Driving in France

Speed Radars

Driving in France is not so different from driving anywhere else in Europe, however we advise you to look out for the numerous automatic speed cameras awaiting you...

The French government and the Sécurité Routière (organization that handles road safety) have decided to force drivers in France be much more respectful of speed limitations. Thus they have opted for a comprehensive program of automatic radars to be installed all over the country. It's characteristics are:

• 1000 radars to be installed in the country.
• The whole system will be higly computerized with little human intervention required.
• 30% of the automatic radars are to be car-borne, they will be on board police or gendarmerie vehicles.
• Foreign cars and drivers might very well be fined as well (depending on EU police forces cooperation).
• One goal is to also have radars  monitor safe distances between cars and  respect of traffic lights.

The program has already proven its effectiveness: average speed on French roads and highways is dropping. However for a more comfortable driving experience in France, and to avoid being caught speeding in areas where the speed limit is not necessarily relevant, we strongly advise you to check out the location of automatic radars before you set wheels on french roads...

This article was contributed by http://www.controleradar.org 
Where you can find the exact location of all automatic speed radars in France, as well as a wealth of useful information about these radars and what lies behind them.