French Motorway Tolls on a Motorcycle

As the opportunity to tour Europe on a motorcycle is once again a reality, it was time to check the information we originally posted a couple of years ago about French Motorway Tolls and how the Peage system works if you are on a motorcycle.

French Motorway Tolls

The first question most people ask is, what are you doing on a French Motorway when there are more exciting roads to ride? The simple answer is the size of France. Sometimes, if you want to get to a specific part of France or across Europe, the only way to do it efficiently is to nut up and do the boring motorway miles.

Whereas motorways in many other parts of Europe are free, France requires you to pay for the privilege. For your money, you will find fast, smooth roads that let you burn through the miles and get you where you are going.

As a motorcycle, motorcycle with a sidecar or a trike, the French motorway system defines you as a class 5 vehicle, and you pay a significantly reduced fee compared to cars.

For example, travelling the length of France, Calais to Spain costs 58 Euros for a motorcycle and 96 Euros for a car. (Or it did when I originally wrote this).

Pay Booth – Peage

The simplest way to pay the French Motorway Tolls on a motorcycle is to use the toll booths, especially the ones with a human operator. There can be little doubt that you are riding a motorcycle if you are paying a person rather than relying on technology.

The automatic booths (“Automatique”) rely on sensors in the lane detecting you are a motorcycle, and the chances of a mistake being made are high.

If the Gallic driver behind you is too close or other riders in the group arrive at the barrier with you, the sensors can be fooled into thinking you are a car. At this point, assuming you know what the fee should be, you either start a debate in your best school French – assuming someone answers the intercom – or suck it up and move on.

If you are using the automatic lanes, approach the barrier one at a time and leave a three or four-metre gap between the rider at the barrier and the rest of the pack.

You should also ride in the middle of the lane, avoiding the temptation to park close to the payment machine. It is a pain, as it typically means getting off the bike to pay.

When approaching the Peage, check the signs over each lane to see which ones are open and if there is a specific motorcycle lane. Pont de Tancarville and the Pont de Normandie have specific motorbike lanes that must be used, regardless of how careful your use of the automatic lanes will be.

In short, the automatic technology is not designed for motorcycles. Go manual and aim for a lane with someone in the pay booth. Paying by credit card or cash is easy when you are dealing with a human.

Telepeage Toll Tag

The other option for paying the French and some other European motorway tolls is the Telepeage tag. This is a little device that connects to an online account you create, through which it takes care of payments.

Bearing in mind all of the caveats about lane positioning etc., the concept is that you don’t need to stop, and it should speed you past the toll queues when the motorway is busy.

If the wrong amount is charged to your online account, you can request an adjustment, BUT you must have used the non-height restricted Liber-t lane.

If you use any of the other automatic lanes, you will be charged as a class 1 vehicle (car) with no option to appeal the charge.  

Getting a Tag

A UK-based company, Emovis Tag UK Ltd, based in Harrogate in Yorkshire, supplies the tags. They are part of a wider company that does this for most of Europe.

But here is the rub … It will cost around £25 to get set up with a tag, and you still pay the same tolls. Tag users don’t get a discount; it just lets you ride through without having to pay there and then.

Next comes the question of where to stick your tag. The tags are designed to be stuck to a car windscreen. The sticky side is the side that talks to the Peage (motorway toll) system and needs to face up.  If you attach the tag facedown, chances are it won’t work.

Even Libre-t, the company that makes the tags suggest that motorcyclists don’t use the automated lanes. Instead, they suggest you hand your tag to the operator in a manned lane.

At this point, I gave up on the idea of a tag. If I need to hand it to a person, I may as well use a credit card or cash and put the setup fee towards the cost of the tolls.

Speed Cameras

Within 10 kilometres of a TelePeage, finding speed cameras in operation is common. The idea is that the Police don’t have to chase you as you have to stop for the Peage.

In France, any kind of speed camera warning device, even the one built into your GPS, is illegal, and typically you’ll find your GPS’ won’t report their presence. If you are using an Android phone, you might want to investigate a copy of CamSam, which appears to have no geographic limitations, but still carries a fine if you get caught using it.

If you plan to cover distances quickly on the French Motorway network, it is worth knowing where the Peage stations are.

The other place you find speed traps is on the approach to motorway services. If you get caught speeding, the first you may know is when you are ushered into the services by the chase car and taken to the cash machine.

Speed cameras are also a common occurrence, and it is likely these days that the bill will land on your doormat a few weeks after you return.

It may all have changed with BREXIT, but I have had the joy of a letter from France suggesting I send them 40 euros and in exchange, they would forget about my indiscretion.