Driving in France - important!

andygb

I know that this has probably been covered before, but there are always some folks who don't know about the new, anti pollution measures which have been/are going to be introduced in many parts of France (and germany etc) with regard to driving cars in cities.
It is called the "Crit'Air" certificate, which means that depending when your car was made and which fuel you use, you may not be able to drive inside quite a few French cities - Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Rennes, Toulouse etc, and even if you are allowed, it is still COMPULSORY to buy a certificate in advance. It is very cheap - less than a pint of beer, or a nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone from Ldl (other supermarkets are available:D).
The alternative could be a rather hefty fine.
This is the official site where you can apply for the certificate (there are fake sites which charge at least ten times more:mad:)


https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/en/


So, if you are travelling through France by car or motorbike from now on, it is highly likely that you will encounter one of these zones.
Be prepared and - Bon journee!;)




PS - Maybe a MOD could post this as a "sticky"?

zagfles

See also this MSE article https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/travel/2017/03/driving-to-france-check-now-if-you-need-a-new-emissions-sticker-to-avoid-a-possible-100-fine

The official site is very unhelpful in telling you where these zones are...it's only a few cities and tunnels by the looks of it.

knightstyle

But you only need one if driving in parts of Paris, Lille, Grenoble and Lyon at the moment so most of us do not need one. We are in Western France with two cars and are more worried about the new 80kms/hr speed limit on most roads which comes into force next month.
I wonder if/when Tomtom and Garmin will update the satnavs??? My Garmin still has not updated roads near here that changed over 15 years ago!

andygb

knightstyle wrote: »

But you only need one if driving in parts of Paris, Lille, Grenoble and Lyon at the moment so most of us do not need one. We are in Western France with two cars and are more worried about the new 80kms/hr speed limit on most roads which comes into force next month.
I wonder if/when Tomtom and Garmin will update the satnavs??? My Garmin still has not updated roads near here that changed over 15 years ago!

Have a look at this page then, because there are "emergency low emmission zones" in France.


http://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/france

NoodleDoodleMan

I remember going with my parents driving down through France to the Coasta Brava in the 1960s - it was educational for my dad !!!

I don't know if it's still the case, but vehicles on the major of two intersecting roads had (by law) to give way to vehicles crossing over from the minor road !!!

Citroen 2CVs (aka Deux Chevaux) would come belting over from left or right without much slowing down or warning - I believe these encounters were a not uncommon source of accidents involving Brits.

You also had to have the beam of your headlights adjusted for driving on the right, and amber bulbs or tinted headlight covers fitted.

Gloomendoom

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

I don't know if it's still the case, but vehicles on the major of two intersecting roads had (by law) to give way to vehicles crossing over from the minor road !!!

It's not as common but it still exists. The sign you need to look out for looks like this...



LA PRIORITÉ À DROITE

zagfles

Gloomendoom wrote: »

It's not as common but it still exists. The sign you need to look out for looks like this...



LA PRIORITÉ À DROITE

Far more common are the yellow diamond, meaning you are the main road and "priorite a droite" does not apply, and the yellow diamond with a black line through it meaning "you are not the main road" and "priorite a droite" does applies.

I don't think I've ever seen the above symbol, but it looks like it means you're coming up to a junction where you don't have priority.