CornishPasty

I will be driving from Switzerland to the UK through France this weekend.

Has anyone got any experience driving through France with the Comand Online system and does it show speed cameras?

Switzerland has to be the most mundane place to drive in terms of speed, as it's just impossible to break the limit. Is it more relaxed in France? Hoping to push it a bit if possible.

Finally, does the Comand Online show speed cameras in the UK?

really excited about the first long journey in the car Hoping the French don't strike near the channel tunnel entrance and also that no immigrants try and hop in the car

Diesel Benz

Speed camera information needs to be written on a memory card, insert the memory card to your Comand Online and activate it through the Comand menus. This is not part of the maps database (speed limit information is).

c4004matic

TAKE A RADAR DETECTOR. the cameras are everywhere and they ticket you even at less than 10k over. We made a summer trip of 2 weeks through most of France and accumulated 4 violations, all less than 10k over. Shows how desperate the government is for revenue. In essentially any other country less than 15 is not a violation. We spent over 20k in those 2weeks to return home and then be peppered by stupid egregious tickets.

W124-FTW

I remember reading that it's illegal to possess speed camera detection equipment in France and they are extremely strict about this. I would suggest reading up on it.
As a result the COMAND online will definitely not show camera locations by default!

In the UK the location of speed/safety cameras is public knowledge however COMAND doesn't include locations.
You'll have to subscribe to something like PocketworldGPS database to get this info.
There's guidance on their forums on how to do this (need to import POIs from an SD card).

I've been using it for 6 months and it's works flawlessly. You get a 'bong' around 100 yards before and a bong just before you approach the camera. Very useful in areas you're not familiar with when speeds are continually changing or you're trying to make sure you're in the right lane.

c4004matic

You are correct detectors are not legal in France. However in 2 weeks and over 2000k I saw exactly zero traffic cops. They have essentially turned over all enforcement to the cameras. I'm sure a portable passport on the visor or in the corner of the windshield would go unnoticed. Laser systems take manual aiming which takes us back to the fact that there are no cops anywhere. I don't know if european frequencies are the same as in NA. One of my infractions was for 4k over. That its not enforcement, that is larceny.

hummerhealey

Not only detectors but als camera POI's in a nav system phone are illegal. And i went to France a few weeks ago (Normandie) and I did see traffic cop's.

AAN

Two years ago I drove a rental with a Navigation option in Southern France. It showed speed and red light cameras without any additional card, etc. Not that they didn't get me, when I was 5 km above the limit.

But I don't know if the Comand sustem has the same ability. The car I used was Renault, I think.

c4004matic

The website I visited said POI based systems are legal. Regardless how would they even know you have a POI system? Considering how dedicated cops are in France you think they would be up to checking every car they saw with a nav system?

CornishPasty

Thanks for the info! Their website is a bit full on so will try navigating through it. Is there one particular thread or post which you could direct me to for the instructions you used?

parkwood

Hi i am french resident so can give some good uptodate advice. Radar detectors are illegal and they will be confiscated and you fined if they are found so i suggest you do not bother.

You can use sat nav systems that show the fixed cameras as a safety warning.

The police (usually gendarme but not always) do have a regualer physical prescence on the roads, we were stopped saturday night 11pm....usual roadblock affair for breath testing, these happen at all times of the day in all sorts of places, the police can stop anyone at anytime and do not need to have any reasons which is different to the uk for example. You must have the vehicle documents ie registration certificate, insurance documents and driving licence. Not having them means you can be fined 135 euro on the spot and if you do not have the cash you will be taken to a bank to withdraw it then and there. Please do not be difficult or sarcastic with them the gendarme are actually army and have strong powers and their role is to control the citizens not be helpful bobbies on the beat so their whole approach is different. Be polite and if everything is in order you will be quickly on your way and just occasionally you may get a pleasantry from them.

On the motorways the police hide on bridges, in ditches and embankments. They will clock your speed and you may not know until you get to the peage where one of their colleagues will pull you over, or else you will be flagged down by a motocycle flic. For fixed cameras you will be given warnongs with signs saying frequent radar controle, you can expect a roadside camera ahead. The french government decided that as the desire was to slow people down and cut their road death rate and not raise revenue as so many believe they would give people the chance to modify their behaviour by warning them and siting the cameras in places where speed was dangerous. The cameras themselves are clearly marked grey with hazard yellow and black markings on the edges. They are starting to introduce average speed cameras very noticeable by the poles with the relevant cameras on them.

I have lived here for 7 yrs and been visiting for 35 and there has been a huge improvement in driving here with a huge reduction in road deaths as a result but standards are slipping again and the government is now making noises about reducing the speed limits even more with more cameras and less advance warning. At one time the police published their road surveillance locations a week in advance!

My advice is do not speed there is a reasonable chance you will get caught especially on the major cross european routes, gendarmes can fine you on the spot, or confiscate the car if the speed is excessive. If it is a camera switzerland and france share data so you will get the enforceable fine through the post. The margins are quite narrow so check your speed using a gps app and on the motorway stick to it or 2k above. Odd frenchman may overtake you but generally most stick to thd limit for a good reason they do not want to get caught. The brits ignore the rules and every year we have the local press reporting 4 or 5 cars confiscated on the way to or from the le mans 24hr race.

I am terrified of loosing my licence so stick as strictly as possible to the limits but nearly got a ticket 3 weeks back looks like i was just in the margin as non has arrived yet but there was a manned radar in clear site on a roundabout i wasnot paying attention or using the limiter and had crept to 58 in a 50 zone i braked as soon as i saw them and might have just done so in time! They also have unmarked cars with cameras now too.

If you check the roufe on via michilen that will be reasonably accurate and speeding will surprisingly save proportionatly little time so it is nowadays not worth the risk and frankly whilst speed itself does not necessarily cause accidents it does make them a lot worse when they occur. And yes i have speeded and had points in the past so i am not a goody twoshoes.......

I hope this helps and bonne route!

parkwood

Here is a link to the french government website on speed cameras and it actually gives the margin of error, below 100k it is 5k above 100k 5%. That seems about the speeds people stick too, also confirms the use of warning signs for the fixed so you can avoid the fines! But the mobile ones are the sneaky ones and as c400matic found out speed here is considered a big issue to be controlled.

There are maps on line too so you could get an idea in advance of where to be just a bit more prudent.
http://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/connaitre-les-regles/les-radars/les-types-de-radars/radar-vitesse-fixe

c4004matic

In fact the speed limits in France are quite reasonable and I was following them, heck, I had a huge MB sprinter that barely went faster than 130! The issue is the draconian enforcement. As you well pointed out it started out as a safety issue, but the "gotcha" element and essentially zero leeway, the proliferation of hidden cameras etc, points to a new philosophy; revenue, simply a sneak tax. The same thing has happened here in the US with red light cameras. The companies that run the systems have been caught progressively cutting the time intervals of a legal yellow light not for safety but simply to make more money. That has led to the banning of the systems in many jurisdictions.

rbrylaw

Yep. Here in Tampa, FL., they were all removed for this very reason. To which the town's people yelled a Yay and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yes they did!

parkwood

Hi c400matic, the motorway speed limit at 130k is ok but the national speed limit on the single carriageway is only 90k whereas many other countries are 100 (56 as opposed to 60mph) and some of those roads are lovely and wide and straight, then i find the speed limits toooooo slow and heaven forbid they are seriously talking about dropping them to 80k. I think that will present dangers of bored inattentive drivers then.

I hear what you say about revenue raising but so far the money has been ploughed back into road safety which was pretty poor here by measure with other countries. It was said it was the norm to have a family member or have a close friend killed on the roads and that was what the government finally decided needed to stop and initially at least the population agreed. The more rural roads pose the biggest challenge as they often have deep drainage ditches on either side and trees next to the ditch so it is very common to see rolled cars and not infrequently cars hugging a tree so if you do get caught out and loose control some nasty obstacles await you.

But no doubt at some point they will reach the limits were they are getting a reduction in deaths and serious injury and the revenue will start going somewhere......

c4004matic

Agree completely. I actually found the state of roads in France to be quite good but as you point out there are many small back country roads. I had the pleasure of getting lost in them even with nav! My passengers were horrified with the switchbacks. However, even the worst were better than Italian back roads! Im glad the are putting the money into the roads but it drives home the point of it being just another tax.

49erPV

My wife and I drove a rented VW Golf (which only had 30Km on the Odometer when we picked it up) last year during a month's trip to Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland. We put 4500Km on the VW, which was really a great little car BTW and only got trapped with a camera once outside of Stuttgart on the last day of our trip. When we got home the rental company sent us a notice saying we might be getting a ticket from the Stuttgart police but now over a year later, we never received one. The funny thing was, as I driving along along this divided road out side of Stuttgart around 70-80kph, I passed a few cars that were just creeping along, and then they all caught up to me. The notice that was sent to me had a time stamp and by doing a little investigation using Google street view, I found the camera well hidden in some bushes along the road.
I will agree with others, the roads for the most part, are far better in Europe then here in the US. Of course, of those four countries, only Germany lets you drive the Autobahn for free. License fee's, fuel and other taxes go a long way in maintaining their roads too.

W124-FTW

You're welcome
This is how to import the POI file.
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=583794#58 3794

Good luck

CornishPasty

Thanks for the responses folks. I decided to just stick with speed limit in the end.. or slightly above (no more than 5%) and it all worked out perfectly.

Have to commend the French roads.. they are so clear and easy to use. Yes they cost a bit, but I would rather pay and drive with ease than be stuck in heavy traffic the whole time... hoping the return journey will be equally as relaxing

hummerhealey

Just received my fine from speeding in France (+3 km/h), cost €45.

CornishPasty

oh wow.. nice!

Fingers crossed I don't get one through the post

CornishPasty

Driving through France was an absolute dream.. The roads are in such good condition and with the Distronic and lane keeping assist.. there was very little human intervention required at all..

The most relaxing 8 hour journey I have ever had in a car..

Very much looking forward to my next trip in this beautiful vehicle