[Closed] Driving abroad?

Hi viz tops for everyone one in the vehicle.

Hi viz top, spare bulbs, warning triangle, copies of all your documents, bulb converters.

You need country of origin sticker, a high viz jacket, a spare set of bulbs, warning triangle, and the ability to drive 3 ft from the car in front at about 90mph whilst smoking a gauloise and gesticulating wildly at everybody to get out of your way. Oh and don't forget to flash your high beam constantly and leave your indicators on whilst overtaking!!

i've often driven through france and had my UK car here in germany for almost a year. never had GB sticker and nor had the car GB/euro flag thing on plate.

nickjb - Member
bulb converters

Beam deflectors, surely? Not being pedantic, just wanted to clarify...

izakimak - Member

... and the ability to drive 3 ft from the car in front at about 90mph whilst smoking a gauloise and gesticulating wildly at everybody to get out of your way. Oh and don't forget to flash your high beam constantly and leave your indicators on whilst overtaking!!

izakimak, your experience of France is quite different from ours...

+ fire extinguisher.

If there's a stop sign, do actually really stop.

Cheers for the info, I take it the high viz vests are for the ferry crossing? I had thought of all the things mentioned apart from the high viz vests and bulb deflectors, relieved that I'm not as daft as I thought!

No, hi viz is for driving in France

Honestly, you need to wear a high viz when driving anywhere in france? I'v been to France on holiday before and don't recall drivers wearing high viz vests! Is this just for johnny foreigner?

http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2008/05/warning-triangl.html

LOL just need the high viz if you breakdown on the side of the road, makes you easier to see to other drivers.

V5, proof/document of insurance (shows you are covered for Europe etc), licence, NO Gatso camera detector OR even if you have it on your Tomtom. Take a foam can puncture repair kit. Its only 7quid - imagine you get two punctures...

izakimak - Member

leave your indicators on whilst overtaking!!

Why, oh why, isn't that the law in this country? As a side effect, it appears to cut down on the number of middle-lane hoggers.

Cool, thanks again for all the info. I will retract my "not as daft as thought" comment due to the high viz stupidity! :oops:Ha ha

izakimak - you are confusing France and Belgium.

Also - I think the hi-viz tops have to be carried INSIDE the car, not in the boot.

DrJ - Member
izakimak - you are confusing France and Belgium.

Also - I think the hi-viz tops have to be carried INSIDE the car, not in the boot.

Always found Belgium to be a pretty safe place to drive as well.

Yes, I think hi-viz tops have to be inside the passenger compartment.

In fact, we always find the M3 - M25 - M26 - M20 drive to be the scary bits!

[i]Always found Belgium to be a pretty safe place to drive as well[/i]

Wish I could agree with you 🙁 I just drove from The Hague to Paris and back this weekend, and the worst stretch was, as always, through Belgium - random lane changes, excessive speed, tail-gating.

Experiences appear to vary, DrJ! Admittedly we found the Netherlands to be a bit hectic, although that was due to volume of traffic rather than specifically bad driving...

Holland is a bad place to drive for a number of reasons: Firstly the volume of traffic, secondly the way roads are laid out requiring you to quickly cross over a number of lanes to avoid being exited to East Hoofdorp or somewhere else that you don't want to be, and thirdly because the Dutch behave behind the wheel the way they behave everywhere else - selfish, stupid and pig-headed.

Belgium is (IME) a nightmare, but the food is better.

is a first aid kit not also required?

Since last year high viz vests need to be available in the car, not the boot, in case of breakdown. If you are stopped by the French police and they are not in the car then its a fine

Under 14s need to wear them at all times, at least thats what Kevin told the girls

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Tracey

sherry:
If you check out both the AA and RAC websites, they have a section on " Driving Abroad" and the specifics you'll need for each country.
The high viz vests were meant to come in last June or July, but as France ran out of vests, they delayed it until October. That didn't stop very 'enthusiastic' gendermerie stopping brits off the ferries and doing them for no vests late July/Aug last year despite the delay in the law.
I found out the afternoon before we sailed, so hurriedly got some, one per passenger, especially as reports from disgruntled brits appeared on AA/RAC websites....
Driving back to our ferry, saw a brit on the other lane wearing high viz vest. Saw the vest miles before you could even see the car or caravan, so perhaps they have a valid point!
cheers
Q

Hi-viz vests compulsory for teddy bears ? 🙂

Cant understand the high vis vests from the Frenchies, I cant see any of them wearing them, maybe its just a tax on us Brits???

Only for teddy bears under 14

You don't. Its for if/when you have an accident or have to get out with other traffic around you.

Yep, you need a first aid kit also.Halfords do a kit with most of what you need in it,triangle,first aid, GB stickers & h/light stickers(mind the majority of eejits put them on wrong !).They also do a bulb kit for various makes of car,which you also need.

tbh all is all things we should prob carry in a car anyway?

Not just carry, but use, in the event of an incident. Most cars probably have a triangle etc in the back? but in Germany at least you are expected to use it (by law).

Hi viz, 1st aid kit, triangle, spare bulbs (+ screwdriver or whatever tools you need to change them!), all cost peanuts so may as well have them anyway (except at Dover, where they'll cost 4x the price in Halfrauds).

Headlights vary. Cant put deflectors on Xenon ones afaik. Mine are impossible to fit, so I just don't drive at night.

....and talking of eejits:-
My instructions for the headlight deflectors are Tardis-like. A small piece of paper unfolds into something massive with ~ 100odd combinations of lights/car models. Inevitably it's windy when I'm perched on the drive fighting the paper and struggling to comprehend. Even when i find mine it still doesn't make sense, even after 3-4 years!!!
😥
Q

..... and drive on the other side.

Be careful out there! 😉

Due to my mother living in France I tend to have all this kit anyway, but what makes me laugh is the spare set of bulbs rule.
Have you tried changing the bulbs in a lot of modern cars!

A mate at work asked if I could help him change the NS headlamp bulb on his Renault Migraine 😯 what a laugh it took us ages including several nice cuts to my hand & arm and we were doing it in ideal conditions with plenty of tools to hand.
When we checked in the manual under "changing headlamp bulbs" it said "Take to your nearest authorised dealer" 🙄 so what's the bloody point of carrying spare bulbs then?

Don't even think about pinning it down the Autoroutes. It may be tempting as they're wide and relatively clear but the consequences are quite serious now!

I was running really late last year and put my foot in - 750 Euro fine, banned from driving in France for a month. Plus the hassle after I got back here of getting my licence back and having to then prove that I had actually paid (on the spot) the fine otherwise they were going to fine me again!!

If your on your own they will escort you to the nearest border (which is to their convenience not yours) otherwise you have to hand over the controls to another driver.

Never had any major problems driving in France - found them to be roughly as passive/aggressive as here. Mind you, Italy was a different story. Now, that was scary, especially with my mate who didn't quite get that, now that the steering wheel was on the other side of the car, you had to leave a little more room on the right when overtaking - going past a juggernaut wit barely a paper's width between the car and it - I nearly pooed myself. God knows how many various hand signals we got from the drivers for not moving out of the way instantly when flashed etc

The Hi Viz vest became law in France just recently. You don't have to wear it, but it must be carried inside the car. A lot of drivers drape them over the back of the passenger seat so that the Gendarme have one less excuse to stop you.

Ditto what ap said. If there is a "stop" sign you must stop. It's an on the spot fine if you don't and loads of brits get caught on that one.

Likewise speeding. The French Gendarmes will set up a speed trap anywhere they see fit. Doesn't even have to be a busy road, or a danger spot.

how about "priorite a droite" rarer now than used to be but last week skiing in france one village was still using it big time and 10 years ago when worked in The Netherlands it was the norm in urban areas

in france when you enter an urban area (city or small village) a diamond sign with a line thru indicates you may only have right of way if road markings indicate you do (stop lines etc) if not the driver to your right has right of way - so in urban areas at junctions peeps from the right may pull out in front of you and peeps to your left may give way - confused? yep

There is also the devious french tourist trap. You will see a sign saying diversion. It directs you onto some urban square. all the exits are no entry and it is a "no stopping" zone or all the parking spaces are occupied. You are condemned to drive around the square until you run out of petrol when the gendarmarie descend and fine you all your holiday money for illegal parking.

You have been warned

I find a tight low cut top works well with French Policemen.

Or you could get your wife to wear one, cover all bases.

And what Jojo said about driving on the right.

Always found Belgium to be a pretty safe place to drive as well.

Not my exp.

Dutch behave behind the wheel the way they behave everywhere else - selfish, stupid and pig-headed.

Not my exp - rude bunch. More germanic that the Germans. And that isn't meant as a compliment.

I agree with OMITH the Belgians are dreadful! I work there every other week and I hate it! Priority A Droite is ****ing nightmareish too! There you are driving down a nice decent sized main road and the whole of Brussells drives out in front of you!

I drive round there in a 3.5T van so I have a little size to push things around with, if I were in a little hachback it would be even worse!

Oh as for headlights I gave up, modern headlights have no markings on them for where to place the stickers, so I just drop them down to the bottom on the height adjustment to stop blinding people.

Dont think I saw any of the fuzz on the drive to the Alps. We had all the kit but despite doing the motorways all the way there and the A roads all the way back I think we only saw one radar/laser trap on the A road a few Ks before a toll booth. Saw loads of Gatsos on the A road but it was so straight and long that you could see them from a mile away.

They only tend to man the speed traps between 9 & 12 then 3 till 5

Other motorists tend to warn you well enough, just watch out around the bridges where there's often maintenance access road onto the autoroute that they hide in

I find it helpful to practice for a while before you drive abroad, by driving on the wrong side in England

Just got flashed by a camera in Lille. I was a bit stupid - wondered "why is everyone going so slowly?" - BANG! - "oh yes - now I understand 🙁 "