Driving in France, what's the story these days?

We’re driving to brittany for the summer hols in a few months.

What’s the script with these breathalyser regulations? Some sites say I need them, some say I don’t, some say I need them but won’t get fined if I don’t have them?

Also, has anyone used the liber-t Tag device to save time at the tolls? Looks like it’ll save a bit of faffing around?

I assume I’ll need the hi viz jackets for everyone in the car, spare bulb kit and warning triangle like I did last time I drove in France?

Just get the breatalizers. About a quid each, you need two, stick em within sight and you’ll get no bother.

Don’t think you need the bulbs anymore.

But speed camera detection kit is not allowed. And this includes sat navs with speed camera location POIs. Tomtom have got round this by calling them danger areas or something similar. It not doesn’t give an accurate location for each camera, it just warns when you are in the vicinity.

Get all the kit in advance and its cheap; buy it at the ferry / Eurotunnel terminal and it isn’t.

The Liber-t Tag saves masses of faffing about and especially queuing. You too can fly past lines of stationary UK reg cars in the orange lane. You pay a bit for it in up front fee (about 30 euros) plus various annual and monthly add-ons. Its easy enough to can afterwards (full details on their site). For pure time saved its worth it for me. It’s never failed to raise a cheeky cheer from my car load every time the tag beeps as we whizz through a packed toll road on way to the Alps.

I went through a toll on Saturday night, looking a but frazzled after 700 miles straight, 4 double espressos and 3 redbulls. Driving into the automated booth and having to reverse out after spending a confusing couple if minutes searching for a ticket slot didn’t help. When I had managed to manoeuvre into the correct que, I was greeted by a gendarme with a friendly

Avez-vous consommé de l’alcool ce soir?

One look at the carnage of maps and junk food wrappers across the front seat along with a

non

and a grin was enough for a Bon voyage.
Is it the law there now then?

The theory is that if you’ve had a few drinks you can check yourself before driving off and being a danger.

Nothing to do with the President’s mate who has a company that makes breathaliser kits and was short of cash. ( you have to use an officially approved kit btw)

( you have to use an officially approved kit btw)

And it has to be calibrated to the French limit. Brit ones won’t do.
And it must be in date.

The breathalyser law was dropped already….

The breathalyser law was dropped already….

Really? They kept that quiet.

Drove thru France yesterday – breathalyser law has been postponed. But you do need

Bulb set
Hi vis vest – in the main compartment of the car , not the boot
Warning triangle

Just delayed according to my random google search

Just back from Poitiers. Took bulbs, Hi-Vis jackets, triangle and Halfords purchased breath kits. No major hassle at all, what’s the fuss? It is France after all, different to here them French peeps is.

I returned with saucisson sec, fromage, vin rouge et champignons. Formidable mes copains!

Cheapest place I found for hi vis vests was screwfix.

They sacked off the breathalyser thing.

They have just implemented reflective stickers for motorbike helmets …
I don’t understand why they just don’t ban the locals from driving pissed, or train them not to drive with their usual disregard for anyone else …

Mind you, they are way better than the belgians …

Apparently you also need an unused first aid kit. Presumably if you have an incident where you might want to use the first aid kit, then you don’t use it in case you get stopped and fined (or you carry two first aid kits).

The breathalyser regulation is still in place, but the implementation of the €11 fine for not complying has been “postponed indefinitely”

So basically, you are technically still required to carry them, but there is no fine or punishment for not carrying them.

Simple eh 🙂

Not sure you need a First Aid kit by law, but its not a bad idea anyway.

Don’t forget your Driving License, Registration Document and Insurance Documents.

(I spent 6 hours in a police station in Berlin waiting for the DVLA to open so they could check I was legit. It’s a requirement in France too)

From memory the breathalyser law was implemented last year but they realised they wouldn’t be able to produce enough. So the fine has been postponed.

They only cost a fiver so I’m not sure what the fuss is.

We’re driving to brittany for the summer hols in a few months. has anyone used the liber-t Tag device to save time at the tolls

Depending on route there aren’t many toll roads. Certainly not in Brittany.

(I spent 6 hours in a police station in Berlin waiting for the DVLA to open so they could check I was legit. It’s a requirement in France too)

Since when? I use to live in Germany (upto 2001) and never carried anything – which use to amuse my German m/c buddies who even had to carry theIR TUV papers for anything ‘non-standard’.

Definately need documents in France. I’ve been stopped quite a few times by the gendarmes to check my papers, also if you need to by spare car parts, they want to see your registration documents.

All you need to know here
Linky to AA

Note – high vis jacket must be inside the car (not the boot) and if you’re taking a company or lease car you’ll need a ‘vehicle on hire’ form in lieu of the registration document

Since when? I use to live in Germany (upto 2001) and never carried anything – which use to amuse my German m/c buddies who even had to carry theIR TUV papers for anything ‘non-standard’.

I don’t know if its a legal requirement in Germany (although it is in France) but its obviously not a bad idea.

If I was carrying mine I would have been on my way in 5 Minutes, but they obviously thought I was suspect so wanted proof before I was sent on my way. Which meant I had to wait until the DVLA opened in the morning after being stopped in the middle of the night looking for an industrial unit on the outskirts of Berlin.

My car broke down on the way to the Alps last summer (alternator failed) and the recovery truck turned up and wanted to see all my paperwork before towing me to the garage. As we left the Autoroute he gave a thumbs up to a gendarme, presumably to show I was sound and not worth checking out. Picked up a hire car for the remainder of the journey and was told by the English girl there that the recovery trucks there (Dijon area) earn extra money by reporting you to the gendarmes if you don’t have a hi-vis and a warning triangle out when they arrive. All official too!!

Had one of those Liber-T tags too, only worth it as I was driving alone and didn’t want the hassle of carrying the cash or clambering over to the passenger side (full of bike spares!!) at the exits. Added about £30 to the cost but worth it for the time saving. The others in my group reported being stuck in the queue at one booth for two hours!!

Get it all from eBay – it is cheap as chips.

matthewjb – Member
Depending on route there aren’t many toll roads. Certainly not in Brittany.

There are no toll roads in Brittany (can’t remember the exact reason but it involves Charles De Gaul getting a quick response from the Breton’s & him waiving tolls there?)
The Hi-Vis thing is a good idea IMO the bulb thing a joke as most French cars seem to need the front end taken apart by a dealership to access the lamps so what good carrying them to replace at the roadside is?
First aid kit & a warning triangle are also good ideas for anyone in any country.
As for the breath test kits?? before my mother moved back from France most of the locals just laughed at the notion!

Don’t forget your Driving License, Registration Document and Insurance Documents

Never quite sure about this.
I think the rules say you must have your licence and insurance certificates with you (easy enough) but also proof of ownership of the vehicle. Technically the reg doc isn’t proof of ownership but we don’t really have anything else so I took that. Never got asked for it so it didn’t matter.
.
Also, longest queue I saw at a toll booth was about 6 cars long so really not worth the £30 for the special tag thingy.
.
Whole new can of worms, why do we have pay tolls on European motorway when they can drive here for free? Why can’t we sell foreigners a one month (or whatever) tax disc at the point of entry?

why do we have pay tolls on European motorway when they can drive here for free?

Because they’re toll roads. Everyone pays.

Whole new can of worms, why do we have pay tolls on European motorway when they can drive here for free? Why can’t we sell foreigners a one month (or whatever) tax disc at the point of entry

That’s not really a “can of worms”

You just seem to have misunderstood the situation.

They don’t pay for a Tax Disk here, we don’t pay for a Tax Disk there.

They pay to use Toll Roads here, and we pay to use Toll Roads there.

Is quite straight forward.

Yep we charge everyone for Dartford and the m6 toll. Not sure how me speaky no frenchy would go down at the toll.

Just a damm good road network really. Tag would have been useful last time as the passenger side window stopped working coming out of the tunnel.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t pay for the toll roads, it’s how their system works and when in Rome etc (actually, never attempt to drive in Rome) I’m suggesting that we introduce a ‘foreign cars temporary tax disc’ for when they come here. Anyway, that is a whole other discussion which could go on at length! Back to the OP…

I’m suggesting that we introduce a ‘foreign cars temporary tax disc’ for when they come here.

Why ?

They don’t charge us tax to use French Roads do they ?

They have a much, much greater proportion of toll roads than we do, basically a short section of M6 and a couple of bridges, 80%+ of their motorways are toll roads, and fairly pricey too. We pay to use their roads, but they don’t pay to use ours. (fueld duty excepted, but both drivers pay that in both countries so that’s fair)

We don’t pay to use their Roads no.

We pay to for their Toll Roads when we choose to use them

In the same way they do.

Don’t want to pay, then don’t use them. Just the same choice as they have.

We don’t pay road tax in France, they don’t pay road tax here.
We pay for tools in France, they pay for tolls here.

Seems fair to me.

Whilst the toll roads are excellent and will get you across the country in a day, other roads are available if you dont want to pay…

They are but take a lot longer and probably cost more in fuel than the tolls. Just use the tolls, hassle free, fast, and not really that expensive.

What IS cheeky is the Swiss vignette thing – everyone needs one for the motorway, but obviously foreigners will only use it for a week or so, so the price per mile is much higher for non-residents.

Sticky tape on your headlights so you don’t dazzle me, please.

Toll roads are good, the user/polluter pays.

Enough fuel to get you to a petrol station with a living person as your credit card may be rejected by pumps.

Enough cash for your whole holiday so when your CC company decides that your holiday is causing “abnormal activity” and block your card you still have money to enjoy your holiday.

Toll roads are good, the user/polluter pays.

The User Pays while the Polluter drives from Calais to Monaco on National Routes and uses more fuel 😉

I save about 15l when I use the nationals to the Alps as well as over 100e in tolls. That’s in the van, in the car the fuel use is siimlar but as the tolls are only 68e I pay.