Driving in France checklist

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Sat 12 May 2012 15:26
Driving in France checklist - Bobbin Threadbare

This summer I'm hoping to take my car on one last long trip before I change it for something else. We're looking to drive into France and I have read all the threads about what is now law etc and all the bits and bobs I will need to have with me. This info has been somewhat bitty so I've made a list. Have I missed anything? I have never driven in France before.....

1. Driving licence (both bits)

2. V5, MOT cert and insurance docs

3. Hi-viz vest for everyone in the car

4. GB sticker (my number plate is not an EU type one)

5. Some stickers to get my headlights to shine the other way

6. Warning triangle

7. I can't have a satnav that tells me where cameras are (car doesn't have this anyway - I use my mobile as a navigation tool)

I am under the impression that I should carry spare bits of kit (bulbs) and first aid stuff (which you'd have anyway) but I don't think that's law in France.

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Sat 12 May 2012 15:37
Driving in France checklist - bathtub tom

Breathalyser.

You don't say when you're going and I can't recall when they become necessary, but as someone's pointed out you may need two, because if you use one then you haven't got one!

I think France requires you to carry spare bulbs (even though it's a garage job to change them on some French cars).

It may be a good idea to hang at least the driver's hi-vis on the seat as at least one European country require you to exit the car wearing it.

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Sat 12 May 2012 16:07
Driving in France checklist - bonzo dog

Same as any holiday abroad:-

  1. Return Ferry Ticket
  2. Passport
  3. Shorts
  4. Beer Vouchers!

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Sat 12 May 2012 16:25
Driving in France checklist - Bobbin Threadbare

I knew there was something important! Thanks Tom. I googled the breathalyser and it's law from July 1st 2012. So I will need some of those.

Bonzo - beer vouchers are sorted, courtesy of the non-driver coming with me..... :-))

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Sat 12 May 2012 18:03
Driving in France checklist - jc2

Bulb kit is only a recommendation-not law.You're not supposed to drive with a bulb out but that's UK law as well.

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Sat 12 May 2012 19:00
Driving in France checklist - Tonto1

According to one source: 'A fire extinguisher and first aid kit could also be required in the case of an emergency so not to fall foul of a law about assisting in the event of an accident.'

I would have to say that I've been well and truly put off driving in France - all getting overly complex. Unsure as to how true the stories actually are, but recall plenty of horror stories about the Gendarmes lining up on the exits from ports, regarding British motorists as cash cows.




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Sat 12 May 2012 19:16
Driving in France checklist - Bromptonaut

Unsure as to how true the stories actually are, but recall plenty of horror stories about the Gendarmes lining up on the exits from ports, regarding British motorists as cash cows.

Nothing in those stories IMHO.

I must have been to France 20 times in the last 13 years and I've rarely seen any official at the port never mind a Gendarme stopping motorists. Neither have I ever been stopped at the roadside in 30k or so miles over there. I have been waved on at checkpoints as soon as te RHD/UK plate was spotted - more interested in checking home grown docs.

Do carry the requisite docs and take trouble to fit beam deflectors. Carry a spare bulb kit anyway, fortunately both our cars have then reasonably well sorted for replacemt at the roadside.

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Sat 12 May 2012 19:46
Driving in France checklist - colinh

Been stopped on the road by customs twice out of last four visits to France, albeit with Spanish number plates, once at the first toll booth coming South from Calais, and the other after crossing the Pyrenees. Given that Spain, France & UK are in the EU, not too sure what they were looking for.

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Sat 12 May 2012 21:46
Driving in France checklist - focussed

1. Driving licence (both bits)-les flics don't know what the paper counterpart is for or what to do with it.

2. V5, MOT cert and insurance docs - Origonals not copies

3. Hi-viz vest for everyone in the car - Kept inside the car, not in the boot-important!

4. GB sticker (my number plate is not an EU type one) - yes

5. Some stickers to get my headlights to shine the other way. - yes

6. Warning triangle - yes

7. I can't have a satnav that tells me where cameras are (car doesn't have this anyway - I use my mobile as a navigation tool)

- The sat nav thing is being widely ignored, gendarmes/police are NOT authorised to enter your car or mess with your sat nav, just say that you have not got speed camera POI's on your sat nav. However, the Douanes(the customs police) ARE authorised to search your car and your sat nav.

I am under the impression that I should carry spare bits of kit (bulbs) and first aid stuff (which you'd have anyway) but I don't think that's law in France. - correct

The breathalyser is mandatory from 1st June but les flics will not start dishing out fines until November 1st.

The main thing to remember is not to exceed the posted speed limits-there are fixed cameras, gendarmes hiding around corners with laser guns, unmarked cars with radar cameras everywhere on the main routes - there is very little tolerance over the limits from the police/gendames - it doesn't matter if you have a GB reg vehicle they will still pull you and if you don't have the money for the on the spot fine they will confiscate your licence/vehicle for a serious offence.

Don't tailgate like the French do-it's actually an offence believe it or not.

At the moment it's all about getting as much money from fines as possible.

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Sat 12 May 2012 23:26
Driving in France checklist - Bobbin Threadbare

Super. Thanks everyone.

I already carry bulbs and so on anyway so that's ok.

A lot of people's stories seem to be about the French trying to rake in cash for fines.....I must admit it's slightly off-putting for a first-time Continental driver. I have never driven on the wrong side of the road before either but I'm sure it won't take me long to get used to it.

Tail-gating should be an offence everywhere!! It's a pet hate of mine.

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Sun 13 May 2012 00:24
Driving in France checklist - bonzo dog

A lot of people's stories seem to be about the French trying to rake in cash for fines

Like Bromptonaut, I've been a few times (10 times in the past 20 years) on both motorcycle & car & never been stopped

I absolutely love it once I get out of port (Calais / Roscoff / St Malo / Le Havre) & I'm on un-pot-holed & smooth roads with as much traffic as you'd find on a minor B road at 6 o'clock on a Sunday morning. If you do encounter a slow moving vehicle they simply move out of your way & wave you past with a smile.

Of course there is a down side ......... you've gotta come back!!!!!!!

Have a great time & try the Buffalo Grills, they're great eating places

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Sun 13 May 2012 10:26
Driving in France checklist - a900ss

The breathalyser is mandatory from 1st June but les flics will not start dishing out fines until November 1st.

All good advice above but this law comes into effect 1st July not June.
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Sun 13 May 2012 10:54
Driving in France checklist - unthrottled

Watch out for day three complacency. At the end of day two, you become confidant that you've mastered driving on the wrong side of the road and on the third morning you get in the car and promptly drive off on the left! It's not a problem in town, but it is in rural areas!

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Sun 13 May 2012 15:15
Driving in France checklist - Armitage Shanks {p}

I totally agree with what unthrottled has said but would add that the "driving off on the wrong side of the road" can also occur when driving away from a rest stop of any length and is slightly more likely to be a problem on a normal road than on a dual carriageway - obviously!

I add that I have never yet seen plod checkpoints at the ferry/tunnel exits but there is always a first time!

There is a very good Total garage with cheap fuel and very good shop in the calais Eastern Industrial estate

Location N50.954803 E01.907878

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Sun 13 May 2012 11:58
Driving in France checklist - BigJohnD

RE: Hi-viz vest ("gilet").

We passed an accident (not too serious, a car in a ditch, and warning triangle some 100m in advance) and of course everyone was wearing their gilet. So everyone was easily seen in the fading light.

The down side is that's it's not easy to work out who's a policeman, paramedic or punter…

RE: Harrassment of GB plated cars.

In some 20 visits over the last decade, my experience has been the complete absence of French police.

However, the easy targets would be Brits racing north up the A26 or A16 to Dover at speeds well over the 130km/h speed limit.

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Sun 13 May 2012 14:18
Driving in France checklist - bintang
Drop into the nearest French newsagent (maison de presse) and get a copy of the French highway code, called the Code Rousseau. It is so clear and with such excellent diagrams that you don't need to know French to understand it.
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Sun 13 May 2012 16:03
Driving in France checklist - Bobbin Threadbare

Merci beaucoup. That's about it French-wise. I did a different language at school!

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Sun 13 May 2012 20:15
Driving in France checklist - carr

Whenever you pass the red bordered town signs the speed limit is 50 kph until the sign with the town name crossed out panel is passed, then it reverts to 90 kph unless otherwise indicated.

If oncoming cars are flashing you then expect a gendarme speed trap in the next 2 kilometers. On the spot fines can be expensive. Realistically, speed traps are all you need to worry about.

Generally the lower traffic volumes and excellent roads make France a good place to drive.

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Sun 13 May 2012 21:39
Driving in France checklist - Bilboman

One old chestnut which should not be overlooked: a spare clutch cable!! Invariably a different length for a RHD car and Murphy's Law means it will snap on you on a Sunday afternoon and when you finally find a garage, a RHD one will not be in stock for some days!

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Tue 15 May 2012 22:14
Driving in France checklist - Smileyman

Ah yes, clutch cable failure, I suffered this problem about 25 years ago, at St Quentin, well before the A26 was built. AA 5 Star were wonderful, we were taken to a local hotel and next morning to a garage where they welded the part .. the connector at the end of the cable had snapped so it was not fixing to the pedal.

I was in France last week, I saw breatherlizer kits for sale on the very nice Spirit of France - two per pack. I cannot recall the price.

As for French Police, I was stopped for speeding a couple of years ago, 150kph on the A26 returning home 100 miles from Calais, I feared I would be frog marched (sorry) to the nearest cash machine to empty my bank account, but no, I was fined approx €45 which I paid in cash on the spot (got a receipt of course) ... no points either.

Just remember the rule of the road at junctions is to give way to anything on your right, unless you are on a 'priority road' - a road with a yellow diamond signposted - so watch out in towns with side streets. It used to be the rule that traffic joining at a roundabout had priority too (it comes from the right) but nowadays this is not the case. Roundabouts have signs advising 'you do not have priority' on the roundabout sign post to remind all drivers. And, thankfully, they seem to have eradicated the 3 lane single carriageway roads as well as use white road paint these days (used to be yellow, to match their headlamps!)

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Wed 16 May 2012 14:57
Driving in France checklist - paul45

We drive regularly through France and I would echo most of the comments above.

One thing that is really worth investing in is the "Liber-T" tag system that is used on all the toll motorways. It's a similiar system to those on the Severn bridge and Dartford crossing in that you use the special "Liber-T" lanes which are usually on the left carriageway. We paid €30 for the tag (a one off cost) and you pay €5 for each month (that includes part month), whilst using it, as an admin cost.

We bought ours back in 2009, and linked it to a UK credit card account and so far so good it has worked for around 5 return trips (involving Calais to Beziers in the Languedoc), a journey of about 1300 miles in France.

The initial cost is quite a lot, and I'm sure it has gone up since 2009, but...the sheer joy of moving over to the left and sailing past the queues at the toll booths is worth every penny, although it probably justifies the cost in terms of saving fuel in the queues anyway.

Best of all though is watching the other motorway traffic think "look at those idiotic Brits not queuing up in the wrong lane, no way am I letting them into the queue", and then watching the toll barrier rise on the the empty lane and hearing the little beep coming from the tag, makes me cheer everytime, childish, but we're on holiday anyway !!

There is a English version of the website now - just google "Liber-T" and go to the UK site. It includes a UK help-line too.

I would also echo the comment about setting off on the wrong side in rural areas, done it once and thought - why is that tractor on my side of the road.?? Tom-Tom has a reminder when in France telling you to drive on the right every time you turn it on which has helped me from making this mistake since.

Finally - I would say enjoy driving through France, the roads are in the main way better than ours with 50% of the traffic, with virtually no police and with the exception of tailgating or "please move out of my way I want to overtake you" the discipline is OK. Plus you can bring back plenty of great wine !!

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Wed 16 May 2012 18:53
Driving in France checklist - veryoldbear

Also, if you are driving a diesel, wait until you get the other side before filling up. Last week I got diesel at Euros 1.39 at the Ouistreham Esso Station ...

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Wed 16 May 2012 18:57
Driving in France checklist - unthrottled

Sadly, Bobbin's runs on essence which, if I recall, is even more expensive in France than it is in Blighty.

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Wed 16 May 2012 21:33
Driving in France checklist - Armitage Shanks {p}

Prices on 19th April here



http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/fuel_prices_europe.html



Edited by Avant on 17/05/2012 at 01:44

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