Mad summer speeding in France

This weekend in France is expected to be another busy one on the country's motorways as Aoûtiens, those who traditionally take their summer holidays in August, make their way back home.

Bumper-to-bumper tailbacks are forecast and it's unlikely that many motorists will have the chance to break the speed limit - even if tempted.

That hasn't been the case throughout the summer of course, and there have been two recent stories of the madness that seems to strike many once they get control of a vehicle.

They're not related, apart from the fact that they both took place here in France, and have to do with speeding.

Actually, maybe that's an understatement. Lunacy and wilful disregard for other road users might be better terms.

The first concerns a Belgian motorist who clocked up a whopping 245 km/h (or 152 miles per hour in "old money") on a stretch of the A39 motorway in the department of Saône-et-Loire.

The limit is 130 kilometres (or 80 miles) per hour, and the speed set by the 44-year-old trader was "a record" on that particular portion of the motorway according to local police.

His driver's licence was immediately withdrawn, the car immobilised and he had to stump up an on-the-spot €750 fine before being allowed to continue the rest of his journey...in a taxi.

He'll get his time in court though to explain exactly why he was travelling quite so fast.

Perhaps it had something to do with the make of car, which (surprise surprise) was a Ferrari.

Boys and their toys huh?

The second story of mad summer speeding took place further north in the nation's capital.

It was on the Boulevard Péripherique to be precise, the often delightfully congested ring road around Paris, where the maximum speed limit is 80 kilometres (around 50 miles) per hour and when the traffic is free flowing, the urge to give gas proves a little too tempting for some.

And that in spite of the strategically placed fixed radars.

This time around the speeding culprit was on two wheels rather than four.

Anyone who has the displeasure or misfortune of regularly travelling on the péripherique during rush hour will know that the habit of many motorcyclists is to "create their own extra lane" as they overtake virtually stationary cars stuck behind one another.

Motorists who fail to check their wing and rear view mirrors regularly, can often find themselves "cutting up" a motorbike as they attempt to change lanes.

Anyway this particular speeding infraction clearly didn't occur during peak traffic hours as the motorcyclist managed to notch up the fastest registered speed on the péripherique since 2004.

He reached a maximum of 190 kilometres (118 miles) per hour as the police gave chase.

A record to be proud of indeed and one which will also undoubtedly result in a driving ban when he appears in court charged with (among other things) "deliberately putting the lives of others in danger".

Because when finally intercepted by the police, it was discovered that not only had he speeding (obviously) but that he also had his arm in a plaster cast!

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