Night time speed traps

[briwy]

I dont know if this is happening generally in France but we were recently going round the Lourdes ring road about 1.00 am.

Plod was out with a hair dryer type speed gun.

Fortunately having seen them there a few times before I was within the limit but it seems a bit odd for them to be out at that time of night.

Wouldnt have thought it was worthwhile with the lack of traffic around.

Has anyone else seen anything similar?

Brian

[LEO]

[quote user="briwy"]I dont know if this is happening generally in France but we were recently going round the Lourdes ring road about 1.00 am.
Plod was out with a hair dryer type speed gun.
Fortunately having seen them there a few times before I was within the limit but it seems a bit odd for them to be out at that time of night.
Wouldnt have thought it was worthwhile with the lack of traffic around.
Has anyone else seen anything similar?

Brian

[/quote]

It must be genuine as nobody would blow-dry their hair at 1am.

[Bugsy]

They probably couldn't sleep with all those bells ringing............................

[Quillan]

We get them and 'Controls' about once or twice a month. They are around both night and day, I have seen them with speed guns at night, they  usually breathalyze everyone and ask for your documents. It's a bit like living in a police state at times but then it keeps the drunks off the road which can't be a bad thing.

Of course what they really hate is rain. I was told (but I don't want to personally test the theory) that the guns they have use infrared and don't work in the rain (the rain deflects the beam and they can't get accurate readings). My preferred theory is that its the Gendarmes that don't work in the rain [;-)] .

[Suandpete]

    We live in the centre of a village with a very large square opposite our house; it is a favourite place for the Gendarmes to park and then they stand on a corner so that they can stop people coming from a number of directions.  They are there at all times of day and night, maybe five times a month doing various types of contrôles - speeding, paper checks, breathalysing etc.  However in the five years that we have lived here we have never yet seem them there when it is raining!

[Bugsy]

Think about it for a minute, would you want to stand out in the rain?

Around here they can be found (on sunny days) in the morning until 12.00, then lunch till 2.00 followed by the afternoon until 5.00. They are, however, frequently about at night looking for the drink-driving brigade. On that last point, they have my full approval.

[Tony F Dordogne]

Many years ago, when I was a sproggy policeman in the UK, an old sergeant told me not to worry about going out in the rain because rain was a policeman's friend, the villians didn't like getting wet.

Didn't take long to realise that Policemen didn't like getting wet either!!!!!!!

[Quillan]

I hear burglars also have a sign outside their houses saying "Closed 12 till 2" but that may just be a rumour [:D] .

I do remember a few years back going for a day out to the seaside and sitting in a traffic jam at Perpignan looking up the main drag watching the 'rioting' when people were complaining about the rise in retirement age for civil servants. Smoke bombs, CS gas and bricks were the order of the day. At 12:00 it all stopped and we were able to move off. Taking the right turn to go back along the river to Canet there is a big grass area, there must have been about 20 BBQ's, pallets of beer, cases of wine and loads of tables to sit at. All the 'rioters' and Gendarmes were sitting together having their lunch happy as Larry. Apparently the Gendarmes are not allowed to strike so they had some sympathy for the 'rioters' because the new rule effected them as well. It also probably explains why they threw the CS gas in the opposite direction.