statistics.Politicians do it all the time.
Gidders, it’ll only be a big revenue earner if they increase the fixed cameras and/or increase the amount of Gendarmes on the road with handheld apparatus. I as a truck driver here don’t agree with the new limit for cars. Imagine the tailbacks. I will not exceed 82kph on single or even duals, which is the HGV limit here, but I am looking at an absolute nightmare here when car drivers will adhere to the new limit and even go under it. In fact and I hope it doesn’t, I think that it will cause more problems.
Pierrot.Thanks for the heads up on this new speed limit.My driving in France these days is only in my car.Up to now I have driven around 95 - 100 kph on RNs depending on their quality.Even that is a little on the quick side.As you say,if car drivers start sticking at 80 - 85 kph it’s going to mean a miserable life for lorry drivers.
short walk:
Crikey used to be my fav country to drive in, both RN and AR but reading this quite sickens me, of course heard a lot about weight limits on A10 and others etc but what the hell, this job really is going the wrong way fast… Could explain why virtually no young people would give a rat’s arse for it anymore.
It’s the car limits that they are trying to reduce.Their actual speed limits were always historically unrealistic with the French plod taking a very reasonably relaxed view of them on those grounds.The difference now being the silly levels of enforcement for all types.Let alone an obvious agenda of limit reduction to criminalise even more drivers.
While the catalyst for all this seems to be the introduction of the fast rail interests taking advantage of the historic drink driving accident statistics there.In order to dress up the deliberate sabotaging road use,to increase their market share,as a bs road ‘safety’ agenda based on a non existent speeding issue.Probably a bit like the states in which the interests of the air transport operators and car hire fleet operators and hire fleet sales all converged to create the justifiably hated 55 mph blanket limit.Which only recently has been been significantly lifted but still nowhere near enough to make long distance car use as common as fly drive there.Just as TGV and car hire is probably the aim in France. 
Gidders:
Pierrot.Thanks for the heads up on this new speed limit.My driving in France these days is only in my car.Up to now I have driven around 95 - 100 kph on RNs depending on their quality.Even that is a little on the quick side.As you say,if car drivers start sticking at 80 - 85 kph it’s going to mean a miserable life for lorry drivers.
The general regime historically was 70-80 mph on RN’s and 110-120 mph on autoroutes without the need to worry about being seriously nicked at those speeds if at all.On that note I can remember my old 4 speed BMW 3.0 Si,capable of around 130 mph max,being way too under geared and revvy for French autoroutes especially.While now my first old 1960’s designed Triumph 2.5 with overdrive box would be more than quick enough for the place. 
Gidders:
Pierrot.Thanks for the heads up on this new speed limit.My driving in France these days is only in my car.Up to now I have driven around 95 - 100 kph on RNs depending on their quality.Even that is a little on the quick side.As you say,if car drivers start sticking at 80 - 85 kph it’s going to mean a miserable life for lorry drivers.
You’re welcome Gidders and as you say it will become a nightmare for lorry drivers on these roads having to follow cars at 80, many of which will probably go slower. Like you I travel at 90/95 on the nationals in my car, obviously depending on the conditions… but 80 !!! If it will reduce mortality I’m all for it, but I would say that those dying in accidents on these roads are probably doing higher speeds anyway and taking risks.
IF it goes ahead, and it’s not been passed yet then it won’t be till July, there is, naturally, a lot of opposition, by motoring organisationsearch based on little proof it will save lives, it’s a political move by the left to appease the do_gooder greens and tree huggers, plus extra revenue in fines of course…let’s hope if it does go through they’ll be the first to get caught…
A couple of years ago they were going to take all the speed camera signs away, that fell flat on its face, and nothing happened… 
…We wait with baited breath
securite-routiere.gouv.fr/co … -a-80-km-h
Link to French Gov site.
As already said itll be effective from 1st July this year. (subject to changes of mind etc). They hope itll save between 300 and 400 lives per year!
Just to let you know if you are coming over here on holiday in your cars, camper vans or motorbikes, the French government has confirmed that as from the 1st July this year, the speed limit on Nationals/Departmental road will reduce to 80kph. This will be a trial till 2020 and should the figures find that accident, injury, mortality figures reduce it will be brought into legislation and become permanent. If not then the limit will revert to 90kph. Obviously this does not concern dual carriageways where the limit is 110kph unless otherwise signed obviously.
Never had an issue in France on the coaches. Well apart from around Toulouse I got stopped for doing 100kph and not 90kph but I just got reminded of the limits surprisingly.
Not so lucky in Belgium though once the average cameras went in on the E40 around Gent. Every coach over the course of a few months got stopped, impounded and was p4odced with a list of fines at €50 each time 
Thanks Pierrot.I’ll have to remember that when I drive back to the UK in July.It seems very slow.During the day I tend to tag along behind a local but overnight roads are very quiet.I don’t want to end up with any speeding tickets.
It wasn’t even a fine for speeding back in the day. Just a 100 franc note tucked in the passport which had mysteriously disappeared when Monsieur le Flic handed it back and then smiles and Merci, bonne route!" all round. 
Was that “new francs” or the pre 1960 “old francs” ? It’s nearly 20 years since the euro came in !
manski:
Was that “new francs” or the pre 1960 “old francs” ? It’s nearly 20 years since the euro came in !
Ooh no, I can’t remember the old francs. I was hardly born then.
I can remember when we used to ship out to Calais the Douanier used to climb up the cab steps to check the fuel gauge as you were only allowed to take 200 litres of cheap English diesel into France… how times change… and the F12 had a bezel round the fuel gauge that was perfect for sitting a 10 franc coin in. And funnily enough that used to disappear too and off we went with our full tanks of diesel. 
iguana:
Gidders:
Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned were it not for the fact that other European authorities can now access our DVLA
Yip got my 1st speeding ticket through the post from Germany this yr, 80 in a 60 at midnight & deserted. €100
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
did you get it direct from the fatherland,or via the nazis at dvla??
dieseldog999:
iguana:
Gidders:
Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned were it not for the fact that other European authorities can now access our DVLA
Yip got my 1st speeding ticket through the post from Germany this yr, 80 in a 60 at midnight & deserted. €100
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
did you get it direct from the fatherland,or via the nazis at dvla??
Was going to print my thoughts there but thought better of it… 
AndrewG:
dieseldog999:
iguana:
Gidders:
Normally I wouldn’t be too concerned were it not for the fact that other European authorities can now access our DVLA
Yip got my 1st speeding ticket through the post from Germany this yr, 80 in a 60 at midnight & deserted. €100
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
did you get it direct from the fatherland,or via the nazis at dvla??
Was going to print my thoughts there but thought better of it…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
sure were all doing that now and being all polite and pc 
I knew about the plan, Pierrot, but haven’t read about it.
Are they going to change all the 90 limit signs then, or just expect everyone to know that they are no longer in force?
However, unless they are going to have a real blitz of gendarmes with hand helds, I can’t see it making much difference to most. I never exceed 90 in the car on the singles but am constantly overtaken by a steady stream of chancers. Can’t see them alterating their habits for a new limit even slower.
So maybe a blockage of 80 km cars is not going to trouble us.
pierrot 14:
I would think that the new limit will be massively announced on the TV , in the papers, on overhead gantries near exits, for probably the last 2 or 3 weeks of June, I can’t see the powers that be letting anybody getting away with “Oh I didn’t know”.
I can see lots more demonstrations like those that we have already had with the bikers protesting. Don’t know about Dept24, but on a couple of occasions the Caen ring road was a shut-down as over 2000 bikers remonstrated. That to me really was a bit hypocritical of them I think, they don’t respect the 90kph now, so surely for them, it’ll be carry on as normal Oh, except where there’s a camera of course
Could turn out to be as successful as the National Toll System? (Don`t know the correct name, sorry) In that case all the infrastructure was bought and installed before being burnt and abandoned. In this case, nowt is being invested so the Gov can set it up as “a straw man” and not implement it in view of public demand? Or am I a cynic?