Driving in France-Tips and advice please!

[NeedCoffee]

We're travelling on a ferry to Belgium then to France next weekend, I know we need to get the headlamp convertors( unless I'm able to find out if a Xsara Picasso can be converted by a button?!) and a GB sticker, plus the hi vis jacket and warning triangle but we're debating whether to increase our insurance to fully comp and get EU breakdown cover..

Any advice?

E111s still take a week to come through when done online.

If you have applied for EHIC cards but they don't arrive before you go, there is a phone number you can ring if you have a medical emergency abroad - it begins 0191, will have a look in a sec.

ha - just found it - have it under NHS EHIC on my mob

0191 218 1999

if you ever have a medical crisis & can't find your EHIC card, ring this number & they will deal with European doctor/hospital/whatever

NeedCoffee - never thought of the masking tape option , I'm a sucker and have bought these although our chances of driving at night are v. slim.

Orienteer-I've seen them but they're soooo expensive! Will buy them if I really have to.

Can't find mine or DDs NHS card but found DD1s.

Am getting panicky now, wish we where flying!

\link{http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=21133\Honest John thread about deflectors}

ask your main dealer where to stick tape???

needcoffee, ring your HC if you can't find your NHS cards & ask them for your NHS numbers.

Then ring the EHIC phone number to register.

Then make a note of the phone number I posted earlier, & you should be OK if you do need emergency medical care over there

Will see if I can find a dealer tomorrow then, and will put that number in my mob, thanks :)

We have been driving to uk for nearly 18 years with our german or swiss cars and have never had the sticky tape things on.

No one has ever asked us about it.

I'm with MmeL - I think the headlight sticker thing is a sales ploy by AA/RAC at UK ports!

....No one tries to sell you stickers in Calais when you are heading for UK........................

to be fair, if you do drive in the dark across the channel from where you live (either way) then your headlights will bother drivers on the other side, obviously - because they are shining on to the other side of the road & into the eyes of drivers of oncoming traffic.

up to you (& possibly the foreign police) whether that's important or not

Said-Which bank are you with? Cheapest I've found so far is £29 which isn't too bad (for 5 days) but free would be better!

It seems the French police are very hot on dishing out fines so want to try and get everything right as I don't want to be paying any.

Barclays. It's not "free" of course but part of my current account anyway.

Ah right, was just wondering as I get UK road assistance and wondered about upgrading my account but couldn't find EU cover anywhere on mine-Lloyds.

We bought a hi-vis jacket before we went. But then on our journey south, at one of the toll stations, there was someone giving out goodie bags to every car - the contents included:

• a can of red bull,
• some gaffer tape (plus a leaflet "101 uses for...")
• and a perfectly good hi-vis vest!!

Dunno how common this is though. We were travelling on the first weekend in August, along with the rest of the population - or so it seemed!

Oh yes, the French overtake different to us on motorways. They go right up behind the vehicle they want to overtake, dart out, go round then go straight back in again.

Just returned from Normandy and there were a couple of queues at peages (near Boulogne on return and near Abbeville I think both ways) and but tbh I'm not sure the telepeage would have saved that much time as the queues pretty much blocked up the access. Allow time to go through customs at Calais - last 2 years it has taken 20 minutes to be processed. Agree about petrol from supermarkets - we saw a 25c per litre difference on unleaded.

Does anyone know about speeding? Think dh may have triggered a static camera and wondered if they would trace the car and send tickets abroad - if so how long to wait and how much.

LIZS-Think OH may have done too as we where getting confused with the KM and MPH difference. Anyway-He seems to think that they don't bother sending tickets abroad, not sure though.

Anyway, we are back with no problems really apart from setting a radioactive alarm off when we got back to Hull somehow and was kept for an hour whilst they checked the car out.