[Closed] First time driving in France - what do I need to have/know?

Breathalyser an yellow jackets for a start 🙂

I'm just back.....

As above, and warning triangle, spare bulbs, manuals for the vehicle, MOT, insurance docs. Possibly headlight blockers; we didn't bother, just dipped the headlights using the adjusters.

Best SatNav- Nokia Here. Totally free. Download it, launch it, then download the French maps. Had 100% success with it.

*true story*
Don't do what my dad did when we were kids, after a particularly late Portsmouth/Leharve crossing. After grabbing a power nap in a lay by in the early hours he set back off in full English driving mode, ie on the wrong side of the pissing road, it was 20 mins of driving before the inevitable head on incident! It couldn't have been closer without actually hitting, my sister and I woke to some severe rally style swerving 😯

Don't have to have the breathalyser, but spare bulbs warning triangle, gb sticker on car, headlight deflectors and at least one high visibility jacket available to be accessed in the car.

Check aa site. Basically hi vis jacket, fire extinguisher, spare bulbs and make sure you can change them, warning triangle all in the front of the car, copies of your insurance and v5/mot etc a gb sticker if you've not got euro plates and beam converters. Plenty don't take any of this stuff though.. And don't worry about a breathalyser there is no fine for not having one.

Remember to drive on the right and look at European breakdown cover, and check your car insurance covers you properly for the length of your stay.

nokia here for the sat nav, just remember to download the maps you need before you go. It mullers battery too so you'll need a decent car charger.

They drive on the wrong side.
Roundabouts work the wrong way.
They come at you from the wrong side at roundabouts.
When they flash (on a motorway) it probably means that they're coming through and isn't an invitation for you to pull out.
They are likely use the priority from the right shenanegins.

Oh yeah, unless you can see a red bordered white triangle on the junction coming onto the road you're on or roundabout you're entering... Assume the entering traffic from the right has right of way and they will pull out on you!

Speed limits don't apply to foreigners

+1 on Nokia here. Bloody brilliant offline navigation.

Cheers guys. The roundabouts scare me. French ones will be worse.....

Speed cameras are about 2km from the warning signs. They are either little poles like a sawn of lamp post or squat grey boxes. They issue speeding tickets that are unenforceable over her, or at least they never bother.

Police speed traps are set up on the approaches to the channel ferries. The start point is by a small side road with a cop on a bike. The end point is by a cash machine normally by the beginning of that small side road. At one of these I saw six cash machines in constant use by GB cars in a rush for the ferry. These fines are inescapable .

High vis jacket inside the cabin is a good idea as it stops the arsey cops giving you an easy fine. Headlights are pointless with modern sealed units, breathalyser is no fine issue.

Driving standards are way lower than here in terms of observation, concentration and anticipation but lane discipline better.

Cops hate speed trap detectors so hide them real quick if you use one

Driving aggressively helps .. No really !!

If you are a middle lane driver they will hate you, overtake and move back over, that's a novel concept for most UK drivers.

Some of them still have yellow headlights

If there's a stop sign at a junction then do stop. If you roll through then le Flics are quite likely to pull you over. Which is fine if you like being talked at by leather clad motorbike cops.
All the rest is as above hi vis for all kept inside the passenger compartment, beam deflectors, bulbs, triangle, extinguisher, breathalyser, insurance/ green card, etc v
Lots of change for the peage, UK debit cards pretty much all work in the automated fuel pumps now.

Put a sticker on your steering wheel.
'Drive on the Right , Death comes from the Left'
Every time you get into your car this will remind you to be on the wrong side of the road, and look the wrong way at junctions.

Another vote for Here navigation....brilliant. don't worry about the roundabouts, most work just like ours..can't remember the last time I saw one where you have to give way to people joining it.

Peage take cards as does everywhere else I have been in France in the last decade.

Is there still such a thing as a Green Card?

Warning triangle is a valid requirement, forgot that as I carry one in the UK.

I agree about French lane discipline, if only we could get the UK drivers to pull back into the inside lane when they have finished overtaking we too could have two lane motorways flowing freely instead of three lanes of slow traffic

One thing I should have added....take more money.

Brexit has hit our ability to buy pretty hard. I was used to eating out frequently when over there.....now, not so much.

Say aloud to yourself and your wife "drive on the right" as you start the car. Pulling off on the wrong side of the road is the most common mistake. Steering wheel should be by the verge. Priority to the Right - you give way to traffic from your right, this generally only applies in towns but take care - the road sign is like a thin cross but there will be no markings on the road. Most roundabouts are "give way" ie cedez le passage so same as uk just you go the "wrong" way round ie anti clockwise. Stop is stop obviously 😉

For high viz buy in any supermarket dead cheap, not at ferry terminal !

As above lane discipline is very good, my French wife tut-tuts at me for that all the time and I consider myself quite good at getting over. Flashing headlights doesn't mean "ok" its more of a wtf ! Observe the speed limits but I've been flashed and never got a ticket, also got pulled over by a bike cop doing 137 in a 110 and got no ticket - French get ticketed all the time even for small infraction. Petrol cheapest at supermarkets, often 24hr and/or automatic pay-at-pump.

For satnav we use the excellent Waze - like a social network - it works best with data for traffic updates.

Enjoy !

Relax - after a day you'll realise that there's less traffic, less stress and more ability to cover distance. Using the pay roads will mean you'll have very little traffic (good if you're going further than Normandy) also, if you're heading south, don't travel close to the coast at weekends - it's English style traffic.

Oh, and overtaking. Remember you have to put most of the car over the middle of the road to look past a car. Rely on your passenger or hang back so you have lots of visibility, of course that only works with a bit of go.

For satnav we use the excellent Waze - like a social network - it works best with data for traffic updates.

Do NOT have French speed camera POI installed on your sat nav. I know of someone given a speeding ticket for 58e then another ticket for having an illegal GPS. There are apps for your phone that will warn you that aren't your GPS 🙂

@cody the £/€ has moved about 6% vs average from March-June hardly makes eating out expensive

OP by the way the French do not tip more than a few euros - they understand that fhe bill already includes 15% service. Waiters are paid proper salaries and don't survive on tips. My wife leaves less than 5% often 2 or 3% and staff are always grateful.

@atlaz waze is excellent almost always has the temporary handheld camera gun locations too. People put them on as soon as they drive past. Had one recently with guy hidden in bushes !

I use PocketGPSWorld. It "phones" you via bluetooth to warn you of upcoming cameras and again, crowd sourced. Satnav in the car for navigation, the app for the cameras.

I was getting about 20% less value than I would have had in February, Jambs....

But anyway.

The first roundabout when you get back home to the UK is confusing.

I was getting about 20% less value than I would have had in February, Jambs....

But anyway.

Nah. It's more like 10% from the Feb high to today. Significant but not 20% 🙂

Don't forget to get a tag to head through the automatic till barriers https://www.saneftolling.co.uk

From ages ago but I was fooled by traffic lights with a constantly flashing amber ,, it means good luck the traffic lights are not on .

You don't need half of that shit, don't listen to websites that try to sell you things.

You need to have high-vis tabbards for both front passengers, accessible from within the car. You also need to carry a triangle. That's it.

You're also supposed to adjust headlights but if you're not driving in the dark it's irrelevant.

the toll tag thing is defo worth it. Saved us ages at each toll

It's been years since I drove round Europe , now driving down with 16 month old to morzine . Is the tag worth the extra 30 euro over a card ?

the toll tag thing is defo worth it. Saved us ages at each toll

It seemed massively expensive to me unless you live there / plan to visit regularly (and was useless anyway given I was a high load with bikes on the roof).

Estate with bikes and roof box overhang may cause issues with pickup?

not really you get some money back when you send it back. and it does work in the lorry lane you know...

Put a sticker on your steering wheel.
'Drive on the Right , Death comes from the Left'

If you are in the back of beyond then watch our for priorité à droite. Although it seems to have died there (but not in Belgium 🙁 ) you do still need to be aware it exists:
http://www.drive-france.com/faqs/get-your-priorities-right/

Was it France or Spain where some of the smaller rest areas on M-ways were dangerous?

My only mod for France is a GB sticker, driving is much more pleasant than here, fewer angry peeps, fewer I'm a driving god types and fewer vehicles altogether.

The hardest part is reacclimatising to the UK on your return.

I wouldnt bother wih a tag unless your going several times a year.

Hi-vis accessible when you step out the car, spare bulbs, [u]no[/u] sat nav that is capable of showing speed cameras (even if turned off), headlight deflectors and GB sticker/plate.

Don't need breathalyser currently as it keeps getting deferred but they keep trying to make it law. No reciprocal agreement with UK for speeding fines so no problem with fixed cameras. Hand held though and they'll catch and stop you.

If you're likely to break the law, carry plenty of cash or a cash card for when they march you to the nearest cash point 😉

And a toll tag definitely.

wilburt - Member
I wouldnt bother wih a tag unless your going several times a year.

Still worth it unless you're only driving through one toll. So much easier, no need for toll cash, no queuing and doesn't cost you much for the tag. If you don't use it subsequent years, cancel the subscription (couple of quid a year) or loan the tag to someone who is going. I think you can get the money back on the tag itself if you return it (about £20?).

@leffe priorite a droite is everywhere in Paris and the suburbs including on all the roundabouts. Its still very mich alove across the country too

@makkag Toll card (tele-peage): Mrs B (French) refuses to get one and afaik none of her family have them either. They all drive on peage a lot, eg almost every summer weekend to go to the coast. They all pay with bank card. Biggest advantage I can see with the tele-peage is if you are in a right hand drive car on your own it saves getting out. Most peage booths accept cards and there are very few tele-peage only lanes, most tele-peage lanes accept cards too.

@deadkennedy, your advising the fella to register an account, spring e40 upfront for a tag to drive to Normandy?

Was it France or Spain where some of the smaller rest areas on M-ways were dangerous?

It's not France. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't spend the night in one but that's more down to me than the danger of the places. They're no more dangerous than any other random piece of land you may stop on.