Advice regarding driving to France and Switzerland

[markjay]

I just had a look at my drive statistics for the journey through France, it seems that on most Autoroute stretches the top speed reached was 76mph (~120kmh), however at one point the maximum speed was 81mph (~130kmh). I don't remember setting the adaptive cruise control to that speed, but I must have accelerated at some point to overtake another vehicle and then quickly clear the fast lane. The average speed, BTW, was 66-68mph. I'm guessing that this also takes into account both slowing down due to road conditions, and driving in and out of charging stations.

 

[BTB 500]

I just had a look at my drive statistics for the journey through France, it seems that on most Autoroute stretches the top speed reached was 76mph (~120kmh), however at one point the maximum speed was 81mph (~130kmh). I don't remember setting the adaptive cruise control to that speed, but I must have accelerated at some point to overtake another vehicle and then quickly clear the fast lane. The average speed, BTW, was 66-68mph. I'm guessing that this also takes into account both slowing down due to road conditions, and driving in and out of charging stations.

Good info., thanks.

 

[markjay]

Update: Sadly, not driving to the South of Italy... taking the train instead.

The advice I got was that the roads will likely be chaotic during next weekend due to a combination of local holiday period and a trains strike... Google Maps says "10 to 14 hours" - it's the risk of having to spend up to 4 extra hours in congestion and traffic jams that I don't won't to take.

 

[j dog]

We are planning to take the EV on a trip to Switzerland in April, with our dog. This will be a leisurely trip with a stopover in France.

Any tips re driving through France, and into Switzerland?

Any legal requirements for either country? Last time I drove a UK-registered car to the Continent was well before Brexit.

Also, the car is on a lease and will go back to the finance provider in just over a year, and so I'm reluctant to invest in winter tyres if I can avoid it. Would I be OK driving there and back with the car's original summer tyres, at that time of year?

Any advice or tips you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Always a joy to do a road trip like this! Hope everything goes smoothly for you!

 

[markjay]

Always a joy to do a road trip like this! Hope everything goes smoothly for you!

Thanks. It did

Well, the outbound journey, anyway.

I'll report again after I get back.

 

[j dog]

Thanks. It did

Well, the outbound journey, anyway.

I'll report again after I get back.

Where abouts have you gone to out of interest?

 

[markjay]

Where abouts have you gone to out of interest?

London to Crans (near Sierre) in Switzerland with the EV. Then Crans to Puglia (South Italy) by train.

 

[AnnasMerc83]

Jumping on this thread… what extinguished does anyone recommend to have in the car?

One of these any good?

 

[rf065]

Jumping on this thread… what extinguished does anyone recommend to have in the car?

One of these any good?

View attachment 156998

Why? You don't really need one, if you did you would already have one in the car anyway.

 

[markjay]

I keep a 1Kg powder extinguisher in the car. I don't see myself using it on my own car, but it's good to have in case you are faced with a situation where a fire extinguisher might be useful, be it another car or anything else that's on fire. But keep your expectations in check.... these small fire extinguishers might put up a very small fire that has just started but won't be effective against anything bigger. Oh, and the powder will probably destroy the engine if sprayed into the engine bay.....

 

[AnnasMerc83]

Why? You don't really need one, if you did you would already have one in the car anyway.

I’m an over thinker and given it’s £30 odd quid, why not have one!

 

[StMarks]

Jumping on this thread… what extinguished does anyone recommend to have in the car?

One of these any good?

I keep a 1Kg powder extinguisher in the car. I don't see myself using it on my own car, but it's good to have in case you are faced with a situation where a fire extinguisher might be useful, be it another car or anything else that's on fire. But keep your expectations in check.... these small fire extinguishers might put up a very small fire that has just started but won't be effective against anything bigger. Oh, and the powder will probably destroy the engine if sprayed into the engine bay.....

Fwiw my Mercedes is primarily used as a "trackday transport tool", so as well as the fuelled up track bikes there are 2x jerry cans of petrol and the petrol generator (when at tracks with open pits & no mains power). As you can imagine, the idea of a fire anywhere near that lot is the stuff of nightmares.
Consequently I installed a 1kg powder extinguisher at the top of the bulkhead, that is a permanent fixture. When loaded up for the track, I also add a further 2kg powder extinguisher.
I have only ever needed make use of them once. It was (thankfully) someone else in the pits at Cadwell Park , and their front tyre warmer somehow set light !! We were parked up about 50 meters away, and heard a lot of commotion + lots of shouts of "fire". My mate grabbed our 2kg extinguisher and ran to help. By the time he got there the whole front of the bike was engulfed, with the flames lapping round the fuel tank!
He used the whole 2kg, and it easily put out the flames, very impressively effective actually imho.
However the mess that stuff made was stomach churning.
So, when I brought my replacement 2kg powder extinguisher I also invested in a Carbon Dioxide one. I now carry that as well, and we shall make that our first choice if we ever have an issue with our own kit.

 

[rf065]

I’m an over thinker and given it’s £30 odd quid, why not have one!

They go out of date and need replaced, and as said before they're not great at putting out anything unless it's just started. I had to carry two in works van for nearly 40 years and never used them once.
But you go ahead if you think it's a good idea.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I’m an over thinker and given it’s £30 odd quid, why not have one!

I’ve had two car fires - my old Cavalier where the stereo caught fire behind the dash and a tuned Metro turbo. In neither did I have an extinguisher and it’s amazing how helpless you feel. Having said that I still don’t carry one. I don’t really understand why to be honest!

 

[AnnasMerc83]

Fwiw my Mercedes is primarily used as a "trackday transport tool", so as well as the fuelled up track bikes there are 2x jerry cans of petrol and the petrol generator (when at tracks with open pits & no mains power). As you can imagine, the idea of a fire anywhere near that lot is the stuff of nightmares.
Consequently I installed a 1kg powder extinguisher at the top of the bulkhead, that is a permanent fixture. When loaded up for the track, I also add a further 2kg powder extinguisher.
I have only ever needed make use of them once. It was (thankfully) someone else in the pits at Cadwell Park , and their front tyre warmer somehow set light !! We were parked up about 50 meters away, and heard a lot of commotion + lots of shouts of "fire". My mate grabbed our 2kg extinguisher and ran to help. By the time he got there the whole front of the bike was engulfed, with the flames lapping round the fuel tank!
He used the whole 2kg, and it easily put out the flames, very impressively effective actually imho.
However the mess that stuff made was stomach churning.
So, when I brought my replacement 2kg powder extinguisher I also invested in a Carbon Dioxide one. I now carry that as well, and we shall make that our first choice if we ever have an issue with our own kit.

That’s a good shout, going with the carbon dioxide one… should cover the majority car related fire hazards.

I mean I know it’s unlikely to ever be needed but it would let me sleep better at night! Honestly the scenarios my brain sometimes comes up with, I should write a book.