[Closed] Driving on the continent

When are you going?

From July, you'll need a Breathalyzer kit too:
[url= http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2104222/What-need-drive-France-Now-pack-breathalyser-risk-fines.html ]http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2104222/What-need-drive-France-Now-pack-breathalyser-risk-fines.html[/url]

Dave

oh, and make sure your hi-vis vest is stored in reach of the driver... you're supposed to be able to put on and then get out, rather than root around in the boot for half an hour first 😉

Dave

Hiviz for all car occupants. - in the passenger compartment.
Euros for tolls
Inform bank/ credit card
In France stop dead at all junctions with a stop sign.

I though the breathalyser thign was delayed until November now?

Breathalyser in car was being/has been introduced in France, their limit is lower than the UK too.

You come across petrol stations in France a lot less frequently, so don't let your tank get too low.

I have bought a French and Italian road atlas. I have travel insurance and ferry tickets.

We found a sat nav with all the EU countries on it, worth it weight in gold - particularly when we had to navigate around Paris. Also gives you a gentle reminder to drive on the right side of the road after you've stopped for a while.

Always good to have an atlas as well, of course.

Carry enough cash for fuel and fill up all the time, some 24 hour petrol stations are card only and don't accept UK credit cards.

get a big bag of haribo strawbs. No one knows what they taste of, or what they're made of, but they are addictive and keep you wide awake.

I though the breathalyser thign was delayed until November now?

[url= http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/driving-abroad-whats-new-2012.html ]http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/driving-abroad-whats-new-2012.html[/url]

Hmm, it appears that it is still coming in from July, but won't be enforced until November. Bizarre way of wording it.

Dave

Theoretically if you have a satnav in France with speed cameras and the police spot it, you could be liable for a 1500 euro fine.

aP - Member
In France stop dead at all junctions with a stop sign.

Definitely, and learn what this means:

[img] [/img]

Another triangle for Spain, some more jackets for Italy and eyes in the side of your head for France - right side if you can only afford one.

I'm going to Belgium next week and picking up a hire car from the airport - do they come with all of this kit?

I'll call them later but just thought someone may know?

[i]learn what this means[/i]

what does it mean?

You will be asked for all documents if stopped in France: v5, insurance and license.

For the record, all the card only pumps now seem to accept uk cards.

Do not drive anywhere far on a Saturday during the french holiday period as the roads get gridlocked. If you see à ref or black sign at the autoroute access, keep driving and find another way.

and eyes in the side of your head for France - right side if you can only afford one.

This is a good point actually. When you're on the autoroute on the 'inside', it's easy to forget that you will have traffic joining you from the right, especially only long journies.

Also, when you start to feel tiered, just stop driving. That's when you go in to autopilot and start to make silly mistakes when you're on the the other side of the road.

Good news with the uk cards thing. I found this out the hard way in Normandy, on a sunday.

wwaswas - Member

learn what this means

what does it mean?

It means even though you're on a main road with a speed limit of 60mph+, some old boy in a 2cv is going to (quite legally) toodle out of a side road (hidden from view by a house and hedges) at 3mph right in front of you.

There is another sign, which is a yellow diamond shape which means that rule doesn't apply. Quite often see that on newer N/D roads.

Theoretically if you have a satnav in France with speed cameras and the police spot it, you could be liable for a 1500 euro fine.

And apparently it applies even if your device is CAPABLE of showing speed traps, regardless of weather or or not unit is on and facility is active.

Waving a gun around in public is OK though.

[img] [/img]

And if you have Satnav, delete the French Speed Camera database.

You can be fined for having it (although don't know if anyone ever has been??)

It means even though you're on a main road with a speed limit of 60mph+, some old boy in a 2cv is going to (quite legally) toodle out of a side road (hidden from view by a house and hedges) at 3mph right in front of you.

This (seemingly) random priority at intersections scares the sh!te out of me everytime....

Having thought about it though, if it's illegal to drive without a breathalyser kit

And the approved ones are £2 (so they are single use/disposable)

You need to buy more than one, otherwise you can't actually use it to check if you are safe to drive.

If you only have one, and you use it, it tells you that you are safe to drive, then you can't drive anyway because you don't have a breathalyser kit anymore.

Confusing.

Priorité à droite also applies in Germany, belgium and Holland (and no doubt other places). It was harmonised between countires a few years ago so you don't lose priority by stopping anymore - even if that Deudeuche stops it might start up again and pull out quite legally.

There are very few left on the open road but my local town has lots where a minor road has priority over the main road. None of them has a sign so you need to be going slowly enough to see the stop or give way paint on the road - not to be confused with a pedestrain crossing. The difficult ones to spot are side roads with on-street parking and pedestrian crossings.

Lane discipline is an olympic sport over there, but their true passion is tailgating!

Get a colour copy of the paper section of your driver's license. If you do get nicked for speeding, French plod may well retain the paper bit, and it's a pain in the arse getting it back, could take months, so give them the copy*

In some countries (Spain for one, I think) if you wear glasses, you're supposed to have a spare pair.

*this may well be illegal, but as the French police have a fairly casual attitude to certain finer points of the law, **** 'em.

There are very few left on the open road but my local town has lots where a minor road has priority over the main road. None of them has a sign so you need to be going slowly enough to see the stop or give way paint on the road

Quite popular as a traffic calming method in that oh so beige land known as les lotissements...so if you find yourself in the rather unlikey situation of having to drive through suburbia, you have been warned!

Austria; vignette required for mways, about 6 quid for 10 days. Additional charges for some tunnels and passes.

Switz; vignette required for mways, about 27 quid for a year. Meant to be stuck on your windscreen but just hold it in place with your tax disc holder then sell it on for 10-15 quid 😉

In France stop dead at all junctions with a stop sign.

In Spain you can't cross a solid white line.

Yes you can, to overtake cyclists etc. You can't cross double solid white lines.

To turn left...
And what are these cyclists you talk of? They should be between the white line and the edge of the tarmac, therefore clearly off the main carriageway. ALWAYS! 😀

I also think the minimum tyre tread is not as low in France as it is in the uk?! So you could be legal here, but not in France. Also if you travel in winter in some countries it is compulsory to have winter tyres ( Germany and Switzerland, maybe others too). I think in France you have to have tyre suitable for the conditions ( so presume a summer tyre in winter would not be great ).

Also child seat law may vary, especially on who is allowed in the front. In Switzerland kids up tp 150cm need a car seat (135 here), so my son who is 11 will be on his booster for a while to come, bless.

In theory you cn't cross a white line in France even to overtake a cyclist, well that's the theory, but as with driving in any foreign land, can the local feds be bothered with the paperwork? Be polite and humble and you might get lucky:

Years back I had an Audi GT flat out on a very straight, very long road, very early in the morning when I noticed a human figure on the horizon. I braked hard enoguh to be able to pull over a few metres in front of the gendarme behind his radar gun. I got out and went over to ask him what he'd got. I agreed to the figure but couldn't help him with the paperwork. I'd just bought the car, phoned my insurance company for cover and sent off the registration documents so all I had was a drving license. After I'd explained this he told me to get into the back of the gendarmerie mobile and wait. The hours went by and they nicked quite a few drivers while I sat there. When it was time for lunch they told me to get out of the gendarmerie mobile, gave me my driving license back, suggested I drive more slowly in future and wished me bonne route.

problem with spanish "no crossing white line" rule is that it specifically includes as Don Simon says (but in shorthand!) turning left - so you can't turn left into say a supermarket carpark, hotel or development complex if the road has a solid white line - you have to carry on and u turn somewhere

and think chip and pin solved the french 24hour machines not accepting uk cards but best not to risk it

I also think the minimum tyre tread is not as low in France as it is in the uk?

Didn't they change that to harmonise with Europe a few years back?

In France they seem to only use the inside lane on a roundabout, even when going all the way around - beware.

Good point, I'd forgotten about rondabouts in Spain.
They don't know how to use them. Advice same as b r. 😆

If you think roundabouts could be a problem, for ****s sake avoid the arc de triomphe in paris, no lane markings but enough room for six lanes and everyone thinks they have right of way. Took mrs. stavro round a couple of years back and she screamed the whole time!

In Italy expect to get summonsed 14 months after you accidentally drive into a permit holder only zone (that was a new one on me tbf). Sorry!

In hungary bus lanes and parking restrictions have times - just like here, except that they write hours and minutes the wrong way round to us - so 9 1/2 actually means 08:30.

Did anyone mention a fire extinguisher?

stavromuller - Member
If you think roundabouts could be a problem, for ****s sake avoid the arc de triomphe in paris, no lane markings but enough room for six lanes and everyone thinks they have right of way. Took mrs. stavro round a couple of years back and she screamed the whole time!

Try doing it on a pushbike, butt clenchingly terrifying

 

Thanks everyone.
I'm not going anywhere near Paris!
I think get off at Calais, motorway as much as possible to Nice and then some local roads to the north and east of there.
I think the 'most useful advice' prize goes to the person who posted the picture of the sign.
I am now quite scared.

French autoroute speed limit is enforced with little or no margin. Have set them off at less than (indicated) 10km over limit. But they don't pursue uk plates, it seems. I am not sure I would have wanted to actually be stopped in the last car as five trips racked up a few...

The fixed cameras are well signposted with a big radar picture, reminder ("rappel") and speed limit signs. The mobile ones less obvious. Set up on a tripod or even attached to the boot lid of a gendarme car.

Oh and beware Belgians.

Oh and beware Belgians.

This is the best piece of advice so far. I shudder to think what the belgians must have do to pass their driving test, drive a dodgem for 5 minutes?

I shudder to think what the belgians must have do to pass their driving test, drive a dodgem for 5 minutes?

I'm guessing they use the same test as the Australians then...

problem with spanish "no crossing white line" rule is that it specifically includes as Don Simon says (but in shorthand!) turning left - so you can't turn left into say a supermarket carpark, hotel or development complex if the road has a solid white line - you have to carry on and u turn somewhere

That's only true if there's a cop looking, assuming no suspicious parked cars you can u-turn where you like...

This is the best piece of advice so far. I shudder to think what the belgians must have do to pass their driving test, drive a dodgem for 5 minutes?

Whilst drinking and smoking at the same time....

Try doing it on a pushbike, butt clenchingly terrifying

I remember doing that at rush hour on a Friday. On one of the Velib hire bikes....

I think get off at Calais, motorway as much as possible to Nice and then some local roads to the north and east of there.

Apart from the sheer bloody hassle of the traffic jams round Lyon it's an easy journey that one. Have done it one hit more than once, but usually prefer 2 days.

Am v jealous - I love southern France...!

Another good point to remember.

Draw phalli all over your car. The motorbike riding cops (the ones armed with guns) really like this 😯

Cheapest kits for europe?

French autoroute speed limit is enforced with little or no margin. Have set them off at less than (indicated) 10kph over limit.

All French speed limits are enforced on the very tight policy of 5% or 5kph over, whichever is greater. This means you only have 7.5kph (or about 5mph) to play with on the motorway! 😯

We've been done twice for an indicated speed of 138kph. You'd feel a tad aggrieved to get done in the UK for doing 74mph on the motorway!

Bah ! I've driven in Europe loads, don't worry about any of that kit, just wear a very small and tight tank top, you'll be fine.

You've got the most accurate car speedo on the planet, Stevo:

Tableau des tolérances des radars utilisé à poste fixe
Vitesse limite Tolérance PV à partir de
(Vitesse mesurée)
(Vitesse retenue)
50 km/h 5 km/h 56 km/h 51 km/h
60 km/h 5 km/h 66 km/h 61 km/h
70 km/h 5 km/h 76 km/h 71 km/h
80 km/h 5 km/h 86 km/h 81 km/h
90 km/h 5 km/h 96 km/h 91 km/h
100 km/h 5 km/h 106 km/h 101 km/h
110 km/h 6 km/h 117 km/h 111 km/h
120 km/h 6 km/h 127 km/h 121 km/h
130 km/h 7 km/h 138 km/h 131 km/h

Edit; which means you get done at 138kmh but not at 137kmh.

Edukator - indicated speed on the letter from les flics, not the car speedo!

Whilst in France- don't speed.