even though half the time they are just on normal roads and motorways and (Germany notwithstanding) they aren’t going any faster than I would be in my Prius.

Well, until they come to a queue of traffic, anyway

One of the episodes you missed must have been the “lads” racing through France on public roads at average speeds over the national speed limit.

Yeah I did miss that. I’m sure I’d have ranted about it if I’d seen it 🙁

Zokes having a pop at a_a who’d have thunk it?

Have to say that I agree with a_a on this.

Brits racing through France immune to speed cameras is a serious safety issue with something like 85% of cars flashed on some radars having foreign plates even though foreign plates are only 5% of the traffic.

Are 85% of the cars involved in speed-related crashes also foreign plated? If not, the logic FAIL.

Zokes having a pop at a_a who’d have thunk it?

Nope, just disagreeing with his logic

I would imagine that insane young French men are more of a problem than foreign drivers in terms of road safety…

cynic-al – Member

I didn’t see the cycling bit, which appears to shed a different light on it.
Variation on “The Edinburgh defence”?

The problem with Clarkson is he only has one joke which is every position he takes is the wrong one. He’s ridiculing people like him – middle age, middle brow, tory know it alls and he’s trying to demonstrate the wrongness of his opinions by having everything go wrong for him, usually by something predictably bursting into flames or falling over. If you agree with him you don’t get the joke, if you get upset by the position he takes on an issue you don’t get the joke – because he agrees with you thats why he’s making his position ridiculous

The problem arises that even though he’s been telling that joke for 20 odd years lots of people don’t get the joke and still take what he says at face value. Clarkson fans of the ‘Clarkson for PM’ petitions don’t realise that they are the butt of his joke. Single issue campaigners prodded for a reaction by the press don’t get the joke.

The thing is, if you get the joke how many times can you hear it before it stops being funny.

Knock Knock
Who’s there
Exactly the punchline you were expecting
Hurray my favourite

Knock Knock
Who’s there
Exactly the punchline you were expecting
Hurray my favourite

Knock Knock
Who’s there
Exactly the punchline you were expecting
Great.. is something going to catch fire soon?

One of the episodes you missed must have been the “lads” racing through France on public roads at average speeds over the national speed limit.

Ed, do you really think they actually race? Do you think they have a camera on every bridge, a camera car also in the race and a helicopter above them all the way?

I suspect some of them are races to a point – the London one perhaps? I’d love to know if any of them were genuine.

Insane young French men are no problem at all, they aren’t allowed to drive and are often in asylums.

The percentage of Brits involved in accidents near the channel ports is possibly worse than the 85% of vehicles flashed. Even for France as a whole foreign vehicles are a quarter of the total flashed. The combination of high speed and driving on the other side of the road mean a lot of holidays end badly.

It works both ways, a French acquaintance survived a fatal accident near Devil’s Bridge in Wales. The driver pulled out from the pub on the wrong side of the road and hit a Land Rover head on.

The T5 transporter vans and range rovers they use as camera cars must be blimmin quick to keep up and sometimes race ahead of the super cars they use in those races

The percentage of Brits involved in accidents near the channel ports is possibly worse than the 85% of vehicles flashed.

I’m sceptical of that. I’d like to see figures, and don’t include accidents related to being on the wrong side of the road.

France has higher road death stats than the UK, I seriously doubt that the difference is caused by UK drivers.

The last ten minutes of the show remind you just how good the uk is. It’s only when the program is finished that you also realise that we have too many people here with either a sense of humour bypass or/and an iq of 45

Do you think the intellectually challenged Top Gear audience stop to think whether it’s a race or not. Shifter? I doubt it, I credit them with just enough intelligence to note that they are immune to French Fixed radars and can race through France with impunity which is great fun as the “lads” demonstrate. I think Top Gear has a lot to do with the irresponsible attitude of Brits to driving In Europe and the British hatred of cyclists.

Anyway this thread could be an article in the Daily Mail. No longer gonna read it

I think Top Gear has a lot to do with the irresponsible attitude of Brits to driving In Europe and the British hatred of cyclists.

Seriously? It’s the fault of Top Gear? Wow

My mates 5yr old is Top Gear mad, loves the presenters and the stig and is happy to watch the same episode many times over on his ipad so i wrote to J-C care of Top Gear explaining about his young fan and asked for a signed photo for him etc and i received back a large box of Top Gear goodies including a t-shirt, a mini model of the stig, a large cardboard stig to assemble, loads of stickers, posters, signed photos and a Bugatti Veyron toy along with a hand written note by Jeremy to my mates son.

Not bad, certainly a damn site better than the Blue Peter badge i received as a kid.

I think most of the intellectually challenged know you can’t drive anywhere with impunity, not even the autobahns.

It’s common knowledge that speed cameras don’t work with foreign plates. I heard that on here ages ago. Given that knowledge, many people will choose to speed. I don’t think you can blame Top Gear for that specific thing, Edukator, even though I am not a big fan of many of their attitudes.

According to Clarkson the races are real, but with regards to the footage used they are actually filmed on return journeys etc. when they have more time/its easier to shoot them. And all the people slating them for speeding in France need to remember that there have been instances where police cars have pulled alongside them urging them to go quicker. People who like fast cars want to see them being driven fast. its only when it becomes dangerous that it needs intervention. Speed isn’t a killer. Its speed mixed with incompetency or another factor that makes it a killer.

Do you think the intellectually challenged Top Gear audience stop to think whether it’s a race or not. Shifter

You do know they’ve pretty much broadcast the fact that they fake everything on that show. At which point the audience all laughed.

It doesn’t take much to figure out that the chase cars aren’t going to keep up with a Bugatti Veryon well enough to set up camera shots from the Alps to Calais.

I credit them with just enough intelligence to note that they are immune to French Fixed radars and can race through France with impunity which is great fun as the “lads” demonstrate. I think Top Gear has a lot to do with the irresponsible attitude of Brits to driving In Europe and the British hatred of cyclists.

Nope it’s because it’s dull as watching paint dry, the motorways are quiet and you hide the cameras. That and you advise us that the limit is 120mph!! I have sped all the way through france from Calais to Chamonix (they got me on the run up to Chamonix and I paid them some money) and that was nothing to do with Top Gear.

The percentage of Brits involved in accidents near the channel ports is possibly worse than the 85% of vehicles flashed.

Are they speed related, as in relevant to your original point? If so, can you point us in the direction of the figures to back this up? Or, are you wildly speculating?

So Clarkson isn’t an idiot, he just says idiotic things to provoke a reaction. Isn’t that what a “troll” does?

they are immune to French Fixed radars and can race through France with impunity

This is almost, but not quite untrue true. 😕 It used to be the case, but there is now a Europe-wide reciprocal agreement between the equivalents of the DVLA abroad. It means that foreign police can now look you up on your home nation’s vehicle databases and send you a fine through the post. Except they can’t, because for some bizarre reason we’ve opted out of the agreement. Unless you were caught in Switzerland where speeding’s a criminal offence, rather than being dealt with through the fixed-penalty system and you can be subject to extradition proceedings and lovely invitations to spend two nights in one of their hotels with no lock on the inside of the door 😥

It’s not speculation. The majority of the vehicles “en grand excess de vitesse” over the Le Mans weekend were Brits in their Lambos etc.. quite happy to pay the fines. Article. No accidents this year perhaps because so many had their licences removed on the spot with the usual banned for three months in France.

I forgot the essential in my last post. Top Gear did a Le Mans special in 2012 which raised the awareness of the event among “laddish” Brits who then rented something special for the weekend in 2013.

Britain opted out of the European agreement on cross-border fines.

trying to hard to be funny top gear and failing

Brits in their Lambos etc

We do love a Lamborghini, I should never have traded mine in for a Pagani.

I wonder how many traffic incidents involve French drivers coming off the ferry at Dover?

GrahamS said it also:

molgrips – Member

I know they joke about environmental stuff and cyclists, and I know they are joking, but humour is often a way to normalise something

Isnt it passed your bedtime or something Zokes. You seem overtired.

I wonder how many traffic incidents involve French drivers coming off the ferry at Dover?

Too many. It would have been so easy to change at the end of WWII when many of the road signs and markeings had been removed (and before the motorway junctions were built) but the British motor lobby was against. Protectionism that ultimately led to their downfall.

No accidents this year

So, not that dangerous then? At least, not “>85% of all drivers” dangerous, anyway

Isn’t it passedt your bedtime or something, Zokes. You seem overtired.

FTFY, and, no – it’s 7.30 in the evening, but thanks for your concern.

Protectionism that ultimately led to their downfall.

So it wasn’t the GFC, toxic debt, sub-prime markets, and banks gambling billions that led to the turmoil of the past few years? Was it just that we chose to continue to drive on the side of the road we always have had? Glad that’s cleared things up then.

but humour is often a way to normalise something

Such as running cyclists off the road and racing across France.

Best thing about thing about last nights show was…

Mark Weber beating Seb’s time by some margin 😆

The rest of the show was the usual George Zippy Bungle tomfoolery, which is why I and a few others watch it

racing across France.

Like I said, there was nothing else to do for the 300 km of dull stuff in the middle

FTFY, and, no – it’s 7.30 in the evening, but thanks for your concern.

Keep forgetting about the 30 min time difference

Their downfall had a lot to do with the Japanese taking market share in the 70s. Britain was the European target of choice for the Japanese as they made RHD cars. At the same time other European makers were increasing their markets with cross-border sales and expanding while the British makers were handicapped by their LHD models being slow to market even when a LHD version was eventually made.

Edit; compare the price of a new car with anywhere else in Europe. I very much doubt you would be paying a premium if you drove LHD cars.

Keep forgetting about the 30 min time difference

Yeah, it’s a real PITA heading backwards and forwards to the east coast the whole time

Their downfall had a lot to do with the Japanese taking market share making incredibly shit cars in the 70s.