European speeding tickets
 

Looks like things have now changed when driving in europe.

Ive been flashed abroad a few times over the years by speed cameras and never worried about it as the UK had opted out of the system to re-patriate fines.

However, i recently drove through Luxembourg and a few weeks after getting home I received a €49 fine for speeding. Annoyingly 115kph in 110kph zone- on investigation the rules changed in May so fines can now be passed back to the UK, including the requirement to collect the money if they arent paid.

not sure how they will pursue that, also brexit.:D

The rules did indeed change, and I’ve told family members. Early summer the wife and the inlaws both got flashed by cameras in France, and have rec’d nothing in the post, 3+ months later.

over the last two years, I have had one in Monaco and one in Pisa, both pursued with letters, the Monaco one falls under French jurisdiction apparently and they can either seize your car till you pay or ban you from driving in France - so if you don't pay and get caught driving, they pursue you for other means.

I paid both and chalked it up to experience.

Yeah, I paid up too - it wasnt the future problems driving in Luxembourg that was the clincher (very unlikely to return in th 8) but the ability to pass the fine back to the UK for collection.

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/criminal...s/index_en.htm

Been flashed a few times by those horrible front-facing cameras built into grey posts in Italy and France. Most recent was July in northern Italy but haven't received anything, although I sold the car a couple of weeks after returning to the UK but still, never received anything for past camera flashes abroad.

Good to know it's all about freedom and fairness and not at all about collecting as much revenue as possible :rolleyes:

Is the offence not recorded against the driving licence then? And I presume no points allocated? So they have the means of collecting fines but not recording offences?

By the way, I would think that 5kph is below the the designed tolerance of car speedos and seems challengeable - if you wanted the hassle. (I had understood that the tolerance in UK is 10 per cent.)

I've been stopped twice, both times by hand held Gatso's. One time I was driving alone middle of nowhere between Rzeszow and Przemyśl in Poland on a back road just about to enter a small village. I was being tail-gated by a local so I sped up a bit right in view of the police. What luck! They waved me over but as I got near they just waved me on before I could speak with them. I can only assume they saw my UK plates and didn't want the hassle. I'm sure I was speeding but the sign posting in Poland on back roads is non-existing and didn't know what the limit was.

Second time was in Ukraine heading towards Kyiv on the main E40 road. There is a check point where you have to slow from nation speed to 90kph > 70 > 50 which I didn't slow in time for. Google map location You can see the traffic police with Gatso's. Once stopped I entered their office, did all the paperwork. Meanwhile a few phone calls were made and 20mins later I could go without the fine. Spending time making connections while fishing, shashlyk, and going to the sauna drinking vodka is essential in Ukraine!

It's annoying that we get tied up into their fines, but we can't pursue Europeans for crossing the Dartford crossing without paying, even though it's a French company who own it!:Confused:

Rule change affects us in 'Norn Iron' too
The M50 motorway around Dublin has for the past few years been a barrier less 'e-toll'

For years 'foreign' (read, UK) cars could drive thru and never bother paying as they couldn't chase the fines.
May rule change now means that the non-payment and subsequent fines can be chased over the border.

...Not that I would have condoned such behavior in the past...ahem
:tuttut:

Don't recall that, I'm sure I paid a conventional toll last year driving into Dublin centre from the North in my S8. :Confused:

I suspect what Chris means is that the likes of us 'foreigners' from the UK might drive through the e-toll lane, so avoiding having to pay the toll at the booths.

Being 8 drivers, we'd never even think about such things :D ...and it's too late now if we did. :rolleyes:

By the way - the Dartford Crossing, London Congestion Charge and other such fines are ALL being chased now into Europe as I have had reports back from Germans visiting the UK that in both cases they have been pursued in their own language via mail

They definitely chased me a few years back for not paying so it's more a case of being bothered to hunt drivers down and the cost of doing so.

just to clarify the position in france , you may get flashed but not be liable for a fine !
for speeds up to 100Km/hr you will be given a 10% allowance before a fine is applicable eg 55k in a 50k limit is ok , 56 is not ; over 100 the margin is 10k ; for big excesses the fines can become penal ...up to confiscating the vehicle

latest idea is to park a car with camera installed beside the road for the day , catches a lot !
of course having a sat nav with warning for the fixed cameras is illegal just like a dedicated detector

Do they still require a photo of the driver in Germany, and can they catch RHD cars now? Their fixed cameras used to focus on the driver for LHD cars, which is the passenger for us. Therefore the German police couldn't pursue the speeding penalty with UK cars due to lack of photographic evidence of the driver. This is going back a few years now, so I would imagine Germany have tightened up on this. Anyone know?

I got flashed outside Mulheim, Germany in 1993....should I now be concerned that the Polizei will hunt me down for a fine??? :D

Many, yes really many, years back whilst southbound on the newly opened A61 (another yes, only open a week) driving a 53 seater coach a polizei car loud hailed me "Vould ze Eengleesh driver slow down". I was only doing 120 klicks!!!
I actually stopped at the next services and one of them bought me a coffee.
Think it might have been late 70's.

Not sure what the tolerances are for speedos in Europe, but over here the ADR's dictate that a speedometer may have an error tolerance up to 10%, but must not read under the prescribed speed.
So at 100kph, a speedo is allowed to read 109, but not 99.

So if you're doing 105, you're regarded as speeding, negating speedo error.

I believe the Gendarmerie in France have a zero tolerance, and can fine you for doing 1 kph above the limit. Their word is pretty much final, and do not need to prove their findings.

However they do under record speeds to allow for a margin of error.

Importantly they fine you on the spot, and carry cuffs and guns.

They give you a 3% allowance in Luxembourg, so I actually got done for 111k in a 110k zonw:rolleyes:

having lived here for 30 years I can tell you that this is not correct , the allowances are as I stated before
however they CAN issue on the spot fines for foreign vehicles .....you can't drive off until you pay ; no money , they will take you to the bank if need be

This is what I read this summer while in France, and was told the same by friends who live out there.