Val_2 Posted January 16, 2005 Share Posted January 16, 2005 Our own stupid fault really. One of our work vans should have had it's first CT in November 04 but with pressure of work etc it got forgotten about, not normal in this family usually as we have a terror of the gendarmes. Anyway ten mins ago,hubby & son arrive home after being stopped with about 20 other vehicles on approach to our village by a group of more than 10 gendarmes from the main town doing a control on everything. Blowing in the tube was OK,no alcohol consumed, insurance upto date and vehicle in good order BUT because this CT hadn't been done we now have 7 days to get it and present the paperwork to the gendarmerie in town not the local branch and if not - 900, yes 900 euros fine and by the way our insurance is not valid currently until this is done and this is from the mouth of an officer in case anyone disputes that fact. If they are that strict on local vehicles, whatever would happen to an english driver with no valid insurance,CT and change of plates etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 [quote]Our own stupid fault really. One of our work vans should have had it's first CT in November 04 but with pressure of work etc it got forgotten about, not normal in this family usually as we have a terr...[/quote]They'd get fined exactly the same as a French driver! The gendarmes carry a file around with them detailing all the offences and giving them a code number which is written on your fine receipt. They have to use this system whatever your nationality.I was stopped and fined for not wearing a seatbelt recently and got a telling off for not changing my licence. I told them that the licence was European but they said that was no good, I had to have a French one!! As I was in the works van and obviously had equipment in the back they gave me 7 days to take my business registration documents into the police station. I'm not sure what would have happened if I hadn't done so........another visit I suspect.regards........and hard luck Val.........helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Thanks Helen,that little window sticker for the contrôle is so useful which is why we forgot and thought it was this coming march for some reason. I still cannot believe the fine total though if you don't comply. I reckon there were a lot of "quiet" people in our commune last night after this and the gendarmerie coffers full as we are not even on a main road either which seems strange for the number of men on duty. Wish they had stopped our neighbour two months ago as he hadn't had insurance or contôle for nearly two years and is an ignorant pig but he always comes up smelling of roses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Yup, pity it wasn't your neighbour rather than you. Over the years the gendarmes have stopped people in some very very strange places around here.What sickens me is that one day they were doing a control, stopping random vehicules but an old wagon in front of me had had a cloud of black stinking smoke bellowing out of it's exhaust for kms. They gendarmes couldn't have missed it's arrival. Not only did they not stop that, but when I asked what they were going to do about that and the pollution they said it was nothing to do with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Wow, €900 is a tad hefty but at least you were given 7 days to get yr CT done and avoid paying - in that little island off the coast of Europe such leeway is not normally available.Having the little stickers on the screen should help us all to remember but I suppose seeing them every day means that you don't check them.Hope it passesJohnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpprh Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Hijust to add a little.I had a small accident just before Xmas (I stopped, the car behind didn't !).My insurance assessor took a photo of the screen as evidence of insurance & CT being up to date. I imagine I would have had problems had the CT expired.And the lucky thing was that it had expired some time earlier (no reminder because it was the first CT). I'd just had it done and had got about 400m from the testing station when the accident happened. Somedays we are lucky ?I'll check the dates more closely next time !Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Perhaps there is a little lesson for all of us vehicle owners here in that if you have had no previous CT and like in our case, the vehicle was brand new in the November and we bought it on the following March 1st thinking it would be dated at that time. Again in France, ignorance not an excuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babnik Posted January 17, 2005 Share Posted January 17, 2005 Re. changing of licences, I suppose it depends on the particular Gendarme you meet. I recently was stopped by a couple of gendarmes, and the first one (quite young, obviously the junior) asked me why I hadn't changed my UK licence to a French one. When I tried to explain that it's an EU licence and it shouldn't matter, he was having none of it, and told me to get it done. On consulting his more senior partner, he found out he was wrong, and that my UK licence was perfecly ok. Five seconds later he changed his mind, because due to the 2 points I was about to get for speeding, I'd need a French licence. To cut a long story short, I now have a French licence (with 2 penalty points!)Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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