Advice regarding driving to France and Switzerland

[JHS]

All very interesting advice. Particularly interesting re speed cameras and fines not making their way to your address anymore Presumably same with parking fines?



So I got a couple through the post after a driving holiday, France and Spain, pre Brexit, I thought if i didn't pay it then yes they're not going to pursue me but on the other hand my car (if still owned) could be flashed up on whatever their version of anpr is and then I'd be rogered? Or was my thinking complete bollocks? Is ignoring still unwise if in a hire car?

Mine in Switzerland was in a hire car!

 

[philnewmerc]

My personal prerequisite for travelling by car any distance is I use the excellent free TomTom AmiGo, and use it in the setting of 'overlay' mode on top of my preferred satnav. It seems to spot 95% of cameras (in France this will be 'danger zones' to comply with the law) and tell you what the speed limit is all the time. But maybe your car does that anyway?

 

[TC350]

All very interesting advice. Particularly interesting re speed cameras and fines not making their way to your address anymore Presumably same with parking fines?



So I got a couple through the post after a driving holiday, France and Spain, pre Brexit, I thought if i didn't pay it then yes they're not going to pursue me but on the other hand my car (if still owned) could be flashed up on whatever their version of anpr is and then I'd be rogered? Or was my thinking complete bollocks? Is ignoring still unwise if in a hire car?

Unknown to me at the time, I got flashed by a camera in Australia when in a hire car. About six months later I received a letter with the fine. I paid up because they’d chased me up via the address where I was staying at the time and I didn’t want them hassled by determined debt collectors!

On the other hand, I received a penalty charge from the authorities in Florida for going through a red light in a hire car. The car and I were a few hundred miles away at the time of the offence, but proving it was a challenge. The case had got a court date by the time I managed it.

 

[keith of kent]

Several years ago M. Macron reduced the default speed limit for out of town /otherwise restricted roads from 90kph to 80kph. This can in many areas make progress tedious; and the French agree!
Last year in France I was told by a host that some departments have reverted back to 90kph.
I then noticed signs when enterering a different department of the relevent departmental speed limit

 

[st13phil]

Last year in France I was told by a host that some departments have reverted back to 90kph.
I then noticed signs when enterering a different department of the relevent departmental speed limit

Agreed on the 80kph making progress impossibly tedious.

I too noticed when travelling through France last year that many departmental single-carriageway roads were now signposted at 90kph in defiance of the national policy. Must have cost a fortune in additional signage to achieve precisely nothing.

 

[rf065]

If you wear specs you’ll need a spare pair with you in your car , bizarre but quite sensible really

No you don't, what's bizarre is by law you only need spare glasses if you wear contact lenses.

 

[Deleted member 55947]

No you don't, what's bizarre is by law you only need spare glasses if you wear contact lenses.

Driving in France Requirements Checklist 2024

A complete and up-to-date checklist of legal requirements for driving in France. All post Brexit rules, so you will be compliant for January 2024.

www.drive-france.com

 

[markjay]

While I do wear varifocals, I can drive without them (according to my optometrist), so carrying a spare set isn't crucial, though I have to admit it's a good idea.

 

[rf065]

Driving in France Requirements Checklist 2024

A complete and up-to-date checklist of legal requirements for driving in France. All post Brexit rules, so you will be compliant for January 2024.

www.drive-france.com

Surprise, surprise, an internet page that will sell you all you need to drive abroad for £32.50 and half the stuff on the list is not required by law. The internet is full of duff info on what you need to carry by law and it's all fueled by people out to make a quick buck out of drivers who don't know they're being led on.

 

[Londonscottish]

Emovis Toll Tag for France . Didn’t see it mentioned above .

Someone mentioned Bip and Go further up.

The third brand is Ulys, the one I use. Very good as I'm sure the others are.

 

[sgregory124]

Fair enough, so did I. I wasn't travelling like a hooligan, just the usual confusion of is this a 110 kph or 130 kph type thing on semi deserted dual carriageways... which are utterly delightful compared to the rocks and bitumen thrown down in NE England.

That'll be because the French government/local government actually spend money on the roads and maintain them, unlike the clowns in power here right now. I firmly believe the UK's roads will soon disintegrate entirely and return to mother nature. At least that is what is happening in the East Midlands.....

 

[Williamwoo]

In France, you used to need a spare set of light bulbs for the car. No idea if it's still the case.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I carry that in the UK... silly not too really. A blown headlight at night just screams "Stop Me Officer"......!

 

[ToeKnee]

I carry that in the UK... silly not too really. A blown headlight at night just screams "Stop Me Officer"......!

Unless you drive a Mondeo where you need to remove the bumper to change a headlight bulb

 

[nyssa7]

In France, you used to need a spare set of light bulbs for the car. No idea if it's still the case.

Not sure how that works with LED lights? Taking my Ioniq 5 to Bruges in summer, it’s first trip across the Channel. No actual bulbs at either end

 

[rf065]

In France, you used to need a spare set of light bulbs for the car. No idea if it's still the case.

It never has been, it's another myth. What if you have LED lights, do you carry a spare set around with you? If you have a bulb out in France at night and the Police stop you, they will not allow you to continue your journey until it's fixed. But there is no law that says you need carry spare bulbs. Ironically French cars are notorious for needing bumpers and more removed to change headlight bulbs.

 

[ALFAitalia]

True...its never been the law.... but what is true is that you will get an on the spot fine for a blown bulb, unlike here, which they will not charge you if you have a bulb that you can fit. So it makes sense to carry them especially, as said, you can't carry on until its fixed. Carry them anyway... you might not be able to find the bulb easily whilst there... and what if the other headlight bulb goes soon after....a common occurrence in my experience!
Obviously it should not be an issue with non replacable LED bulbs.

 

[markjay]

In France, you used to need a spare set of light bulbs for the car. No idea if it's still the case.

Mine are all LED.........

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

True...its never been the law.... but what is true is that you will get an on the spot fine for a blown bulb, unlike here, which they will not charge you if you have a bulb that you can fit. So it makes sense to carry them especially, as said, you can't carry on until its fixed. Carry them anyway... you might not be able to find the bulb easily whilst there... and what if the other headlight bulb goes soon after....a common occurrence in my experience!
Obviously it should not be an issue with non replacable LED bulbs.

Mmm, maybe.

Over the last decade the only folks I've seen pulled up by les flics on the side of the road appear to have been Muslim or at least from the DomTom's

Like our Boys in Blue, the chaps in a "panier à salade" have better things to do. Like looking for Algerians

As for availability, thanks to Smartphones, it's never been easier to look up where to find a bulb within an hour or so. Not that I ever have bulbs go these days.

 

[ALFAitalia]

But your can't leave the scene till its fixed... so going to the boot to get a bulb is easier than waiting and hour to get one. It's not like it takes up space or costs a fortune and you will need them one day.
Unfortunately a lots of the time I'm there its for car stuff like LeMans..... where the police really don't "have better things to do" and are out purely to get track visitors and it seems they are even keener since brexit. A few years back I went on my Blade and pulled out of a restaurant having forgotten to turn my headlights back on (mandatory on bikes)... the cop spotted me and although I instantly realised and turned them on it was all the excuse he needed to stop the whole group and go through all the bikes with a fine tooth comb.
Later on the same trip my boss was stopped at 5kph over the limit and we had to wait while he was escorted to the cash point. Funny thing was we were all going much faster than him but they considered his speeding worse as he had his son on the back!