stopped in France

flower3bird

Guest
Thought you might all like to learn from our misfortune. Maybe this is something you already know about, but we were ignorant up till our last trip to France.

French officials were pulling larger vehicles off the road to check their paperwork and that they weren't overweight. We were indicated to pull in. "Now don't get difficult with them" I was telling hubby. "Be charming and helpful and we'll get away quicker".

Up comes Monsieur Officious :cool: and asks for our Carte Grise. Idiots know we Brits don't have Carte Grise but he insisted we MUST have one. Calm calm - smile smile - no we don't as we are British, but what else can we help him with :). He needed papers to show our official weight. We looked at each other - nothing! We knew we had nothing onboard to show this, after all we know we drive a 5tons vehicle, so why would we need to have paperwork to tell us that!?

Now Mr Officious :cool: is asking for our driving license. No problem we smile and say, handing them over. "Where does it state we can drive a 5ton vehicle" he asks. Ah it doesn't but you see we older Brits are allowed to drive them on our ordinary car licenses :) But that did not do it for him - he is still wanting a Carte Gris and evidence we can drive this van.

Now here is the funny bit ............. I get really arsey with him (yes calm reasonable me, who rarely looses her temper) " We don't have a Carte Gris and Yes we can drive a 5 ton van on an ordniary license. And if he doesn't believe us then why doesn't he ring the DVLA in Britain"!!! Hubby asks me politely to be quiet and leave it to him :eek:

He then had a slight stroke of brilliance as he showed M Officious :cool: our insurance documents, calmly explaining in his best French that if we weren't allowed to drive this 5tons vehicle then surely the insurance company wouldn't cover us.

M Officious :cool: retreats to huddle with other officials :eek before returning to us after a few minutes, stuffing the papers back through the window and waving us on. We quickly took the cue and drove away.........

But the moral of this story is that next time we go to France we will take a copy of the DVLA Registration doc showing the weight PLUS we have printed off from the DVLA web site the note that states we oldies can drive a 5ton van. So if you don't do this already then have a think about it - it could save you time and stress someday ;)
 
Boring but unfortunately official requirment

I am really surprised that you do not carry the original V5 document as it is a listed
requirement for movement outside the UK.
Your driving of a vehicle over 3500Kgs & up to 7500kg is on your licence under a
category C vehicle,if cat C is not on your licence then it is very simple YOU DO NOT
DRIVE
 
there should be a plate on your vehicle showing the weights there possibly is on the log book as well. and unless you havent got a new licence it should show c1 if you have an old licence it would show class a . you should be able to get some info fron dvla .should you have a problem i have dvla info booklets going back to 91 , the booklets are ins 57.trouble is later booklets dont show the old classes . let me know if you need one or a print out. cheers alan.
ostersund .uk old licence holders dont have to change to eu licence national ones still cover every thing . not always is the weight in the log book either. just shows how bad the system can be.
 
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I know it has the categories of what you can drive such as C1 but I can't find anywhere on my license that it says that this is up to 7.5 ton.
Good idea to print out any information from the DVLA website wonder if they have any in other languages :rolleyes:

I know we shouldn't have to do this but understand how intimidating it can be when you are stopped. I was pulled over on my motorbike in Portugal, he spoke no English & I didn't have my documents for the vehicle with me (I know you're supposed to carry them but I forgot) we were fortunate to be about 150 yards from the campsite & I had to wait while the wife ran back for them. I think I got away with a telling off (either that or he was after a bribe as he held his hand out & I shook it, he laughed, I laughed, the wife laughed. Jumped on the bike & shot off smiling, waving calling him all sorts of names but smiling all the time)
 
My V5 documents shows my vehicle as PRIVATE LIGHT GOODS (PLG) and body type as MOTOR CARAVAN no mention of WEIGHTS ie MAM or MGW.
The van is 6.6 tonne MAM.
My Driving License the old paper variety shows CATEGORY C1 and alongside the explanation MOTOR VEHICLES USED FOR THE CARRIAGE OF GOODS AND WHOSE MAXIMUM AUTHORISED MASS EXCEEDS 3.5 TONNES BUT DOES NOT EXCEED 7.5 TONNES.
I presume "used for the carriage of goods" refers to what the vehicle was originally designed for.
Nobody seems to be absolutely sure (especially the DVLA) on just what the law regs. and rules are. But I think I'm able to keep Gendarmerie of my back?
Still it shows that keeping below 3.5 tonnes rather than up plating has its advantages.
 
there is no problem understanding the rules if you do have a problem ask me i spend lots of time sorting hours, times, licences, and if i dont know speak to dvla ,vosa and dept of transport regularly. if you visit your local dvla office and ask for a ins57p that should have all you need to know .unless you have a early uk licence then you need ins57. all the info is there .if you get probs let me know. cheers alan.
byronic yours should be phg and you could save 40 odd quid on the tax. you can be done for wrong registration of a vehicle. save the money and smile.
 
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one day i,l learn how to do that . there is alot of info i have but cant get it to go on a computer . i,m a sad old git really new fangled stuff as me beat. i can find it on the web but cant post or transfer it, . never mind thanks andy your a good un. cheers alan.
 
Silly me, a typo I meant HGV. I should read my posts first before submitting.
Last thing I'd want to do is contact the DVLA about anything' unless absolutely necessary. You are the first I've come across that appears to relish it.
 
never found them a problem.used to build cars and trikes and suprise our local dvla by turning up un expected .to request an inspection. its out side come on. ring vosa and have mobile numbers for them. even have desk numbers for dept of transport for individual sections . they dont want you to break the law . and will be very helpfull . will bring some bumph this winter for you to look at . i have loads of old dvla issued info and have transport managers books just to top up what i cant remember. but if in doubt ring them. i do i keep giving some of the most usefull numbers out on here bet nobody makes a note of them. i hadv a delivery this week of d100,inf29.inf30,inf52,ins101. came from a chat with swansea last week. waitingfor dft to send me a written definition of drivers entitlements at age 70yrs .to sort a problem on another site. cant understand how so many wont speak to the right people. thats how i get my info.
cheers alan.
 
Thanks for the link Andy, downloaded the PDF file & will at least have it on the laptop just in case. ;)
 
We were stopped just outside Marseilles by the Gendarme and Customs and our van was X-Rayed. I was surprised that no paperwork at all was asked for, the Gendarme had asked my name when we first stopped and he explained that they had all our information on the screen MOT, Tax & insurance and UK address. Big Brother.
 
there is a way that the eu police can get all this info .they are also uplifting uk vehicles that arent moted or taxed etc , its all to do with being legal in your own country. i once had a denounciation from denia in spain sent to my home address .that was about 7-8 yr ago they could have only got it from my reg.as i never saw any body to give info . just shows that its not a new thing been going on for years. remember when you register your vehicle you give up the title so the uk authority can say crush it. its their vehicle not yours .
 
I have read on other forums of untaxed UK vans being crushed in Spain but I've never actually found out if it's true or, like the 'Knock-out Gas' an urban myth.
 
i have friends that live in malaga and every now and again they make a sweep. there as been info in the costa papers . its becomong more often. but then how many do you know of in uk that as been up lifted. the thing with abroad the vehicle should have been registerede in that country so they lose out on revenue . and i,m told get payed to do it by uk gov. the days or carreering around europe with two fingers up is coming to an end. its also possible that the same owners are driving around with no insurance as they dont come back here to get it. i dont have any simpathy for them . i keep mine up to scratch and abide by the rules . cheers alan.
 
Thanks for that confirmation, I'm the same as you and keep everything legal. It must be nearly impossible now to keep a UK registered vehicle out of the UK for more than 12months.
 
Thanks AndyC :D That was better than we found and more official looking.

The reason we don't carry the DVLA Registration doc is that years ago I had a car stolen with its registration docs onboard and the bugger sold it. It took us 6 months and court apearances to get it back.
 
e log book is not a proof of ownership ,it only lists the registered keeper. just like an mot is not a proof of road worthyness exept for the time of the test. but you should carry them at all times when abroad ,if not the police can seize your vehicle. and they do do it sometimes. dont risk it be legal. cheers alan.
 
vwalan said:
never found them a problem.used to build cars and trikes and suprise our local dvla by turning up un expected .to request an inspection. its out side come on. ring vosa and have mobile numbers for them. even have desk numbers for dept of transport for individual sections . they dont want you to break the law . and will be very helpfull . will bring some bumph this winter for you to look at . i have loads of old dvla issued info and have transport managers books just to top up what i cant remember. but if in doubt ring them. i do i keep giving some of the most usefull numbers out on here bet nobody makes a note of them. i hadv a delivery this week of d100,inf29.inf30,inf52,ins101. came from a chat with swansea last week. waitingfor dft to send me a written definition of drivers entitlements at age 70yrs .to sort a problem on another site. cant understand how so many wont speak to the right people. thats how i get my info.
cheers alan.
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Alan, I dare say if I put my mind to the subject I could obtain an A level or maybe a First Class degree in dealing with bureaucracy, but I only have one life I have other more important things to do, I waste enough time on the internet at the moment, and should be grafting more especially as I'm self employed.
 
I carry a photocopy of everything in the glovebox for 'billy burglar' to find, but when in France I hide and carry the originals!

If you drive into any VOSA check site with a weighbridge and ask us nicely we'll weigh it foc and give you an official weighbridge ticket that you can carry in the vehicle.
 
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