Any advice/ reassurance for driving abroad?

[Starryeyed2021]

Hi all;
due to a sudden change of circumstances; in order not to cancel our holiday either I have to be the one to drive for our roadtiep or cancel as my husband no longer can drive l.

we will get off ferry at Calais and drive to Belgium - I’ve never driven abroad , but I am a driver of 15 year experienced here big cities motorway etc etc

any advice or reassurance? Feeling nervous but don’t want to cancel kids holidays

You will be fine! Roads are generally quieter than here and you are in your own car, which to me is easier than a hire car you aren't familiar with. I can't think of particular tips but I have always enjoyed driving abroad and was very nervous the first time too, but there's nothing to it really. I don't think it's hard staying on the right as you just do what everyone else is doing.

The only slightly tricky thing I have found is roundabouts and feel I do them quite badly on the continent in terms of positioning, but just use mirrors loads and indicate and it's fine. Also, converting the speed limits from km to miles, but I get the dc to do that.

Enjoy it!

Take care turning off a main road onto a side road when it's quiet and there are no other cars around to remind you to drive on the right!
It's very easy to turn and automatically head for the left lane.
A post it note on the windscreen just near the bottom saying "drive on right!" helped me 😂

The French still have priorité à droite at unmarked junctions, mostly in villages and residential streets - you give way to traffic coming from the right, so a bit like roundabouts. I've never found it an issue, though I have seen a French driver get it very wrong. Signage is usually pretty good though the French do tend to ignore that Belgium is just up the road a few kilometres - so a sign will point you in the direction of a small French hamlet on the border but not the big Belgium town just over it.

In Belgium you give way to pedestrians crossing the entrance and exit of roundabouts. I've scared the bejeezuz out of one when just off the ferry. And Belgium is a country of two languages French and Dutch and not all road signs are dual language - Ypres/Ieper and Liege/Luik being two examples - which can get confusing and how we ended up in Brussels. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

If you haven't already, make sure that;

• you have your full safety kit, which will include a UK sticker (no longer a GB one), high viz jackets for all those in the car (not just the driver), a safety triangle, spare light bulbs - Halfords sell these as a kit, or can tell you which items are compulsory or simply recommended
• you have applied for your Crit'air sticker, for France:
• https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/law-change-for-uk-drivers-in-french-cities/

I don't know what is needed, if anything, specifically for Belgium.

Roads in France are generally quieter than here, and signposting is pretty good. If you're driving into/out of a town, look for the 'toutes directions' signs, and that will navigate you away from the city/town centre.

Most towns have pretty good bypass systems anyway.

Be careful about speed limits; in France (no idea about Belgium) there are different speed limits for different weather conditions, usually when it's wet/raining. French traffic police can be very vigilant and will escort you to the nearest cash point if you don't have enough cash to pay the fine immediately!

On the motorways there are tolls, and you can either pay by card or with cash; they're usually unmanned, so make sure you drive into the right lane - you'll see illuminated signs above each one to let you know if it's cash or card.

Once you get used to driving on the other side of the road, which is usually straightforward because you'll be with other cars/traffic, it's honestly not that difficult or different.

Road signs that you might want to read about:

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-in-europe/guide-to-french-road-signs-useful-phrases-for-your-road-trip/