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General Information July
Published:
25 June 2009
Don't Stop!
Once again we have been contacted by Caravan Club members
concerned about "flag down robberies" particularly in Spain on the
M30, M40, M50, A4 and A5. The thieves will sometimes throw
something at your vehicle or use hand signals to encourage you to
pull over. Once stationary, the thieves will then use distraction
techniques to remove tourists from the vehicle and steal valuable
items. You should also be aware of "bogus" police officers, in the
vast majority of cases any traffic stops will not be done by plain
clothes policemen, so only pull over if the police vehicle has
flashing headlights and an electronic sign in the rear window which
reads "Policia or Guardia Civil". If in any doubt, do not exit your
vehicle keep the doors locked and dial 122 for the emergency
services.
Long Vehicles in Spain (Updated information)
Vehicle or vehicle combinations longer than 12m travelling in
Spain must attached marker boards to the back of the caravan/motor
home. For updated details please see www.caravanclub.co.uk click on
practical advice, then scroll down and click on overseas advice. If
you do not have access to the internet please call 01342
336 766 for a copy. We would like to apologise for the
incorrect information that appeared in the March edition of the
magazine. We wanted to inform our members as soon as possible of
this legal requirement in case it might affect you and regrettably
an error in the information occurred.
Watch your Speed (France)
We recently published new speed limits for vehicles/outfits
towing in France that are over 3.5t in weight (May edition), which
was provided by the legal department of the Association Française
des Automobilistes.We have since received conflicting information
from two different sources: the FFCC (Fédération Française de
Camping et de Caravanning) and the FIA (Fédération Internationale
de L'Automobile).
Both of these professional organisations have interpreted the
same French law (Code de la Route articles R413 - 8 and R413-8-1)
in two different ways:
The FFCC have interpreted the law as follows:
The lower speed limits of 90kph (on motorways and dual
carriageways with a central reservation and 80kph on other roads
outside of built up areas) are for any outfit where the towing
vehicle has a maximum GTM (Gross Train Mass) exceeding 3.5t (as
indicated on the vehicle's handbook, or sometimes on the engine
plate), irrespective of what the actual weight of the
caravan/trailer being towed. If the GTM of the towing vehicle is
less than 3.5t then these lower speed limits do not apply.
The FIA do not agree:
They interpret the law to be, that any vehicle or combination of
vehicles that has a total GVM (gross vehicle mass) of over 3.5t
must adhere to the new lower speed limits.
When subject to specific speed limits, as mentioned, stickers
indicating these new limits should be displayed on the back of the
trailer. There should be two: one for 80kph and one for 90kph.
These stickers can only be brought from HGV supplier in France, the
FFCC have advised us that law is very tolerant towards vehicles
that don't have the stickers, however this is only their
opinion.
Both the FIA and the FFCC agree that the wording of this law
needs to be clarified, and we will keep you updated if and when
this happens.
Our advice for now is to drive at the lower speed limits if you
have GTM exceeding 3.5t or a combination of vehicles with a GVM
(which is the same as the maximum permitted weight) of over 3.5t,
and obtain the stickers, until such times as we can confirm the
correct interpretation of the law. We will of course keep you
updated!
If you have had experience of obtaining the 80 and 90 stickers
please can you contact travelserviceinformation@caravanclub.co.uk
or call 01342 336 766 so we can pass on the
information to other members.