RedRobin Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 As I'm soon driving through a short part of Northern France and on to Berlin via Belgium and Holland, I'm seeking advice/knowledge. I'm obviously wanting to use my UK-legal Road Angel (hard wired into my car) as far as Dover and then again in Belgium onwards. Obviously the speed camera database doesn't cover Europe but my VeeDub speedo is 13% inaccurate and I drive by the RA's GPS speed readout. Blackspot, who produce the RA, tell me of horrendous stories of Frog Gendarmerie getting you to run over and smash your RA AND fine you £1,000!! That's pounds sterling and not French francs! The RAC's European Motoring Advice Centre don't even know what a Road Angel is! The AA do and were extremely helpful, advising me simply to pack it in my suitcase while in France and pointing out that the French traffic police had no right to search my suitcase without first declaring I was under suspicion of smuggling. I plan to lock my RA away while in France and not to drive fast there anyway so as not to attract attention. I have only flown to and from Europe in recent years, so I'm out of touch with 'on the ground' customs checks amongst the European Community Member Countries. They used to just seek eye contact and then wave me through. Any advice or experience would be welcome . Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 I'd not even give it a thought. You're going to have to be attracting attention to yourself through very enthusiastic driving to get into any trouble in the first place, surely? If it were me, I'd have it plugged in and simply be very wary of what cars are in the vicinity and snaffle the RA in the glovebox asap if the Police do pull you. Lets face it though, you'd have to be very unlucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 I think I'll take your advice and just pop the RA in the glovebox just while travelling through France. I'm not going to be doing any particularly enthusiastic driving just because I'm abroad. Thanks for your advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Agree with Chris. The Police don't like the RA's being used, but clearly if you are from the UK, and have it in your glovebox, they'd be hard pressed to do you for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 I read in the past that they don't care if you are using it or not if they stop you and find it or see you using it they get very stroppy. No direct knowledge but have always been told to be super careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 In France having a camera detector in the car will result in it being taken off you and a fine being imposed. Keep it in a locked case. Last August I saw the French police on one road stopping all UK cars and taking all camera detectors even if not in use. Luckily my wife speaks reasonable french otherwise I would have lost my sat-nav as she could tell them it did not have a camera detector. French police also fined all UK drivers who did not have spare bulbs, warning triangle, first aid kit, etc. I didn't see them stop a single French car. In the UK that would be racial discrimination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamD Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 [ QUOTE ] In France having a camera detector in the car will result in it being taken off you and a fine being imposed. [/ QUOTE ] If you get stopped. I drove over to France last year with my Road Angel locked in my glove box and my sat nav (WITH speed camera POIs). Went past many police and through many tolls. Being as I was not driving like an idiot, I got no hassle at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 [ QUOTE ] In France having a camera detector in the car will result in it being taken off you and a fine being imposed. Keep it in a locked case. [/ QUOTE ] not quite true - In France only Radar and Laser detectors are illegal, if the camera detector is based on GPS then its fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 ....Blackspot's 'New Road Angel' (as I have) is based on GPS data but includes laser beam detection (usually after the event!) which is just an alert and doesn't jam any signal. I can imagine trying to express all that in French but, as others have pointed out, I probably need to be doing something to attract the unwelcome attention of the gendarmes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 the laser beam detection is a no no even if it not a jammer of any sort - most road angel / snooper devices allow to to switch off the laser detection in a menu. for the last LeMans I deactivated the laser from the menu, stuck tape over the sensor and had a note written in French from one of my colleagues explaining I was within the law Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcool Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 For the tiny hop it is from Calais to Belgium I wouldn't worry about it. Traffic on that road is usually travelling at about 70/80 and it'll be over and done with in 30 mins. I probably do a little over half of all my driving in France in various cars - When driving abroad in my fathers car, I always leave his Snooper S6R installed and active. We had the same Snooper S6R installed in my mothers car when I was caught driving at 140mph and the two policemen didn't seem overly concerned and just filled out a form, handed over €90 and let me on my way (and I didn't even have my license on me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] In France having a camera detector in the car will result in it being taken off you and a fine being imposed. Keep it in a locked case. [/ QUOTE ] not quite true - In France only Radar and Laser detectors are illegal, if the camera detector is based on GPS then its fine [/ QUOTE ] I thought so. I read the earlier post and thought 'what the feck?'. That would be extremely hard for them to legislate for bearing in mind the number of portable SatNav devices that could have camera databases loaded into them. It just wouldn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 Thinking about it negatively (which I'm not inclined to do), I suppose that the French could have a blacklist of gizmos to refer to as being what they consider to be "illégal". I pee-pee on you from ze battlements! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 The thing is RA is a UK only tool, so overseas (subject to GPS signal being in air) all you will get is your true speed reading. Surely even the French will accept that is a safety feature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 True speed reading is why I would want to use it in Europe and I'm told by RA that the GPS signal can be received in Europe. RA's official line is that they strongly recommend not taking the New Road Angel anywhere in Europe and not just France! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 When I bought my RA Plus, the shop said that he had a customer come in the week before and slapped a bag of bits on the counter, turns out he was driving in France, stopped by the Police who took the RA out of his car and proceeded to stamp on it I have an RA power connection lead on my dash which I can't remove but I would be tempted to lock the RA in the glove box so that the Germs, sorry Gendarmes couldn't get hold of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 I'm the same - Hardwired 'unremoveable' power connection with lead out of dash near windscreen. Therefore RA into locked glovebox on short hop through France and then play it by ear. My passenger is German speaking so that should help me in Deutscheland. I think that RA are just covering their arses re their advice because there are known cases of RA destruction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazza_g Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I'm told by RA that the GPS signal can be received in Europe. [/ QUOTE ] I certainly hope the Global Positioning System signal can be received in Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 I was just responding to chri5's post but, to be honest, had forgotten what the G in GPS stood for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] In France having a camera detector in the car will result in it being taken off you and a fine being imposed. Keep it in a locked case. [/ QUOTE ] not quite true - In France only Radar and Laser detectors are illegal, if the camera detector is based on GPS then its fine [/ QUOTE ] Do you speak good franch? If not you may well lose it. The French police I saw assumed devices were illegal unless the driver could prove otherwise. No arguing was accepted. The drivers stopped had done nothing wrong. The police had just setup by the side of a single-carriageway road and were stopping ALL british reg. cars. One of the policeman told my wife it was his third 'stopping the English' setup that day. The boot of his estate car was half-full of confiscated devices. BEWARE in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 The French eh. Can't imagine why we've wanted to kick the sh1t out of them in countless wars.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 REf. my previous post. The'stop the English' setup was on the N2 (towards Laon) just south of junc. 13 of the A26 (E17). Clever that, stop the cars just after they turn off a motorway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 I took the RoadPilot on my recent trip to Antwerp - it was definitely reporting the cameras both in France and in Belgium. Of course, I was only using it so that I could get a decent indication of my speed in kph! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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