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Beware the insurance fine


Suninfrance
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[quote user="Pickles"][quote user="cheminot"]Having read this post I have checked my insurance card. It states that the subscriber (policyholder) must sign the card but underneath that it says that in the case of residents of the UK and Northern Ireland all the vehicle users must sign it. AM I right in thinking that as I am resident in France it is only me who has to sign it and not my wife (who also drives) as well? cheminot[/quote]

Are you sure that it doesn't say that if the CAR is driven in the UK/NI then all drivers must sign?

Regards
Pickles
[/quote] You are right. Having read it properly this time it does say that if visiting the UK or N. Ireland all drivers must sign. cheminot

Edited to clear html code.

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[quote user="Suninfrance"]

He seemed a bit miffed, so he went through her paperwork and found that her insurance documents weren't signed and fined her.

So, if you have your insurance docs in the car with you, make sure they are signed.

[/quote]

I'd just like to say a big THANK YOU Suninfrance for pointing this out.

We've owned French vehicles since 1998 and we've never noticed that you should sign the insurance certificate.

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You're not alone Benjamin - thanks suninfrance - I had no idea.  We've had two cars and a motorbike on the road in France for the past 2 years and have never signed any of the insurance certificates. [:$]

Will take care of it this afternoon.

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Thanks for the warning - I've never even thought about signing.

I was stopped last year and handed over my carte grise and (GB) driving licence and that was enough for him.  Refused to look at my insurance (or dodgy tyres - snow tyres in the Vendee in July!)

I smiled nicely  -  he didn't.

Maybe I was lucky and he wasn't out to get anybody!

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I read the original post and knew my insurance was signed because my insurance agent made me sign it when I went in to renew it. However, yesterday I went to look in my documents that I carry with me and was surprised that it wasn't there.

Somehow I had filed it with the insurance paperwork in the house. So signed or not I guess I could have been in deep do do if I had been stopped.  [:(]

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Got my documents signed now with mine and OH's signature. 

I have only just started driving again after 30 years (don't worry - I had some lessons with a french driving instructor who said I was OK).  However, I am anything but confident.  I don't actually like driving, but to survive in the middle of the sticks - one needs too.  Went into town today and was minding my own business when a b****y gendarme van pulled out in front of me.  Now it wasn't so much that the idiot just pulled out and I had to brake, but my initial reaction was "did he do that on purpose to see what my reaction was and did I pass the test?"  Fortunately he drove off at speed in a 50km area, so I just sat back and pulled into the nearest parking space and had a ciggy. 

Like I said, I'm not yet a confident driver, but that really set me into a panic.  Not just because I'm not confident about my driving skills but also because I'm still learning French and would have been completely tongue tied if I'd been stopped.

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made me laugh JR - but i have sympathy because i hate driving also and am far from confident..

ok - i am prepared to be told off here (and thanks by the way to whoever pointed out that the insurance cert had to be signed, because i hadnt done it).    I do carry it in the car with me, but actually dont have my carte grise in car - guessing i should ???   could someone confirm if these are the only two documents which you should be carrying with you (except driving licence which i also always forget but am now going to put in my bag).

i know that i should know this ...

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I believe that you also have to carry your national identity card or a carte de sejour or passport at all times. Even on the beach I have been advised

But hey is not life is too short to worry about all these rules?

I havn't checked my green whatever it is in my car and 3 pages of warnings from concerned immigrants is not likely to put it at the top of my priorities.

Editted.

Carte grise yes. It is the only thing I have ever been asked for when stopped as well as my permit de conduire.

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In Car:-

Carte Grise, CT form if applicable, on windscreen and I always keep the form that I have had it done with my carte grise, Insurance green form,  the little vignette on  windscreen as has been said insurance form signed. Driving license and for every day use a form or ID with photo too.........carte/titre de sejour or passport.

Life's too short, I agree, but this is one thing that every single french person I know has with them when driving. And I'm sure that that is why men have always carried bags with them. AND if the french do it, why wouldn't we uninvited guests not adhere to the law of the land.

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The only documents you need to carry in your car are the ones specified by law:

Code de la route Art R233-1

Any driver of a motor vehicle is required to produce to a qualified representative of authority, the documents specified in this code:

- driving licence;

- the carte grise of the vehicle and, if necessary, that of the trailer if the authorized total weight (PTAC) of the latter exceeds 500 kilogrammes, or of the semitrailer if it acts of an articulated vehicle, or provisional receipts, or photocopies of the carte grise in the case of a hired or company owned vehicle;

Failure to produce the required documents to an authorised representative at the time of the check is a class one infringement.

Failure to subsequently produce the required documents within five days is a class four infringement.

Code de la route Art R233-3

The regulations for the production of the insurance attestation and the fixing of the insurance certificate to the vehicle are set out in the codes des assurances.

Any driver of a motor vehicle must produce evidence that the obligation to provide insurance has been satisfied. This can be achieved by producing to an official or traffic policeman, one of these documents.

Failure to produce the required document at the time of the check is a class two infringement.

Failure to subsequently produce the document with five days is a class four infringement.

Failure to affix the certificate to the vehicle is a class two infringement.

Regarding the CT, the proof of CT validity is the vignette on the screen.  There is no legal requirement to produce a CT certificate to a police officer.

 

 

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[quote user="sweet 17"]thanks all, for the info.  now, how do i go about fitting a BIGGER glove compartment into my car?[/quote]

I went through the very bulky owners handbook which was taking up most of the space in my glovebox (Skoda), first I threw away all the irrelevant and out of date bits, initial warranty, original dealers bits etc, then I threw away all the audio handbooks that didnt apply to my vehicle.

The remainder was still very big but I reduced it by 80% by cutting out all the pages in languages other than French and English.

If  I had just kept the French or English pages I would have gained even more space.

I did exactly the same procedure this morning to reduce the instructions for my new TV from 59 pages to 8.

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jr, i see your survivalist and minimalist skills have premeated every facet of your life (re another thread on your first weeks/months in france).  i am lost in admiration, truly.

ray mears (as in rm's survival guide on tv), watch out, jr's behind you!

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[quote user="Suninfrance"]I've just heard a few stories which are a bit disconcerting.

First is a french friend of mine was recently pulled over.  She realised her handbag with all her documents were on the back seat so she undid her seatbelt to reach for her bag.  When the Gendarme got to her car, he accused her of not wearing a seatbelt.  She managed to persuade him that she was but she had to undo it to reach for her bag in the back seat. 

So if that happens to you - wait until the gendarme is at the car before you undo your seatbelt.

He seemed a bit miffed, so he went through her paperwork and found that her insurance documents weren't signed and fined her.

So, if you have your insurance docs in the car with you, make sure they are signed.


[/quote]

Which document exactley? Where do you sign it? We have a 'carte internationale d'assurance automobile'. The vignette which goes on the windscreen is from this document. There is no indication of a signature being required.

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