Thursday 22 December 2016

A Christmas present in the post.



I've just received a present from my local Gendarmerie. A speeding fine of €90, for doing 2 Kms over the limit in a nearby town, back in September.

I'm very very careful of my speed when driving, so I must have been simply following the speed of all the others; one tends to do that.

Strange that each time I've had a speeding ticket, it's been around Christmas time. One wonders if they're not trying to rake-in as much cash as possible for the Annual Gendarmes' Ball beer fund.

It should be noted that such fines can be paid in various ways, the simplest being to visit the local Tobacconist, and pay it on line. I handed over my €90, and the lovely Sylvie simply pressed a button.

I shall not be going to Jail this Christmas.



20 comments:

  1. Sounds like the French are even worse than our English fund-raisers.

    No penalty points though?

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  2. Same happens here with parking fines.....they make a load of money because we all park wherever we want but at least if you pay within 40 days you get a 50% discount. I doubt that applies for speeding though . Very unlucky

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    Replies
    1. My fine would have gone up to €135 if it wasn't paid within 15 days, and up to €375 if unpaid within 45 days. Charming!

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  3. Ah, I'm relieved with that Cro, you won't be writing your blog from jail then :)
    The same happens here and our post lady says her work is doubled during this period because of fines she has to consign. It takes three months for a fine to arrive here too - by that time, one cannot remember why, when, and how s/he broke the rule.
    We also can pay on-line, at the post office or a tabaccaio here, 30% off if paid within 5 days on receiving. Two points penalty points.
    Greetings Maria x

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    Replies
    1. I've just looked again at the paperwork; it seems that my €90 fine is in fact a REDUCED price. The normal fine is the €135. Seems a lot to me.

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    2. Wow, it is, for exceeding 2km only!
      X

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  4. oops again Cro. Same town if I recall.

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    Replies
    1. Fumel is slowly becoming my least favourite town (apart from Leclerc of course).

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  5. Same here, may be they have Hanuka parties.

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    Replies
    1. I hope they're not caught speeding on their way home.

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  6. I got one in Norwich when I couldn't be bothered to catch the train to work one morning. I went 35 in a 30 and got a £100 fine and 3 points. That'll teach me.

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  7. Replies
    1. Just what you need, a week before Christmas!

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  8. 2 km over the speed limit?? That's hardly fair. The only incidence where we might receive a ticket for something like that would be in a school zone. Here, you would get pulled over by the police and receive your ticket right then, roadside. I find it odd that you don't get ticketed until three months after it happened. It's interesting to find out how the rest of the world works. -Jenn

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    Replies
    1. I was rather surprised too. Apparently the 'incident' took place on 28. 9. 2016. at 10.41 am. I have to believe them!

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    2. I got caught on camera and they sent a print out of photo showing reg plate, date, time and speed.

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  9. Interesting little seasonal fund raiser. Good for you to have kept the Christmas spirit alive by just making the payment.

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    Replies
    1. Luckily €90 is not going to ruin my Christmas, but it's still quite a sum.

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