Only 45euros? pay up and forget it. Mate has just got a nip for 79 mph in a 70 zone on a motorway and expectimg more than that.

oldroverboy is right, pay up and avoid potential hassle in future.

Interesting about the 79mph. I know a few local policemen and they always say that you are very unlucky to get pulled below 80mph. Maybe your mate got a 'keen' one. Shame. Cheers Concrete

I live in France-I got stopped by a live gendarme with a pair of laser binoculars about two weeks ago-110 kmh in a 90 limit going into a 70 limit. After the usual paperchase where they demand to see every possible document relating to you, your car and your life I received a polite request to slow down in future, a handshake and a salute. Must have passed the attitude test or something - or because I'm on a UK licence it might have been too much paperwork for him.

Yes just pay it,

I got clobbered for doing 110 in a 90 zone in Spain, in a hired renault Scenic, from Avis. I got a letter through the post about 3 weeks later, they wanted 300 Euros or 150 if i settled inside 2 weeks, so I did.

Danger is you go back there and get arrested, your name will certainly be on a databse for the car hire company and it will catch up with you.

The french are getting very militant with their speed cameras.

I have a business in France and what we do there is, all the company cars are registered to our company, with only the 3 initials of the driver. eg Mr JMA xxx xxx so we pay the fines immediately, they never ask for the licence details, then recover the fine from the driver, thus they avoid ever picking up points.

Their system is just a way of raking in cash, but they are less interested in handing out points ( in fact you start with a clean licence with 12 points there , and they get deducted )

All too common on the continent.

They take the entirely sensible approach that life's too short to ponce about with courts and fancy lawyers wriggling people off the hook.

The answer is to eschew points and pitch the fine at; "Cough up and try not to do it again." levels. Usually a sliding scale and can get eye-wateringly expensive if you take the michael. 45 euro is a wrist slap.

750 euros and an instant ban? Eye opener and eye watering!!

I just got a fine via registered post for a speeding offence I apparently commited in August 2012 ! - over a year ago. It's 140 Euro if I pay up within 30 days of notice.

Tempting not to pay but do plan to return to France in the future so will prob pay up for peace of mind.

Very hard to find the definitive on what would happen if I don't though.