New speed cameras

THE first batch of new speed radar warning signs, which will be placed up to 2km ahead of the actual cameras, will go up next month.

The new signs, which carry the words ”pour votre sécurité, contrôles radars fréquents”, mark a zone where several cameras, both fixed and mobile, may be operating.

The first signs will be set up in the Dordogne and the Haut Rhin.

Following a change in the law this month, the current maximum distance of 400m for warning signs will be extended to cover a distance of 1-2km from the first camera

“These new panels are to stop drivers who are breaking the limit suddenly braking in front of the signs. They should make motorists drive responsibly at all times,” said Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo.

The first signs will be on the RD 936 at Lamonzie-Saint-Martin in the Dordogne, on the A36 at Sausheim in the Haut-Rhin and the RD 83 at Rouffach in the Haut-Rhin.

France now counts 1,689 fixed cameras and 933 mobile ones, plus 234 cameras for catching drivers jumping red lights and 39 on level crossings.
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New speed cameras made harder to see

A NEW generation of hidden speed cameras is to begin appearing on French motorways in a bid to stop drivers suddenly braking to avoid being caught.
Prime Minister François Fillon has announced that 800 extra radars will be installed on roadsides by 2012 – and they will be more difficult to spot.
Warning signs will be placed between one and two kilometres ahead of each new camera, instead of 400 metres at present. The government hopes this will encourage drivers to keep their speed down over a longer distance instead of suddenly slowing down and speeding back up again.
Mr Fillon also confirmed the introduction of a new type of camera which measures a vehicle’s speed over a long distance and takes the average.
The devices have been tested on the A10 in Orleans since 2003 and road safety campaigners say they will help cut road deaths.
Other measures announced yesterday include 1,800 extra electronic breathalysers in police cars and a €135 fine for scooter owners who make modifications to their vehicle to allow it to exceed the legal speed limit.

Drink-drivers and any motorist caught without a valid licence or insurance face having their car taken away from them on the spot and impounded for up to seven days.
Last year almost 4,300 people were killed on French roads – down by 0.3% on the 2008 figure