Corvette Roadtrip Italy and France, Day by day diary
05-27-2012, 11:35 AM
#182
Pro
Thread Starter
Nope, didn't see that one coming.
Two weeks later in a Paris office of the French Gendarmerie:
"Inspector, inspector Clouseau, weee gott 'ihm."
"Who, Kato, who?
"Sse criminal driving so fast in his Corvetteé rouge."
"Really?"
"Absolument. Wee arrre going to make 'ihm payy"
That's when I got this letter: 68€uro for driving with 117 km/h instead of 110 between Cannes and Nice. But the French wouldn't be the French if thas was straight forward: They are granting me a discount if I pay in 46 days instead of 76 days. Then it's only 49€uro.
Now the story is officially over
Martin
"Inspector, inspector Clouseau, weee gott 'ihm."
"Who, Kato, who?
"Sse criminal driving so fast in his Corvetteé rouge."
"Really?"
"Absolument. Wee arrre going to make 'ihm payy"
That's when I got this letter: 68€uro for driving with 117 km/h instead of 110 between Cannes and Nice. But the French wouldn't be the French if thas was straight forward: They are granting me a discount if I pay in 46 days instead of 76 days. Then it's only 49€uro.
Now the story is officially over
Martin
05-27-2012, 01:13 PM
#183
Safety Car
For our American friends, that translates to getting a ticket for going 72 MPH in a 68 MPH zone!
Paul
05-27-2012, 01:23 PM
#184
Team Owner
Here highways are 100kph (62.5mph). The accepted tolerance seems to be 120kph (75mph). I stay at about 115kph (72mph) and don't get bothered.
Last edited by Paul L; 05-27-2012 at 02:01 PM.
05-27-2012, 01:29 PM
#185
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Aug 2011
Location: 6000' up in the mountains CA
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Check this out....last year a friend of mine flew to Italy, & rented cars for a couple of weeks. He drove there like he drives here....if u don't see a cop, anything goes.
Since he frequently got lost he often had to make U turns or shortcuts through alleys. After coming home, he was billed over $1,000 for numerous traffic tickets & around $800 in surcharges from Hertz ,who forwarded the tickets to him. All of these were from cameras. He remembers seeing signs w/ a picture of a camera on them, but didn't know what they meant, also, there were so many signs his mind just didn't process all of them.
He got Hertz to lower their tab to $250, but since there was a chance he may have to go to Italy for business in the future, he had to pay the fines.
I wonder if we do this to tourists over here? What a way to a balance a country's budget, eh?
Since he frequently got lost he often had to make U turns or shortcuts through alleys. After coming home, he was billed over $1,000 for numerous traffic tickets & around $800 in surcharges from Hertz ,who forwarded the tickets to him. All of these were from cameras. He remembers seeing signs w/ a picture of a camera on them, but didn't know what they meant, also, there were so many signs his mind just didn't process all of them.
He got Hertz to lower their tab to $250, but since there was a chance he may have to go to Italy for business in the future, he had to pay the fines.
I wonder if we do this to tourists over here? What a way to a balance a country's budget, eh?
05-27-2012, 02:06 PM
#186
Melting Slicks
Wow, I didn't know that ever happened (mailing the tickets overseas). I've always been able to get out of the tickets. Worst one was traveling to a scandinavian country where the speed limits constantly were changing up and down in the middle of nowhere. At one point a pair of cops pulled me and the mrs over for the slightest infraction. It was like 11:00 in the morning no traffic, bright sunny day. I had to do a breathalizer test and they did let us go. Everyone we talked to afterwards said it was extremely unusual to let us off w/o a ticket. Most of the parking tickets I've gotten overseas I just let go and they never tracked us down. It was probably because your buddy had racked up SO MANY tickets that they forwarded them on to him.
05-27-2012, 02:17 PM
#187
Melting Slicks
There could be countless road trips across this country if you wanted to do one. One great trip would be to ship your car to San Francisco and drive to Chicago in about 2-3 wks. The scenery would be fantastic.
I think every year there is a Rocky Mountain Corvette cruise by some group. Maybe someone here will know. I think the differences would be 1) The distances are MUCH longer than in Europe, so you would have to be aware of that and plan accordingly. But there are extraordinary sites along the way.
2) The roads in general will be easier to cruise on because less congested (in most cases) than the roads you were on. There are exceptions of course.
My wife and I do road trips across the US frequently (not in the vette though). One of our favorite was when we flew to S/F one way, bought a vehicle and drove it back seeing all the sites as we went. Another good one is to go from Chicago to Yellowstone National Park. There is Jackson Hole, Tetons, the rural Wyoming backroads and so on. When I get the vette done, we plan to do another road trip in that. So, for someone from Europe, you'd have a blast cruising across the US.
The key difference Europeans get goofed up when driving in the US (and Americans get frustrated when driving in Europe) is that Americans mostly navigate by highway numbers and road numbers (i.e. take Interstate 94 to the town xxxx then go N. on Hwy 35 for 15mi, then take County Rd. B for 16 miles ...etc, regardless of the town), where in Europe there are always signs of towns that point you in the direction you are going and less emphasis on road numbers. When you get off the beaten path, you may have no idea what road you are on and that's frustrating for Americans that are used to knowing EXACTLY what road we are on. But there is always signs that point you towards the next set of towns in Europe. So once you get your arms wrapped around that, it really reduces the stress level. Even with GPS it is still helpful to understand and embrace the differences.
I think every year there is a Rocky Mountain Corvette cruise by some group. Maybe someone here will know. I think the differences would be 1) The distances are MUCH longer than in Europe, so you would have to be aware of that and plan accordingly. But there are extraordinary sites along the way.
2) The roads in general will be easier to cruise on because less congested (in most cases) than the roads you were on. There are exceptions of course.
My wife and I do road trips across the US frequently (not in the vette though). One of our favorite was when we flew to S/F one way, bought a vehicle and drove it back seeing all the sites as we went. Another good one is to go from Chicago to Yellowstone National Park. There is Jackson Hole, Tetons, the rural Wyoming backroads and so on. When I get the vette done, we plan to do another road trip in that. So, for someone from Europe, you'd have a blast cruising across the US.
The key difference Europeans get goofed up when driving in the US (and Americans get frustrated when driving in Europe) is that Americans mostly navigate by highway numbers and road numbers (i.e. take Interstate 94 to the town xxxx then go N. on Hwy 35 for 15mi, then take County Rd. B for 16 miles ...etc, regardless of the town), where in Europe there are always signs of towns that point you in the direction you are going and less emphasis on road numbers. When you get off the beaten path, you may have no idea what road you are on and that's frustrating for Americans that are used to knowing EXACTLY what road we are on. But there is always signs that point you towards the next set of towns in Europe. So once you get your arms wrapped around that, it really reduces the stress level. Even with GPS it is still helpful to understand and embrace the differences.
Last edited by Mark G; 05-27-2012 at 02:23 PM.
05-27-2012, 02:59 PM
#188
Team Owner
Member Since: Oct 2004
Location: Springfield MO
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St. Jude Donor '07
Check this out....last year a friend of mine flew to Italy, & rented cars for a couple of weeks. He drove there like he drives here....if u don't see a cop, anything goes.
Since he frequently got lost he often had to make U turns or shortcuts through alleys. After coming home, he was billed over $1,000 for numerous traffic tickets & around $800 in surcharges from Hertz ,who forwarded the tickets to him. All of these were from cameras. He remembers seeing signs w/ a picture of a camera on them, but didn't know what they meant, also, there were so many signs his mind just didn't process all of them.
He got Hertz to lower their tab to $250, but since there was a chance he may have to go to Italy for business in the future, he had to pay the fines.
I wonder if we do this to tourists over here? What a way to a balance a country's budget, eh?
Since he frequently got lost he often had to make U turns or shortcuts through alleys. After coming home, he was billed over $1,000 for numerous traffic tickets & around $800 in surcharges from Hertz ,who forwarded the tickets to him. All of these were from cameras. He remembers seeing signs w/ a picture of a camera on them, but didn't know what they meant, also, there were so many signs his mind just didn't process all of them.
He got Hertz to lower their tab to $250, but since there was a chance he may have to go to Italy for business in the future, he had to pay the fines.
I wonder if we do this to tourists over here? What a way to a balance a country's budget, eh?
05-28-2012, 12:43 AM
#189
Burning Brakes
Hi Mark,
last year in May I got one in the SanFrancisco-Area ! In October I got mail from the court : 698 USD for speeding
So the mail with tickets also works from the US to Germany
And it was coming direct to me, not through the Carrental. Maybe luck, the carrental for sure would have added also some servicecharge
last year in May I got one in the SanFrancisco-Area ! In October I got mail from the court : 698 USD for speeding
So the mail with tickets also works from the US to Germany
And it was coming direct to me, not through the Carrental. Maybe luck, the carrental for sure would have added also some servicecharge
Last edited by Roma; 05-28-2012 at 12:45 AM.
06-02-2012, 12:44 PM
#193
Team Owner
Thanks for the pics and the story. I love seeing pictures of the blue 68; It lets me imagine my own being in those places. We were at Lake Como one week before the big car show. Wish I could have stuck around for this:
We stayed just down the street from Ville D'Este. We were shaken awake at 4am by the first earthquake.
Interesting that you were inspired by Jack's journey/story. He stopped by for breakfast on his way through Charlotte.
We stayed just down the street from Ville D'Este. We were shaken awake at 4am by the first earthquake.
Interesting that you were inspired by Jack's journey/story. He stopped by for breakfast on his way through Charlotte.
07-31-2012, 01:14 PM
#197
Pro
Thread Starter
Great video, Markus
I just relived the tour.
It's fun to watch myself driving. We HAVE to convince Jürgen to take us on another trip next spring. I'll even promise to tune my carb and timing to reduce the offensive smells and back fires for the C4/C5/C6 followers
Martin
I just relived the tour.
It's fun to watch myself driving. We HAVE to convince Jürgen to take us on another trip next spring. I'll even promise to tune my carb and timing to reduce the offensive smells and back fires for the C4/C5/C6 followers Martin
