Life in the slow lane

[Cathar Tours]

Seems France is going to reduce the 90kph speed limit to 80kph in 2018 for non dual carriageway roads.

http://www.midilibre.fr/2017/12/02/vers-un-abaissement-a-80-km-h-de-la-vitesse-autorisee-sur-les-nationales-en-2018,1597372.php

Other bad news is they are not going to reduce the alcohol levels for driving either. Can't abide people who drink and drive, very dangerous to others.

[idun]

It is possible to do very long distances in France on single carriageways. Isn't this just getting to be mind numbingly slow????? And if a driver gets bored, is there not a risk of sleeping at the wheel...... an accident?

I hate british the 70mph limit in the UK, I find that so BORING, that I truly worry about my concentration, not a new thing with getting old, always felt like this.

Drink driving, well, I wish that they would really really really do something about people using mobile phones and driving and they are just as bad as people driving with too much booze in them.

[Chancer]

There is a big clue in the title of the article, the question mark!

[woolybanana]

Well, it has been mooted for a few years now so a change wouldn't be a surprise, especially with Mr Hulot in charge of the environment. He would have us all riding bicycles, living in teepees and having electricity for only 3 hours a week.

[alittlebitfrench]

Non story. No one will respect it anyway. Nobody respects 90 kph now.

I remember that 'one half' of some obnoxious Brit characters on another forum who incidentally think they are the king and queen of France said some time ago they would leave France if the speed limit was reduced to 80 kph.

So on that basis, I am happy that the speed limit is reduced. I think there would be a big cheer from the French and the British if they left.

Anyway, 80 kph is quite fast in an old car. LOL.

I thought all Brits drive 2CV's in France. You don't want to go faster than 80 kph in one of those.

[andyh4]

While I agree that drinking and driving is something that should result in books being thrown, I think todays curse is rather more texting and phoning while driving. Just as bad - if not worse.

Before I retired our company banned all calls even with hands free while driving because it distracted the driver from what (s)he was supposed to be doing. A good move in my mind.

[Harnser]

Having to reduce the two lane undidvided road speed limit to 80 kph is the French government's damning indictment of the way french drivers are trained.

Let's face it, if french drivers can't cope with driving up to the 90 kph - (that's 55 mph) limit in good conditions without excessive incidents or accidents they shouldn't be on the road.

"Anyway, 80 kph (49 mph) is quite fast in an old car. LOL. "

How old does the car have to be to be classed as "old" according to your classification?

[BritinBretagne]

My old car would be happy with an 80km/h speed limit although, apparently, it will go faster than that. Incidentally today is the 90th anniversary of its model’s release although mine is a tiny bit younger.

[Harnser]

[quote user="Chancer"]There is a big clue in the title of the article, the question mark![/quote]

Unfortunately - there is an even bigger clue here.

The government has decided ....etc.

https://actu.orange.fr/france/securite-routiere-la-vitesse-bientot-limitee-a-80-km-h-sur-les-nationales-magic-CNT000000SRxx4.html

[Chancer]

Cette mesure, si elle était adoptée...........;

 

Et alors?

 

Show me some official government statement that says they have decided.

 

It seems to be a French government strategy to "leak" something before anything has been decided or even studied in detail, perhaps to guage opinion?

[Chancer]

[quote user="BritinBretagne"]My old car would be happy with an 80km/h speed limit although, apparently, it will go faster than that. Incidentally today is the 90th anniversary of its model’s release although mine is a tiny bit younger.[/quote]

 

Give us a clue!

 

Probably not a Bugatti Royale so perhaps a Ford Model A or a Triumph Super 7 with a Ricardo engine?

[BritinBretagne]

[quote user="Chancer"]

[quote user="BritinBretagne"]My old car would be happy with an 80km/h speed limit although, apparently, it will go faster than that. Incidentally today is the 90th anniversary of its model’s release although mine is a tiny bit younger.[/quote]

 

Give us a clue!

 

Probably not a Bugatti Royale so perhaps a Ford Model A or a Triumph Super 7 with a Ricardo engine?

[/quote]

I wish it was a Royale but it’s the American one. They went into production in October 1927 but were first sold on December 2nd.

[Harnser]

[quote user="Chancer"]

Cette mesure, si elle était adoptée...........;

 

Et alors?

 

Show me some official government statement that says they have decided.

 

It seems to be a French government strategy to "leak" something before anything has been decided or even studied in detail, perhaps to guage opinion?

[/quote]

I sincerely hope you are right but I fear you are not.

There has been a trial of reduction of the limit ongoing in 2016/17 on sections of 3 routes; on Drôme on RN 7, in Yonne and Nièvre on RN 151 and Haute-Saône on RN 57. These were roads with above average KSI's per mile.

The results of these trials have not been published.

http://www.francesoir.fr/lifestyle-vie-quotidienne/vitesse-reduite-80-kmh-et-taux-alcool-cest-decide-limite-limitation-maximum-routes-alcoolemie-securite

[Cathar Tours]

There is a link in the link I gave to the source of the 'claim'. Both said this has been trialed over the last 12 months somewhere in France.

I can tell you that there is an EU discussion paper going round car manufacturers and member states car safety establishments to come up with an EU wide set of standard speeds. This will be very important for driverless car research in the future. They are looking at 30 in towns, scrapping the 70, 90 on derestricted roads and 130 on motorways and dual carriage ways with no speed reductions for rain. It will however mean that there will be no more derestricted autobahns in Germany (or anywhere else they have them in the EU).

Another thing the EU is looking into is that all police cars (in France that would include Gendarmes) be fitted with number recognition cameras linked to an EU database that will tell you who the named driver should be, if it has current insurance for that driver, if that driver has a licence for that vehicle and if the current HU (MOT) is valid. That should knock about half the French drivers off the road for a start. Of course you don't get people driving illegally in Germany (that's a joke by the way, they are just as bad).

[EuroTrash]

AFAIK I don't have any named drivers on my insurance, not even me. They asked me if I ever lent it to people and I said yes, so they insured it for anyone to drive.

[Chancer]

Its the vehicle that is insured not the driver, when they line their ducks up the ANPR will tell them if a vehicle is insured, for the moment they  have to stop it and look at the vignette, and of course nobody would print their own out from their computer would they [:D]

 

Except that is exactly what my last dodgy insurance company wanted me to do!!!

[idun]

Anyone could drive our cars in France, the only time we needed to name another driver was when travelling on the green card and then that needed signing by the other driver too.

I have to say that whenenglish friends would borrow our car, we always gave them a signed authorisation to say that they had permission to drive it. As they usually could not speak french, then if they had been 'controlled' then it should have meant that along with the other paperwork they had, they would not have had any problems , other than perhaps, they committing some sort of traffic offence.

[Cathar Tours]

Different countries have different schemes for insurance but the issue is if the car or person is insured to drive it. The idea is to share this information, along with driving licences and HU's centrally so cars from one member state can't drive in another without insurance etc. as they will be caught. I mean Spain and France are the worse for Brits driving around in UK registered cars with no form of road worthiness test and no insurance and in some cases no driving licence.

[Harnser]

" Spain and France are the worse for Brits driving around in UK registered cars with no form of road worthiness test and no insurance and in some cases no driving licence"

Are you sure that in France it's not the french who are the worst offenders?- Talking to our french AXA insurance agent, it would seem that the locals are a dab hand at taking out monthly paid insurance, getting the vignette in the windscreen and then not continuing the payments.

[Cathar Tours]

Well my dad says that up until the UK did away with displaying tax disks there were plenty of British cars driving around with non or out of date ones.

The point is people driving without licences, insurance and unsafe vehicles are a danger to others and illegal. These people should be locked up. Any system that helps identify them and get them off the road has to be a good thing. To be able to do this across the whole of the EU is even better. They can run but they won't be able to hide. I guess the next thing will be an EU standard driving test which also wouldn't be such a bad idea.

[andyh4]

CT wrote:

I guess the next thing will be an EU standard driving test which also wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Well good luck with that whizzo idea.

Anyone living in Norwich or Inverness is going to find it difficult to do the required German/ Austrian motorway acclimatisation ( but Brexit will sort that out) and anyone living in Northern Sweden or Finland will only be able to take their tests in winter - to show their abilities in handing night time driving.

I think the idea is a Eutopian - or should that be Europian dream.