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An idiot abroad (me) 1st time Driving to France in the van…. advice please
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womble72Free Member
As per the title, I’m hoping to venture across the channel for the first time in my van (SWB Vito) for a week long road trip so I’m looking for some advice from those who are experienced. Do I need to do anything to the van to make it legal on French roads? Will be using the train as the wife gets motion sickness on ferries, so any tips for booking the Euro tunnel. Looking to hit some of the Brocantes (hence the van) so can anyone recommend a nice area to use as a base? I’ve hired cars before while holidaying in Europe but never actually driven from the uk and finding it a bit daunting. Any help appreciated.
flyingmonkeycorpsFull MemberYou need certain safety items accessible from inside the van – ie in the cab – in France. Someone else will probably know better, but I’m pretty sure it includes hi-viz for everyone in the vehicle, a warning triangle and a first aid kit. You also have to have spare bulbs and stick on lenses on your headlights so they dip the right way.
Also they drive on the wrong side of the road.
mikewsmithFree MemberAa and rac have driving guides for what you need to be legal. Just Google that. Don’t let the speed creep on the autoroute and don’t scrimp and avoid the tolls.
EdukatorFree MemberSticky tape on the headlights so you don’t dazzle people, a warning triangle, some dayglo vests, bulbs (but they don’t check anymore), an alcotest (but it’s not obligatory), registration document, insurance, driving license.
If you are in the habit of speeding or driving badly, some cash to pay the fines.
Assume cars pulling out have priority in town until you can see a line to show they haven’t. Don’t be a dick. Assume everyone is pissed on weekend evenings and small hours. Be cautious even if the light’s green.
Give cyclists a metre in town and 1.5m out of town, If you don’t, don’t be surprised if you return to your car from the walk and find an irritated cyclist has.
P20Full MemberI asked on the Vauxhall forum. This may be of help
We never fitted the beam deflectors in the end, but never drove in the dark.jekkylFull Memberget a string of onions and a beret and practise saying ‘oh eh oh eh oh oeh oh’ while gesticulating with your hands.
Nah, don’t worry it’s dead easy, you will have one moment where you drive on the left usually when ther’s no traffic but that’ll be it. You’ll be fine.PigfaceFree MemberRemember you drive in the gutter. Some T junctions can be really tricky in a van as you have really restricted view to your left (unless you have windows in van)
allthegearFree MemberI’ve ridden the motorbike more in mainland Europe than in the UK in the last two years. It’s fine – far more relaxed than the UK.
Except Bulgaria. Bulgaria is bloody scary.
Rachel
orangespydermanFull MemberIn addition to what Edukator has said, also assume you’re limited to 50km/h in built up areas unless there are explicit signs indicating otherwise. As you pass the sign with the town name on it, the limit automatically goes down with no need for additional signage.
CougarFull MemberThings you need:
Hi vis for the driver and front passenger, accessible from within the cabin.
Warning triangle.
A Crit’Air sticker if you’re driving in Paris or a couple of other big cities.
A GB sticker if it doesn’t show country of origin on the registration plate (ie, if you have the EU flag or similar on your plate, you don’t need an additional sticker).Things you may need:
Headlight deflectors (I looked into this and decided I couldn’t be bothered, I never drove in the dark anyway).Things you don’t need despite half of the Internet telling you otherwise:
Spare bulbs.
Breathaliser.Things you really don’t need:
Any sort of GPS which warns you about speed cameras. They’re illegal in France and they’ll destroy your device at the roadside.finishthatFree MemberUse a satnav that tells you the current speed limit , and warns you if you go over.
pocpocFree MemberDrove to Disneyland earlier this year for the first time ever driving abroad.
Eurotunnel was far simpler than I expected. Don’t worry if you get there earlier than planned – they automated checking in system will offer you an earlier train if there’s room on it for no cost.
French toll roads are expensive! – 2 hours driving was about €20. And as soon as you get off the toll roads be prepared for the awful state of the roads. Even motorways were full of large pot holes! 😯
Also, be very aware of speed limits, they seem to change all the time (sometimes for no apparent reason) and the police are very keen on catching speeders.
We got this kit from Amazon – has everything you need for legal stuff (except additional hi-vis jackets if more than just you) including a good book with all the laws and more in:
EDIT – For some reason STW won’t let me post anything with an ampersand in it so, go to Amazon UK and search:
AA Euro Travel Kit and Alcosense French NF Approved Breathalyser (Twin Pack) bundle
It’s the £33 one – but was only about £20 when we got it in January!tthewFull MemberThe only other things to add from the above that I can think of is that you are only insured 3rd party as standard on your insurance when abroad. Ring them to get it extended, it’s cheap and often free.
Temporary european breakdown cover is available as part of the channel tunnel booking. Think it was about £30 for my van for a long weekend. Someone may happen by soon to tell you where you can get it cheaper.
BillOddieFull MemberI’ve done lots of driving on the continent in my van and agree with all of the above.
One thing to note is that overtaking big slow stuff like tractors on normal roads without a trusted passenger (I had my wife who just about qualifies) is a bit on the nervy side.
I find driving in Europe much more chilled than over here, apart from when I came off the Motorway too early and found myself in the middle of Naples….
aPFree MemberInsurance
Light deflectors
GB badge
Fire extinguisher
Yellow hi-vis
Spare bulbs
Get a breathalyser set because whilst not actually required it fobs them off if you get stopped.
also think about Crit’Air stickersEwanFree MemberYou may want one of these if you’re going into cities.
https://www.green-zones.eu/en/info-menu/european-badges-and-vignettes/french-vignette-critair.html
nealgloverFree MemberThings you really don’t need:
Any sort of GPS which warns you about speed cameras. They’re illegal in France….Unless it’s one of these, they are all fine in France. …
Smartphone navigation
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TomTom TOYOTA TNS400stevextcFree MemberGet a breathalyser set because whilst not actually required it fobs them off if you get stopped.
Good point …. much better to have it and not piss them off … and of course they have no requirement to speak English so explaining to them “But it’s not actually required” is just not worth the bother
Only thing I’d say is for some reason I tend to forget I’m driving a height restricted van when on the continent. Perhaps because of the gear stick/steering wheel but on 2 occasions I’ve only just realised in time!
stevehFull MemberHi,
Tesco clubcard vouchers for the train if you can 3 to 1 so saves a lot of money.
It’s easy to drive abroad, you need high viz for each person. spare bulbs and all your documents.andytherocketeerFull MemberDon’t get a breathalyser set because you won’t get stopped, and even if you were you don’t need one.
Also ignore all the scare tactics they use at the tunnel or ferry port trying to force you in to buying them along with all the overpriced hi-viz, first aid kits, etc. etc.Get a hi viz (might be one per person) before you go, and put them in the passenger cabin. Stick on beam deflectors before you go. Forget the rest.
mrmoFree Membersomething that caught me out the first time, on entering a french town the town sign is the speed limit sign. Worst thing i found was first thing in the morning pulling out of the hotel car park and starting on the wrong side of the road….
molgripsFree MemberRe headlights – the stickers are quite crap, they block a lot of light but don’t really redirect it to the other side where you need it.
VWs have an adjuster that lets you flip the headlights from RHD to LHD configuration, although it’s not well documented. This is better than using stickers. Mercedes might have similar.
EdukatorFree MemberMost bridges and tunnels have warning chains but supermarkets don’t.
You say a “long road trip”, OP, Don’t be one of the Brits who unfamiliar with driving long hours on smooth traffic-free roads dozes off and wakes up in hospital – if in a state to wake up.
MarkBrewerFree MemberI find driving in Europe much more chilled than over here
Other than some of the cities I found that too. I never usually drive whenever I go abroad so was bricking it a bit when I had to take the work van to Le mans a few years ago. In reality I quite enjoyed it and probably preferred it to driving in this country 😯
As said above a passenger is handy in a van sometimes for junctions and overtaking.
aPFree MemberMy T5.1 doesn’t have a lever to change the headlamps so I have some clear lamp covers which just go over the lap unit. Takes about 10 minutes, and has the blacked out area on them so the heat of the lamp doesn’t bake them onto the lens cover. My M-B has symmetrical LED lamps so I don’t have to do anything when heading abroad.
aPFree MemberIf you’re going a long way then the SANEF tags are good as they stop arguments about money, falling out of the window trying to reach the machine, reduce queuing, save on using physical cash as the bill comes at the end of the month
The bill can be a bit hefty though – as you have little idea as to how its moutning up…CougarFull MemberThings you need to know:
Drive on the right. Where I had the biggest problem with this was initially setting off from places, pulling out of car parks and the like.
There’s some arcane law which gives priority to side roads joining main ones – “priorite a droite,” priority to the right. Similarly roundabouts (anti-clockwise, WTAF?!) where joining traffic has priority over traffic already going around, helpfully this is signposted where this doesn’t apply and it works like the UK (it says something like “you don’t have priority,” I forget the exact wording). This is mostly obsolete now as far as I could tell, but still in place in some rural areas. There’s a yellow diamond road sign which essentially means that you have priority like in the UK; the same diamond crossed out means you don’t, so watch out. A warning triangle with a big X on it is a crossroads where again you do not have right of way, stay frosty for these. And a flashing amber traffic light also means give way to the right, unless it says otherwise. Confused yet?
TBH I never fully got my head around priorite a droite and it’s relatively rare, so I dealt with it by assuming that if a vehicle is looking like it thinks it’s got right of way than it probably has.
Drive on the right.
Take a credit card and be prepared to use it, debit card acceptance is a lottery. Take actual money for petrol stations. I went through a Shell fuel card (which I asked beforehand if it was accepted and was incorrectly told “oui”) and three bank cards before I found one they’d accept. Budget for toll roads.
“Peage” is a toll road. “Rappel” you’ll see a lot and it simply means “reminder,” very common on speed limit repeater signs. “Interdit” is forbidden.
Drive on the right.
On main roads, the speed limit drops if it’s raining. The signs will show two speeds.
On motorways, they’ll post speed limit signs coming up to exit slips. This applies to traffic using the exit, not those carrying on.
Drive on the right.
They have this weird thing on motorways which is alien to many UK drivers. It’s called “lane discipline” and it’s freaking awesome. Pull out to overtake, overtake, then get the hell back over again or you’ll have a Peugeot 406 half an inch from your bumper at 130kph before you know it. Seriously, if you’re a card-carrying member of the Lane Two Owner’s Club, you’re going to be given a hard time.
I can’t remember if I mentioned it yet but, drive on the right.
As you pass the sign with the town name on it, the limit automatically goes down with no need for additional signage.
This, the limit is 50kph and it doesn’t explicitly tell you. The same town name with a red diagonal line through it as you leave town indicates the end of the restriction.
Drive on the right.
CougarFull MemberUnless it’s one of these, they are all fine in France. …
The model is irrelevant, the legality is down to whether you have speed camera warnings or not. If you’ve got one of those models and have a fixed camera POI overlay installed, you’ve broken the law. If you’ve got one of those or anything else and don’t have speed camera info, you’re fine.
northernmattFull MemberIf you’re going a long way then the SANEF tags are good
^This. Plus you can also use the express lane which means you don’t have to stop just slow down to about 30km/h and the thing beeps and you’re away. It takes the money from your bank account about a month later and the exchange rate is usually in line with paying cash.
Oh, and what Cougar said about lane discipline times a million. If you see a car a few inches behind you with it’s left indicator on that generally means they want you out of the way.
aPFree MemberOh – they don’t indicate on roundabouts until they come to the junction that they’re coming off at. It always catches me out as I look, see them coming, assume by their road positioning that they’re coming off at the exit to me left then keep on sweeping round – [gulp].
johnx2Free MemberOn smaller roads remember the rule of la priorité à tw*t
http://www.france-pub.com/forum/2012/04/14/la-priorite-a-droite%E2%80%8E-priority-to-the-right/
CougarFull MemberTemporary european breakdown cover is available as part of the channel tunnel booking. Think it was about £30 for my van for a long weekend. Someone may happen by soon to tell you where you can get it cheaper.
That’s a point. You can’t use third-party breakdown cover on motorways, you have you use the roadside emergency phones to get someone to scrape you up.
Tesco clubcard vouchers for the train if you can 3 to 1 so saves a lot of money.
Yeah. Free Eurotunnel for fifty quid’s worth of Tesco vouchers, bargain.
The Eurotunnel is ace, BTW. It’s a well-oiled machine and they’re dead laid back about you boarding earlier / later trains if you need to.
nealgloverFree MemberThe model is irrelevant
Not really. All the models I listed are legal to use (as normal) in France because the “speed camera warnings” in France have been replaced with “danger zones”
Some of the “danger zones” don’t have cameras located in them. But all cameras are located in “danger zones”
But it’s legal to use in France, with alerts turned on.
wilburtFree MemberIts a breeze, very similar to the UK only you drive on the other side and not so many stress head psychopaths.
spooky_b329Full MemberMost has been mentioned but:
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- Clubcard vouchers for the tunnel
- Consider the Sanef tag so you can breeze through the tolls and get your bill later, Eurotunnel do a deal on it, or if you can be bothered, apparently there is a Mont Blanc one or something and the fees are a fair bit less. Once you have it, you are free to lend to friends and family
- Watch out for height restrictions on autoroutes
- Don’t relax too much when you get off the train back in the UK,
thats when you drive off on the wrong side of the road as you are still in holiday mode - Priority a Droite – make sure you know what the signs below mean,
just as important if you are cycling. I read up first but its still makes you jump the first time a local shoots out of a tiny alley into the main street without looking! I’m sure they watch for english plates and then jump out 🙂
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