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Time limit on Speeding Fines?


Pierre ZFP
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OK I admit that I've been a naughty boy and got caught for speeding.  It was a cop with a hand held radar and although it was 2 a.m. I have no excuse and it was really rather stupid and dangerous (I was going rather quickly) The point is that I was stopped, details taken and because of the large excess speed, I was told it would go to court rather than on-the-spot-fine.  All this was written by the cop on an official form and I was asked  for any mitigating circumstances (although I was never cautioned, was I supposed to be?).  Fortunately I had all my docs with me (French reg car, UK license but apparently that was not an issue)

Well, I am expecting a large fine and points etc, hopefully not a ban BUT this all happend more than 6 months ago, actually nearly 7 months and I've heard nothing.  I'm probably tempting fate by even asking but is there a time limit by which they must contact me?  As I said I'm expecting my punishment but it's the uncertainty which is worse than getting it over with. 

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[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Well, I am expecting a large fine and points etc, hopefully not a ban BUT this all happend more than 6 months ago, actually nearly 7 months and I've heard nothing.  I'm probably tempting fate by even asking but is there a time limit by which they must contact me?  As I said I'm expecting my punishment but it's the uncertainty which is worse than getting it over with.  [/quote]

Pierre, you read French so I think you will find easy to read these:

S'il ne

se passe rien lors de l'interception, hormis la rédaction du

procès-verbal, il faut comprendre que deux procédures peuvent alors

être déclenchées : une procédure administrative, généralement plus prompte

à réagir, et une procédure judiciaire, habituellement sous forme de

convocation puis d'audience devant le Tribunal de Police, celle-ci étant

traditionnellement plus lente à intervenir.

http://www.dca-asso.com/

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Our Parisien friend went through an orange light at the local x/roads and did not notice the gendarmes sitting in the car behind him. Naturally he was pulled up and given an official form which resulted in a tribunal case in this dept some months later, a 450€ fine and two points taken off his licence,he never came back for the court case and duly paid up from Paris. My husband received a penalty for speeding four months after the infraction  "apparently occured" and so did our friend. I saw the centre at Rennes onthe local news where all these forms are printed out and sent off and there are thousands a month going out so delays are inevitable. Hope you didn't go "too fast" or your punishment if they do persue it could be pretty expensive and the points lost,more than one or two.
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[quote user="Ford Anglia"]

Go on then: how fast was "rather quickly"? And what was the limit?

 

[/quote]

I am ashamed to say

96 in a 50

but I thought I was in a 70 zone - not that it helps much.

I didn't get any form given to me either at the time or since - they won't have forgotten though.

 

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I presume that you were in a french registered vehicle. If so you would have received a ticket and on the ticket it should show the number of points given. In France the number of points equate to the speed over the posted limit. The table below gives some indication of this but I'm not sure how up to date it is.

Hope this helps...........................

Over the Speed Limit
(kph)
Points offLicense SuspendedFine (Euros)Prison
<201no135 
>20 and < 30 2no135 
>30 and <4033 Years135 
>40 and <5043 Years135 
>5043 Years1,500 
>50 2nd time63 Years3,750

3 months

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Anything over 30kph excess involves a driving ban, so it has to go to the tribunal.

46kph over the posted limit means a 135 euro fine, four penalty points and a three year driving ban (except for driving in connection with your employment).  You will also have to attend a safe driving course (at your own expense) in order to get your licence back.

Another 4kph faster and it would have been a 1,500 euro fine, six points, the same driving ban (but this time including driving for employment) - and confiscation of your car.

Edit:  These are the up to date regs, BB.

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Strangely, you don't see many mobile speed units when it's raining. I'm not sure whether it's the equipment or the gerndarmes that don't function in the rain..................................[Www]

By the same token, they will always be out on the first sunny day after a period of cloud or rain.

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Bugbear wrote '

Strangely, you don't see many mobile speed units when it's raining. I'm not sure whether it's the equipment or the gerndarmes that don't function in the rain..................................Whistles [Www]

By the same token, they will always be out on the first sunny day after a period of cloud or rain.'

 

I think the laser suffers from refraction or some scientific..ology type syndrome in the rain, and thus the accuracy of the machine is questionable, hence they don't work in the rain.

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[quote user="Bugbear"]

....... If so you would have received a ticket and on the ticket it should show the number of points given.

 [/quote]

That's the odd thing.  I was not given a ticket, nada, nothing.  Now I'm not expecting to get off with this, and 135 euros is a lot less than I was expecting but do you think someone did something wrong in the procedure?  I was also expecting to have to change my license otherwise I would have a total of minus 4 points!    which is good in the UK but not for France

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[quote user="Bugbear"]

Perhaps you should photocopy your licence and stick it next to your speedo.....[:)][:)]

[/quote]

Well I've learnt my lesson I think and I'm a good boy now.  I've also noticed that keeping to the spped limit has 2 effects.  1) It makes chuff all difference to overall journey times, even long distance.  2) It annoys the BMW drivers behind me who are gagging to get past  (do Beemer drivers have more heart attacks than average?)

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[quote user="Bugbear"][quote user="Chief"]

I think the laser suffers from refraction or some scientific..ology type syndrome in the rain, and thus the accuracy of the machine is questionable, hence they don't work in the rain.

[/quote]

It's not just in the rain though

Read this

[/quote]

The things they like to keep quiet.  Perhaps all those who adamantly stick to the line of "if you don't speed, you have nothing to worry about" should read this as well, and many other articles on the subject of untested, inaccurate and faulty speed detection equipment.

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Coming home from our house in Normandy last year my husband got a speeding fine from a handheld conveniently situated with it's owner behind a bush.  He got three points and paid E90.  Not sure how that equates to your table Bugbear.  Perhaps they were only short of coffee money.  Anyway it was his own fault and I must say it has concentrated his mind; he will be more careful in future, so it seems to work.

In fact he should be halfway back to the house today  ----- He did send me a text message this morning to say that he had been chosen for a visit to the customs shed before embarking,   I hope that the last uniform he sees today........

Dave's BH [better half]

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