Page 3 | Driving to France on Monday Hints and tips please

Sugarsugarahhoneyhoney · 2024-08-07T14:19:41+00:00

As the title says we are driving to France on Monday for 3 weeks, I have never driven abroad before is it really hard? Does anyone have any tips?

Chewbecca · 08/08/2024 22:16

Be aware they're getting rid of the toll booths and moving to 'pay on line within xxhrs' (like the Dartford crossing) which is a pain if you don't have the bipper. The southern part of the motorway running from Calais to Paris has already been converted.

Champagnebar · 09/08/2024 14:18

LaChatte · 08/08/2024 21:18

You only need one hi-vis jacket (for the driver).

No - each passenger must have one too . If the car breaks down then you’re all getting out. www.leshuttle.com/uk-en/discover/traveller-guides/driving-in-france-for-new-drivers-and-first-time-travellers

LaChatte · 09/08/2024 14:36

Champagnebar · 09/08/2024 14:18

No - each passenger must have one too . If the car breaks down then you’re all getting out. www.leshuttle.com/uk-en/discover/traveller-guides/driving-in-france-for-new-drivers-and-first-time-travellers

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No, I checked on the French sécurité routière website, it's only compulsory for the driver (but it's safer to have one for everyone and they're pretty cheap).

SweetChilliGirl · 09/08/2024 14:46

samarrange · 08/08/2024 11:29

Remember to drive on the right. This may seem obvious, but it's easy to forget, especially when coming out of a petrol station or car park or side road with no other cars visible.

In the mid-60s my Mum had an accident in our road when someone who had just spent 6 weeks in France came round a corner on the wrong side of the road. He had just got completely used to being on the right.

We used to spend a lot of time driving between Europe and the UK. We developed a routine: Whenever moving off, the front-seat passenger (and sometimes DC) would say "Drive on the..." and the driver had to answer "right" (or left, if we were in the UK).

If you are not in a hurry, avoid the motorways, which are expensive and boring.

Everywhere in France has cheap motels (where you can check in at 11pm at a machine) and a McDonald's on the edge of town. The French absolutely love "McDo". Even if you never eat there, it's a good place to pull over, grab a coffee, and use the loo. Buffalo Grill is a super-cheap chain for steak and chips.

Edited

We do similar - every time we start driving in mainland Europe everyone in the van says "We drive on the RIGHT". And for the first few days back home we chorus "We drive on the LEFT". Sounds silly but really helps to focus us

user1473069303 · 09/08/2024 14:57

There are also unmarked 'speed camera cars' in circulation, so be careful.

Labtastic · 09/08/2024 16:50

Sleeplessnightsandlongdays · 08/08/2024 12:55

The also drive appalling compared to UK roads… to overtake its right at the last minute when they are practically drive bumper to bumper with you….Also it’s common if someone wants to come past you( saw you are in the fast lane) for them to drive literally as close as they can get and flash you till you move over.

also went coming onto a motorway from a road , Aire etc no one gives way like they do here… it’s a free for all and hope for the best.

There's no such thing as a fast lane, either in France or here. The French are much better at using the lanes as they're meant to be used than UK drivers are - for overtaking only. If you're pootling along in the "fast" lane, I'm not surprised there's someone right on your bumper getting annoyed with you.

I can't bear the drive off the eurotunnel at the UK end when I'm back in the land of middle lane hoggers and "fast lane" drivers.

The French are much better motorway drivers than us.

jaimelesoleil · 09/08/2024 16:55

samarrange · 08/08/2024 13:39

Don't worry too much about he kit you're meant to have. Yes, legally, you need a hi-vis jacket for everyone, and a warning triangle, and a fire extinguisher. But the number of fines issued for this annually is pretty much zero.

There used to be (he may still be there) a big scary cardboard cutout gendarme inside the terminal at Folkestone with a list of things that you had to buy now (at 5x French shop prices) or risk deportation and having your car crushed, or something. The French police have an awful lot of better things to do than pick on UK holidaymakers.

Something you can maybe get the kids involved with is spotting speed camera (it's "le radar" in French) warning signs, and then the actual camera as you go past. The signs and the cameras are mostly pretty big and visible. The camera is generally about a kilometre after the sign, but there are sneaky stretches where they say "cameras for the next 15km" (even though there's only one).

At this time of the year, watch out for scams if you stop on the motorway. Someone may approach the car gesturing that your car (or perhaps theirs) has a problem. Either ignore them, or if you want to interact with them, assume that an accomplice may be looking to take advantage of your distraction to steal things from the car. So lock all the doors, and then just the driver gets out.

Use WAZE app for directions and you don't need to spot speed cameras.

jaimelesoleil · 09/08/2024 17:02

You do not need breathalysers in the car and driving is pretty straight forward, but motorway driving seem a bit more aggressive than in the UK. We tend to use péage roads as quieter and in general better quality.
Please be aware that in French villages and smaller town, the shops tend to be closed on a Monday.
Cities to have a ULEZ type of system, so if you're planning to drive in to city centres you need to check on this. You will be ok as long as you can show that you have applied.
The supermarkets are fabulous!

notimagain · 09/08/2024 17:14

Cities to have a ULEZ type of system, so if you're planning to drive in to city centers you need to check on this.….

Not just the centers - there are some cities (well at least one) where parts of the rocade/peripherique actually lie inside the ULEZ.

For info/as a heads up the peripherique on the western side of Toulouse is one of the gotcha’s but I’m not sure how well the rules are actually being enforced there ATM.

For those headed for that part of the world there’s a map here:

media.roole.fr/transition/territoires/la-zfe-de-toulouse-que-faut-il-savoir

Sleeplessnightsandlongdays · 10/08/2024 08:27

Labtastic · 09/08/2024 16:50

There's no such thing as a fast lane, either in France or here. The French are much better at using the lanes as they're meant to be used than UK drivers are - for overtaking only. If you're pootling along in the "fast" lane, I'm not surprised there's someone right on your bumper getting annoyed with you.

I can't bear the drive off the eurotunnel at the UK end when I'm back in the land of middle lane hoggers and "fast lane" drivers.

The French are much better motorway drivers than us.

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https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200701-study-says-french-drivers-still-among-eu-worst-alongside-greeks-traffic-road-accidents

Stats say alongside the Greek they are the worst in Europe!

notimagain · 10/08/2024 08:42

There’s another more recent take on it in the article below.

As the article points out you can quickly get into apple vs oranges if you try comparing with other countries because, for example, of the amount of driving done on sometimes very unforgiving rural roads and of course things like numbers being caught “over the limit” depend on the limit…

We’re down south and IMHO the standard of driving is generally pretty good, but you do need to be careful at night on the minor roads because the French don’t really do stuff like cats eyes or even regularly maintain the painted road edge/centre markings on the backroads.

https://www.connexionfrance.com/practical/driving-in-france-why-are-the-roads-more-deadly-than-in-the-uk/653434

MiseryIn · 10/08/2024 08:58

Do you still need to have the breathalyser in the car for France?

I thought it was

Hi viz
Breathalyser
First aid kit
Warning triangle

Don't think fire extinguisher anymore.

We do drive a lot in Belgium and Germany too so I might be getting confused.

outdamnedspots · 10/08/2024 10:22

Check the rules for driving in France - you will need hi-viz jackets, breathalysers etc.

do you need stickers to redirect your headlight beams?

We find it's much easier to hire a car in France so the driver is on the left. Makes it easier to see at junctions etc.

forcliffssake · 10/08/2024 11:19

If driving near a city you need a crit'air sticker. If you order online then even if it doesn't arrive on time before you go, you can screenshot the screen to show you've paid and if you are stopped then they will accept it

notimagain · 10/08/2024 13:42

@MiseryIn @outdamnedspots

You no longer need to carry a breathalyzer…the law on that was changed several years ago…from the French government source in the link:

”Est-il obligatoire d'avoir un éthylotest dans sa voiture ?
Non. Depuis le 22 mai 2020 il n'est pas obligatoire de posséder un éthylotest dans son véhicule.”

https://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/les-medias/les-faq/faq/est-il-obligatoire-davoir-un-ethylotest-dans-sa-voiture

Est-il obligatoire d'avoir un éthylotest dans sa voiture ?

https://www.securite-routiere.gouv.fr/les-medias/les-faq/faq/est-il-obligatoire-davoir-un-ethylotest-dans-sa-voiture

Witsend101 · 10/08/2024 13:55

To help with remembering to drive on the right we got a driveright windscreen sticker

www.halfords.com/motoring/travel-accessories/travel-equipment/driveright-lane-safety-device-138860.html

Witsend101 · 10/08/2024 14:00

Also I wouldn't bother trying to stop at any Aires between Noon and 2pm as the masses stop for lunch.

stripeymonster · 10/08/2024 23:02

Definitely check what your European breakdown cover includes. Currently having to fly home and leave car in a garage to be repaired when they have the parts and time to fix it. Cover we have is with Green Flag and it has not been great so far. Took us 8 hours to be delivered back to where we were staying after breakdown and the garage they are insisting on using doesn't have the best reviews.