NH club rugby
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Apparently DC has been caught driving almost twice the legal limit and not carrying a licence.
Surely this is Steve TEw and NZ Rugby's fault too?
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@taniwharugby said in NH club rugby:
Apparently DC has been caught driving almost twice the legal limit and not carrying a licence.
Surely this is Steve TEw and NZ Rugby's fault too?
Blame the Chiefs
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I have no idea what penalties are usually handed out or whether it impacts his visa/ work permit but French drink driving laws have got quite strict from what I have read. I know that you are expected to carry your own breathalyzer in your car at all times so there is no excuse of not knowing if you are over or not. You can be heavily fined just for not carrying one.
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@Crucial All that's true but remember, this is France. You sometimes get the idea that the laws are only applied every other day or something.
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@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial All that's true but remember, this is France. You sometimes get the idea that the laws are only applied every other day or something.
My theory for adhering to their law despite knowing this was that I had a 'GB' number plate making me a prime target for a gendarme wanting to get his quota with some Rosbifs.
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@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial All that's true but remember, this is France. You sometimes get the idea that the laws are only applied every other day or something.
My theory for adhering to their law despite knowing this was that I had a 'GB' number plate making me a prime target for a gendarme wanting to get his quota with some Rosbifs.
Yep - I did the research into their batshit-crazy laws for motorcyclists before a trip over there - and was very very tempted to ignore half of them... but figured that "GB" would be a fucking malign-cop-magnet.
For a while - every motorist had to carry 2 "hazard triangle signs" to put out if they break down. Including bikers. WTF?
And I believe you still have to put 4 reflective stickers of a certain size on your helmet, which have to be of a design that they will "damage the helmet if ever removed". -
@Kruse said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial All that's true but remember, this is France. You sometimes get the idea that the laws are only applied every other day or something.
My theory for adhering to their law despite knowing this was that I had a 'GB' number plate making me a prime target for a gendarme wanting to get his quota with some Rosbifs.
Yep - I did the research into their batshit-crazy laws for motorcyclists before a trip over there - and was very very tempted to ignore half of them... but figured that "GB" would be a fucking malign-cop-magnet.
For a while - every motorist had to carry 2 "hazard triangle signs" to put out if they break down. Including bikers. WTF?
And I believe you still have to put 4 reflective stickers of a certain size on your helmet, which have to be of a design that they will "damage the helmet if ever removed".It is also classed as a 'Major Offence' (high fines, imprisonment and loss of licence) to have a sat nav identifying speed camera locations. As most garmins and TomToms do this in their default settings you need to find the menu to toggle this off as you sure as hell won't have time to do it if you get pulled over for any reason and they want to check.
Fuckin hated having that GB label on the vehicle.Oh, and you still have to carry all of that 'emergency equipment' like triangles AND you have to have a hi-vis vest within easy reach to put on. Can't have it in the boot.
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@Kruse @Crucial Some mates of mine did a long weekend driving trip going down to La Rochelle. There were a fair few monied up guys with serious cars and they did get sorted by the Gendarmerie. Four of them got pulled at a speed trap. 2x 911s, a 458 Italia and a Bentley Continental. The two 911s didn't actually get clocked by the speed trap but were told that "we know you were speeding so we're going to fine you 200 Euros each". The Ferrari and the Bentley were both clocked around 130mph so were bang to rights. They were fined something like 1500 Euros each. Cash only. So a few guys had to go into town and get the cash. By the time they came back a more senior policier was on the scene and he was furious. The Bentley guy and the Ferrari guy were subjected to a half hour grilling and once it had been ascertained that the co-drivers were insured both drivers were banned on the spot. The Ferrari was hired so allowed to go. The Bentley was owned so they felt able to seize it pending a court action. High possibility of it being crushed.
In the end both guys had to attend court some months later where they had their bans confirmed and then had to pay significant costs on top. The guy got his Bentley back but by this time he was a broken man.
No further trips planned.
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@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@Kruse @Crucial Some mates of mine did a long weekend driving trip going down to La Rochelle. There were a fair few monied up guys with serious cars and they did get sorted by the Gendarmerie. Four of them got pulled at a speed trap. 2x 911s, a 458 Italia and a Bentley Continental. The two 911s didn't actually get clocked by the speed trap but were told that "we know you were speeding so we're going to fine you 200 Euros each". The Ferrari and the Bentley were both clocked around 130mph so were bang to rights. They were fined something like 1500 Euros each. Cash only. So a few guys had to go into town and get the cash. By the time they came back a more senior policier was on the scene and he was furious. The Bentley guy and the Ferrari guy were subjected to a half hour grilling and once it had been ascertained that the co-drivers were insured both drivers were banned on the spot. The Ferrari was hired so allowed to go. The Bentley was owned so they felt able to seize it pending a court action. High possibility of it being crushed.
In the end both guys had to attend court some months later where they had their bans confirmed and then had to pay significant costs on top. The guy got his Bentley back but by this time he was a broken man.
No further trips planned.
And to think we feel it is unfair to get a speeding ticket from a speed trap set just inside a speed change sign.....
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@Catogrande Yeah - sounds like I made the right decision in getting the ferry to/from Dunkirk, and just crossing into Belgium as soon as I could.
I will do a decent ride around France at some point, and be damned careful doing it, but on that previous occasion the destination was Czech-land, so I was quite happy to just minimise the time in France. And I didn't put any fucking stickers on my helmet. -
@Kruse said in NH club rugby:
@Catogrande Yeah - sounds like I made the right decision in getting the ferry to/from Dunkirk, and just crossing into Belgium as soon as I could.
I will do a decent ride around France at some point, and be damned careful doing it, but on that previous occasion the destination was Czech-land, so I was quite happy to just minimise the time in France. And I didn't put any fucking stickers on my helmet.Their rules (and the prospect of being a target) certainly helped decide our route to Austria as well. Was heaps cheaper too. For an extra 15 minutes travel time we went straight to Belguim and traveled on (great) free roads rather than paying the exorbitant tolls.
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@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@Kruse said in NH club rugby:
@Catogrande Yeah - sounds like I made the right decision in getting the ferry to/from Dunkirk, and just crossing into Belgium as soon as I could.
I will do a decent ride around France at some point, and be damned careful doing it, but on that previous occasion the destination was Czech-land, so I was quite happy to just minimise the time in France. And I didn't put any fucking stickers on my helmet.Their rules (and the prospect of being a target) certainly helped decide our route to Austria as well. Was heaps cheaper too. For an extra 15 minutes travel time we went straight to Belguim and traveled on (great) free roads rather than paying the exorbitant tolls.
First off the Belgian motorways are shit! They have some of the biggest pot holes in europe. Second off I have little sympathy for a guy in a Ferrari or Bently getting stung going over 200Kmph when the speed limit is 130Kmph at its highest.
I also have zero sympathy for any one getting caught DUI. But I will say as was the case when I lived in NZ getting done DUI is much more common in the cities then the rural areas. Infact its a total joke in the countryside no one ever gets done and everyone here is still doing it.
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@mooshld said in NH club rugby:
@Crucial said in NH club rugby:
@Kruse said in NH club rugby:
@Catogrande Yeah - sounds like I made the right decision in getting the ferry to/from Dunkirk, and just crossing into Belgium as soon as I could.
I will do a decent ride around France at some point, and be damned careful doing it, but on that previous occasion the destination was Czech-land, so I was quite happy to just minimise the time in France. And I didn't put any fucking stickers on my helmet.Their rules (and the prospect of being a target) certainly helped decide our route to Austria as well. Was heaps cheaper too. For an extra 15 minutes travel time we went straight to Belguim and traveled on (great) free roads rather than paying the exorbitant tolls.
First off the Belgian motorways are shit! They have some of the biggest pot holes in europe. Second off I have little sympathy for a guy in a Ferrari or Bently getting stung going over 200Kmph when the speed limit is 130Kmph at its highest...
Agree. And agree.
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@mooshld said in NH club rugby:
First off the Belgian motorways are shit! They have some of the biggest pot holes in europe. Second off I have little sympathy for a guy in a Ferrari or Bently getting stung going over 200Kmph when the speed limit is 130Kmph at its highest.
I also have zero sympathy for any one getting caught DUI. But I will say as was the case when I lived in NZ getting done DUI is much more common in the cities then the rural areas. Infact its a total joke in the countryside no one ever gets done and everyone here is still doing it.
Agreed with very little sympathy for guys in luxury/'prestige' cars getting caught at ridiculous speeds.
I can't remember the motorways in Belgium - I do remember being terrified on the ones in Czechia... I was expecting the bike to fall apart from the (literally) constant shuddering. (Not helped by it being a new bike, after I'd written the previous one off on a motorway a couple of weeks earlier).
No sympathy for anyone getting caught DUI? Not even our own DC? As he is a role model, I'm expecting a rash of DUIs by young impressionable kiwis. Weetbix kids? Nah - Kiwi Kids are drink-driving Kids. -
As an aside the reason there are tolls in France as there is no road tax, and registration is a one off fee when you buy a car.
Its probably the only tax we don't have here.
So a shit load of trucks pass through France, and they have to pay for the roads somehow so they have tolls its pretty fair you don't use you don't pay. I have to say as well the motorways that are tolled tend to be kept in excellent condition and have a shit load of facilities.
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@mooshld said in NH club rugby:
As an aside the reason there are tolls in France as there is no road tax, and registration is a one off fee when you buy a car.
Its probably the only tax we don't have here.
So a shit load of trucks pass through France, and they have to pay for the roads somehow so they have tolls its pretty fair you don't use you don't pay. I have to say as well the motorways that are tolled tend to be kept in excellent condition and have a shit load of facilities.
Fair enough. But if you can avoid their roads the better.
Watch out for Switzerland too. Not tolled but you need to have a sticker of your windscreen to be on the motorways and you can only buy a 12 month version (about 90 euro) even if just passing through in a day. Austria has a similar system but you can buy 10 day stickers cheap. -
An expensive mistake by DC as he has lost his Land Rover sponsorship.
