Helmet Stickers in France

[fchat63]

Hi all,
I'm thinking of riding to Italy later this year and the subject of reflective stickers on crash helmets has come up.
I've read quite a lot on this site and other internet forums and asked round and the thought occurs has anyone actually been fined for not having stickers?
I can find quite a lot of people who don't bother and it seems they don't have any issues.
Cheers,

[NTECUK]

Stick a few bits of tape on my lid or risk being marched to the cash point?
No brainer ;)

[Purity14]

I was there last year, and the year before, and before that - I've never bothered.

To be honest, I usually just get over to Belgium/Germany asap, so that I can make progress to where I am going, plus its cheaper than paying at every tollbooth!

[Luckypants]

The same question was asked last year...

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=198532

Consensus seems to be it is not enforced and I personally would not deface my helmet with these stickers. IMHO the stickers, hi-vis vest, breathalyser kit etc are there to clobber you if you you get caught doing something illegal.

[Specialone]

I'm with LP, I've got a white arai lid, I won't ride at night in Europe anyway and im not defacing my expensive lid, piddly little stickers won't help a blind foreign cage driver see me at all, if I get fined, I get fined, then I'll never set foot in that country again so they will lose my hard earned.

[fchat63]

Thanks guys.
Food for thought.

[Popy Fresco]

2 months riding in France, I've been seen a couple of times by the gendarmes and not fine at all (even lots of french riders don't bother)

[fchat63]

I think I may get some crash helmet friendly sticky material and stick the reflective stickers to that. Cut them out and stick that to the helmet. That way I've got the reflective stickers on, avoiding the easy nick and I can peel them off when I get back.
Does sound like a lot of mucking about though.

[SvNewbie]

Technically I believe that the regulations say they can't be removable, but that's getting into silly territory.

There is one more requirement which is that the stickers should not be removable without damaging the helmet and must remain reflective over time.

[fchat63]

To be honest the whole thing sounds like silly territory but also an easy on the spot fine.

[allantheboss]

Drove London>Rome in September and been driving daily in Rome ever since. Never even heard of this rule, let alone does anyone adhere to it in the eternal city.

[Littlepeahead]

Ride Mag did a useful article a little while back about all the regulations for riding into Europe. Not sure if I've still got it, someone else on here may do.

[Runako]

Dude, what Phil didn't mention is that we rode for Miles in France in a group of 10 and none of us had them on. If this is your biggest worry on your trip, then there's nothing to worry about. As LP said, its more of an excuse to tot up a fine for doing something "really realy" wrong. I had my bike seized for speeding, and left my helmet with them. They were not bothered about the helmet stickers in the least.

[Fen Tiger]

I went through the same debate two years ago when the law came in. I ended up getting some and sticking them on for peace of mind. They looked ok except that I could not get the sticker on the chin bar to lay completely flat due to the double curve.
It is difficult to argue that they are not a good safety feature if you were to ride at night but where do you draw the line? I think is a bit too much. Better to have all helmets sold new fitted with the reflective and exempt tourists.
I was happy to think that if I had been stopped I could show that I had made some effort. Others I was with either did not bother or stuck them over some gaffer tape to get them off easily. Same as running a loud can or small plate, if you are willing to take it on the chin and pay any fines imposed then that is a personal choice. If you know the legislation is in force it is no use moaning about the penalty if you chose to ignore. I imagine it is rare to be fined for this offence but France tends to run campaigns and targeted checks on the routes towards the channel ports so it a bit like running the gauntlet.

[nigel]

I have been living here in France for 12 years , never had a helmet sticker yet, i have bought new helmets here and they put the stickers in the box for you to put on yet I have never come across anyone that does. I have also been stopped by the fuzz on a number of occasions for various reasons and they have never queried the lack of stickers.

[Bibio]

i had a dig around the net regarding this and found information on the Brittany-Ferry website.

''If your helmet and clothing were bought in an EU country and conform to the regulations where bought, you do not need to wear reflective strips. However, if you buy your helmet and clothing in France, you will need to wear the strips. If you need to wear spectacles for riding, you will need to carry a spare pair with you or you will face a fine'' http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/motorbike-touring/france

[Fen Tiger]

The goalposts for France seem to change constantly as they make legislative efforts to reduce the fatality rates. This year one of the new laws is that motorcyclists need to carry a reflective vest to put on in the event of a breakdown.

They have been removing warning signs at fixed speed camera sites and placing cameras out of view etc. The French are now playing "hardball" on speeding. How the pendulum swings! A few years ago if you stuck to the limit in France you were seen as a mobile chicane! Every red blooded driver saw it as a rite of passage to drive as fast as possible, everywhere. Not like that now. Traffic calming in villages and towns has made the urban landscape a homogenous Brussels bumpiness. Roundabouts too.

The huge benefit is that there is no doubt it is safer to ride in France than ever. Just not as high octane as it was. There are still plenty of fantastic twisty mountain roads to test the rider and put a smile on the face. Coupled with that the campsites are plentiful and good, the scenery is outstanding and in general they love bikes much more than in the UK. Genuine welcomes from grateful businesses and friendly locals.

[fchat63]

Didn’t see any helmet stickers last year riding through France to Italy, had a spare pair of glasses and the high vis, breathalyser, bulbs and stuck mainly to the speed limits.
Drivers seemed to be more considerate actually moving over to let us through and the pace was around 80mph fairly constantly.
We were on the main roads so suffered the tolls but can’t say enough about how good the roads were compared to the bone jarring, pot hole dodging we suffer over here.
Didn’t have any trouble with the gendarmerie, in fact hardly saw them.
Left Tunbridge Wells, Kent early Saturday morning landed in France 8.00am and finished north of Lyon at Chalon Sur Saone, Sunday through the Mount Blanc tunnel and stayed near Genoa and on Monday got to our destination 50ish mile north of Rome at my uncles small farm near Civita Castellana.
Nice.
Ride back was pretty good too.