CTR

I need to go to France on business, and as I dont fly, I am considering driving. Whats driving like in France, any reasons why not to.

TopBanana

It's fine. Phone your insurance company and make sure you're covered. You'll need a green card from your insurers as proof of insurance

mr flibble

easy enough, just don't drive like you don't know where you are going, be confident it helps!

take enough cash for the tolls!

M.

scooby-new

Driving in France is just like driving anywhere else- just a few things to watch out for:

Priorite a droite- basically give way to traffic coming from the right (usually doesn't apply anymore unless posted.....theoretically, in practice just assume that everyone, everywhere will pull out on you and you won't be far wrong on that one)

Speed limits vary on the Autoroute depending on weather-(officially the speed limit varies from 130KPH down to 50KPH in fog- in practice just drive as fast as you feel safe to do then add another 40KPH!)

They do however seem to practice lane discipline on the Autoroute unlike the UK which was populated by morons who like to create mini traffic jams around them as they hog the middle lane at 70MPH!)

Just stay alert and remember the drink drive limit is 50MG not 80MG in the UK and you'll be fine.

Bajie

And add another 60minutes to your return journey to allow for the customs officials to rape your car and check your socks for drugs

CTR

Thanks.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

My insurance company now issues me with a year long green card without me asking for it. I'm told that it's no longer compulsary anyway.
Tolls on the autoroutes can be paid with a credit card, easier than fumbling for change, unless you have a passenger.
Not all autoroutes are pay, some are free.
Priorite a droite only really exists in some towns now. Main roads have priority, as shown by the yellow diamond. When you see it crossed through, then you need to be more careful, and expect the other guy to go--after all, it's his priority then.
I LOVE driving over there. Much less traffic, cheaper fuel, very cheap diesel, good motorway services, excellent little cafe/restaurants on main roads, quiet little towns, varied scenery, better designed road junctions etc etc.
Do it. You'll enjoy it.
>>>>
One point to beware of if you've never been: Off the motorways, the road signs point AT THE ROAD YOU WANT TO GO DOWN, not in the direction you're going to go, if that makes sense?
Basically, if you're at a 4 way junction, and you need to go straight on to say "Calais", the road sign will be NEXT to the road you want, pointing AT the road, not DOWN it. Trips up people before they get used to it.

Oh, and one other thing. The time you'll make a mistake with driving on the wrong side of the road, is when you set off from a night's stop, not when you first get there. Be aware when leaving petrol stations etc too.
Alcazar

super_si

Brilliant, no one use the toll roads, we did 120+ for well over 3 hours going deep into france

CTR

Alcazar, I think I get what you mean, if you were going straight ahead, and say the sign pointing to the road was on the left of the road, the sign would actually be pointing to the right.

How much are the toll roads?

120, is that km/h or mph, what happens if you get caught, and are there many speed traps in France.

super_si

mph, it was 4-5yrs ago now.

quite good 2 weeks, went through 200 bottles beer, 17 bottle wine and 3 bottle whiskey between 3 of us

Si

Philip Attaway

I would watch out on the motorways if it is raining very hard.

They are so smooth compared to ours that you get massive amounts of spray from other vehicles, far more than in Britain.

You also get rivers of water running accross them in bad weather which I was luckily enough to aqua-plane on and write my car off last August

Not fun having a smack in another country

Phil

MarkCSC

Have you considered the train? The TGV's are fast and reliable. I went from Waterloo to Angouleme over Christmas and it only cost £120 return.

Bajie

I got that a couple of weeks ago, without the write-off bit.
There are no cats eyes on the way to Breda either

Philip Attaway

My old scoob





It was a good excuse to order a STi8 though

Phil

CTR

Bloody hell, not nice. Hope you enjoy your new car though.

Think there is likely to be plenty of rain at this time of year, and with no cats eyes, hmmm...

Mark,
Yeah, Im also considering going by train. Went to Marseille by TGV, very nice, and fast!


[Edited by CTR - 1/9/2003 2:26:59 PM]

Bajie

At least you didn't crease your shirt ...

Claudius

The motorways in France are the best in the world: new smooth tarmac everywhere, three lanes, etc. You get what you pay for.

Speed limit is 130 km/h, nobody will stop you under 150km/h.

You can pay any toll with a CC.

Speed limit is 110 km/h when it rains, but they dont measure your speed when it rains, ever. Rain = no speed limit

They dont normally search your car unless the dog smells something.

Watch out for the roundabouts, take them the right way around: a lot of accidents happen with English tourists after they've had a drink or two and take the roundabout the wrong way around!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Difficult to say with tolls. I seem to remember that Paris is a total of about £8, but stand to be corrected.
Cat's eyes. There are none as such, but there are reflective markers. They just don't work in the same way as ours, more like those reflectors you get on kids bikes.
Eorostar to Lille, and change to TGV to almost anywhere else is a good bet too. Or Eurostar all the way to Paris.
Think of the Booze you can bring back in your car though:
Yes, you've got the idea on the road signs. Once you've seen one doing it, it's easy.
Roundabouts: it feels odd going round anti-clockwide the first two or three times, but it is quite difficult to get it wrong, as the road leads you in at the right angle not to go wrong.
Take care though at roundabouts, they're all posted as "you do not have priority" as you approach, but some of the French don't care:
Alcazar
PS: If you do decide to go by car, mail me or put a thread on here. I can do you a route that even my wife can follow and understand.:

Claudius

French people do NOT respect the priority on roundabouts, absolutely! Watch out!

Some are right priority as well: the ones with the round blue sign inside the roundabout, with three little white arrows on it. That means you, entering the roundabout, have priority. That is used for small roundabouts in towns or on some small B roads.

STi-Frenchie

Be careful with speed - the gendarmes are cracking down like mad on speeding at the moment following a recent spate of deaths due to speeding/wreckless driving.

CTR

Thanks for all the replies.

Feels like I have to learn to drive all over again!

Alcazar, thanks for the offer, I will let you know if I need a map.

Philip Attaway

I did have 1500 miles of great motoring (mostly non motorway) in France before this happened though so don't be too put off!

France does have some great roads

Phil

edit : Thanks Bajie....that joke was mentione back in August

[Edited by Philip Attaway - 1/9/2003 2:32:49 PM]