France to Jail Speeding Motorists

**StlouisX50** · 06-22-2011, 11:02 AM

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/leg...ing-in-france/

**corkguykev** · 06-22-2011, 07:57 PM

So now you cant use a smart phone or a GPS in France eh

? What a load of crap. Not that I was planning on going there anyway but f**k that

!!

**Akosikojak** · 06-23-2011, 01:18 AM

That's pretty damn harsh penalties for speeding,

a.. All electronic devices, even smart phones and GPS systems, will be banned if they are able to warn of radar speed checks.

b.. Sanctions are draconian and might go up to 30.000 Euros or 2 years prison for the sale of such devices, while its usage will be punished by a fine of 1.500 Euros plus the loss of 6 points of the French traffic account system. 4 million speed detection devices have been sold in France over the last few years.

c.. The removal of speed trap warning signs.

d.. Immediate jail terms for those caught doing more than 30mph (50kph) over the speed limit

a, b, c, and d all is a load of BS IMO.

**StlouisX50** · 06-23-2011, 09:40 AM

Oh if I were in France.......

**supercowpowers** · 06-23-2011, 10:42 AM

First of all I'd like to say I think the ban on electronic devices is asinine and will hopefully prove to be unenforceable, but we should put the speed law in perspective.

France's highway speed limits are already 80 MPH normally (130 km/h) and approximately 65 in the rain, so what they consider a nice cruising speed is reckless driving in Virginia and enough to get you ticketed in many places. I also don't think many states are very understanding of 110 MPH, which is what 130+50 km/h would be. I bet it could send you to jail here too.

France is going to be a pretty interesting example with all of the draconian traffic laws they're putting through. It sounds like what they're trying to do is create a system where if you speed, you will get caught, and they're not playing around about it. We have a system where you can speed for years and when you do get caught the penalties are much lower. It seems like we worry more about keeping the enforcement tolerable instead of the law. Because speeding is easy to get away with, there's no incentive to make speed limits reasonable, so they're often underposted or carelessly set. How convenient is it when 90% of the drivers on any one road are eligible for a surprise tax bill or to be pulled over in pursuit of the war on drugs?