Driving in France

LandyAndy

tomstickland wrote: »

No, you're not crazy. It doesn't take long to adjust. Just pay careful attention.

I've never forgotten to drive on the RH side over there. It seems to make sense when you're there.

Be careful when you come back to the UK though.

Oh, I navigated through Paris on my own with only a road atlas. That was fun.

The places you need to watch out for are where you get back in the car and its not a public road, eg carparks at supermarkets etc.

Generally, though, driving in France is pretty straight forward. The routes are well marked and well signed in advance.

When in doubt just drive a bit slower than you would in the UK.

LandyAndy

Inactive wrote: »

It does make it interesting in France tho'.

Nobody likes a !!!!!!.;)

Inactive

LandyAndy wrote: »

Nobody likes a !!!!!!.;)

:rotfl: I couldn't resist..

poodledoodledoo

Hmmm, we don't actually own a satnav. I'm sort of tempted to buy one but that kind of wipes out the savings of winning a holiday doesn't it?

I'm planning on printing out the route from the AA site before we go. The UK routes I've used from there in the past have been pretty clear and accurate so I'm hoping the French ones will be too!

Is it true that the French are awful motorists? This is one thing I have read over and over again. Surely they can't be THAT bad???

tamlem

We have 4 children too and we drove from Calais to Toulouse last summer. We did the journey in one go, left calais at 9am ish and arrived around 8pm, stopped twice for stretch of legs and break for dh, who did all the driving.

The journey wasn't too bad, we found the motorways pretty easy to navigate and we didnt have satnav, just an aa route plan printed out;).

Our kids were fine but they are very used to long journeys (we live in Scotland and frequently visit relatives on south coast of england) and dh is used to driving long distances too, although we have only driven abroad a couple of times.

I'm not sure when you're going but the only thing which was nearly the downfall of us was that our air conditioning wasn't working. We went the end of july and it was incredibly hot all the way through france but particularly when we got further south (obviously). We are hoping to go again this year and will definitely be getting the ac working. In which case it will probably rain and be cold but it was so unbearable last year that i wouldn't want to risk it.:cool:

yummymummy888888

Things to be aware of....

1 The French do not know how to use roundabouts (seem scared of the inside lane).

2 They do not know how to overtake ( they wait untill they are at your bumper before pulling out).

3 ( this is our main grumble) they do not move out of your way when you are coming off a sliproad, even if the road is otherwise empty. French sliproads are very short which means you have to do 0-70 in about 5 seconds. You find yourself trying to get onto the motorway and they stay in the inside lane making you either have to brake hard or put your foot to the floor. :mad:

4 They keep their indicator on for the whole duration of overtaking.

5 Learner drivers have an A symbol on their cars which they must keep on for 12 months after passing their tests. They also have a restricted speed limit for that 1st year although they are allowed on motorways. HOWEVER if the OPs hubby has not been a driver for 2 years this rule applies to him too.! this rule may have changed but I would definatly check it out.

Lastly, I could not see it mentioned, spare headlight bulbs and headlight deflectors are a must. even if you do not plan to drive at night, you need them for overcast/rainy days. Sidelights are not really used in France for some reason. Dipped headlights is the norm.

Oh and with regards to the toilets. Stop at services that just display just a pic-nic table and they will probably be the holes in the floor. (the picnic spot will be gorgeous though! and usually have playgrounds). Stop at one with a cafe and it will be just like ours but clean.

Ok I will shut up now, this thread has got me exited for our holiday in May! have a great time OP

(I have only driven for 2 years and DH even gave me driving lessons in france! ((naughty we know!)) The roads are so quiet I really enjoyed it. Once I passed my test he made me share the driving before I got scared to and he was right, I have no qualms about doing it now.)

Ok one more, a sat nav is not essential but we used one for the 1st time last year and it made the world of difference. We really enjoyed the scenery instead of one of us spendoing the whole time checking maps and routeplanners. I think as a relitivly new driver, your hubby would really benifit from the security of one.

poodledoodledoo

Thanks yummymummy888888,

Some useful information there. You have pretty much summed up all of the information I have read on French drivers in one go :rotfl: .

With regards to my hubby's driving experience, he actually passed his test over 5 years ago but hasn't really driven much until recently so he won't need additional plates. His 18 months of driving experience has been spread over a period of years.

Does anyone know if my 9 year old would have to sit on a booster seat in the back of the car? I find the car seat laws a bit vague. He is tall and doesn't have to use one in the UK?

Oh and to answer tamlem, we are travelling at the end of May so it should be warm but not unbearable (I hope!).

PeteMc

Have a read of this :

www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/AA_France_Monaco.pdf

You don't need first aid kits or spare bulbs but for your own peace of mind you might want to take them.

I lived in Paris and drove there for over 4 years. French standards of driving are worse than ours particularly with regards to spatial awareness. This also applies to the French on foot as well!

Saying all that, it's a pleasure to drive on some of the motorways (not the A1) and the country roads are just like here 30 years ago.

shown73

If I'm not mistaken, driving on sidelights in France is now illegal, in fact I think there are reminder signs to this effect.

hewhoisnotintheknow

basically if he can drive here he will be fine in france, its easier once you get used to it

Borrow a british tomtom off someone, mine has just the UK chip in it, but this still means its has the french equvilent of motorways, a and b roads. Its basically doesnt have residential streets on it

If you can borrow one with a full french map on, its excellent as it has all the cash points, car parks, toilets, tourist attractions on.