Advice regarding driving to France and Switzerland

[SpikyMikey]

Switzerland is the oddball in all this, as they aren’t a member of the EU so never had the EU countries access to DVLA records through the data sharing agreement. Instead, Switzerland has long had a procedure where they use a UK company to access DVLA keeper records and then pursue civil cases for debt recovery in UK courts.

While some do “get lucky” exceeding the posted limit in Switzerland, it really is one of the worst places in Europe to do so. Camera fines are pursued back to the UK, and if stopped at the time licences can be confiscated on the spot and short-term bans imposed making driving impossible. I really do recommend sticking to the limit in Switzerland.

And generally Swiss traffic cops have absolutely no sense of humour at all.

 

[JHS]

And generally Swiss traffic cops have absolutely no sense of humour at all.

Ftfy.

 

[Stratman]

"Switzerland has long had a procedure where they use a UK company to access DVLA keeper records and then pursue civil cases for debt recovery in UK courts."

Is that legal in the UK? What reason does the UK company give for wanting access to the DVLA records? Are they allowed to pass on your data without your permission?

 

[Neiltodd]

Switzerland is the oddball in all this, as they aren’t a member of the EU so never had the EU countries access to DVLA records through the data sharing agreement. Instead, Switzerland has long had a procedure where they use a UK company to access DVLA keeper records and then pursue civil cases for debt recovery in UK courts.

While some do “get lucky” exceeding the posted limit in Switzerland, it really is one of the worst places in Europe to do so. Camera fines are pursued back to the UK, and if stopped at the time licences can be confiscated on the spot and short-term bans imposed making driving impossible. I really do recommend sticking to the limit in Switzerland.

Portugal are also using a UK company to chase motorway charges.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Portugal are also using a UK company to chase motorway charges.

Speeding fines or motorway charges?

(Portugal, bless their cotton socks, have electronic logging of registration numbers rather than motorway kiosks and payments.

The motorway charge thing is about the motorway operator chasing usage payments, which is very different to Governments being able to chase speeding fines

 

[Neiltodd]

Speeding fines or motorway charges?

(Portugal, bless their cotton socks, have electronic logging of registration numbers rather than motorway kiosks and payments.

The motorway charge thing is about the motorway operator chasing usage payments, which is very different to Governments being able to chase speeding fines

Yes motorway charges not the government after speeding fines. They still have kiosks alongside electronic registration of numbers and strangely no barriers at them. As you drive thru your bip and go just bleeps and reads your reg. (unlike France where there is a barrier so you can't go thru without paying)

 

[Pontoneer]

You will need to carry fluorescent vests for all occupants in the car and wear them if you break down on an autoroute in France.

It’s almost impossible to avoid Swiss motorways (and semi-motorways) without meticulous route planning so you will need a vignette which, unlike other countries that offer short period options, is only available as an annual purchase. Speed limit enforcement in Switzerland is strict, and basically zero tolerance with very heavy fines for transgression.

As a leased vehicle you will need to obtain a VE103 from the lease company and carry it with you together with an original copy of your insurance documents.

Regarding tyres, you will need to check for the specific regions you are travelling to/in as winter tyres are mandatory in some locales with the mandatory period often ending during April.

Have a great trip!

it has been a while since I drove on the continent , but in some places , having snow chains in the boot is an acceptable alternative to winter tyres ( and winter tyres there often mean proper studded tyres , not what people here call winter tyres but are really cold weather tyres with a softer compound ) .

 

[markjay]

I was attending a conference today, two of the deligates said they regularly drive their Teslas to France, apparently there are loads of chargers everywhere, the slowest charger they encountered was 50kW, and the vast majority of chargers are unused. By the sound of it, France is a paradise for EV drivers... hopefully this will be same in Switzerland.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I was attending a conference today, two of the deligates said they regularly drive their Teslas to France, apparently there are loads of chargers everywhere, the slowest charger they encountered was 50kW, and the vast majority of chargers are unused. By the sound of it, France is a paradise for EV drivers... hopefully this will be same in Switzerland.

I've been here for two months now, and I wouldn't say that charger availability is any better that the UK, but then I've never seen a charger queue in the UK.

Teslas are far less common than in London - but there's no such thing as a French manufactured Tesla.

But you'll have no difficulty at all topping up on motorways, at Hypermarkets and Supermarkets. Often for free at Carrefour, as previously discussed, and randomly free at places like Marinas.

Roadside chargers? Not so much

The only cause for concern in Switzerland? Impromptu runs into the mountains with only a third in the tank. I had to do a 100 mile round trip to pick up a stranded cyclist from the Alpilles and I wouldn't have liked to have done that with "half a tank of juice." Would have been fine if there'd been hotels and towns around, but there weren't = at least not that I noticed. But I wasn't looking at a Zapmap.

What's the supercharger situation for the Hyundai these days? Can it connect to the V3 yet ?

 

[markjay]

I've been here for two months now, and I wouldn't say that charger availability is any better that the UK, but then I've never seen a charger queue in the UK.

Teslas are far less common than in London - but there's no such thing as a French manufactured Tesla.

But you'll have no difficulty at all topping up on motorways, at Hypermarkets and Supermarkets. Often for free at Carrefour, as previously discussed, and randomly free at places like Marinas.

Roadside chargers? Not so much

The only cause for concern in Switzerland? Impromptu runs into the mountains with only a third in the tank. I had to do a 100 mile round trip to pick up a stranded cyclist from the Alpilles and I wouldn't have liked to have done that with "half a tank of juice." Would have been fine if there'd been hotels and towns around, but there weren't = at least not that I noticed. But I wasn't looking at a Zapmap.

What's the supercharger situation for the Hyundai these days? Can it connect to the V3 yet ?

The IONIQ 5 has an 800v charging system and can charge at up to 220kW, however this requires an Ionity 350kW charger, and these are not very common (and, you can only get the maximum charging speed with a warmed-up battery). More realistically, I'll be able to charge at ~100kW on a 150kW charger.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The IONIQ 5 has an 800v charging system and can charge at up to 220kW, however this requires an Ionity 350kW charger, and these are not very common (and, you can only get the maximum charging speed with a warmed-up battery). More realistically, I'll be able to charge at ~100kW on a 150kW charger.

Understood.

I thought there was an issue (for all non-Teslas) with compatibility with the Tesla V3 (but not the first two generations of supercharger) when it first came out. Just wondered whether that had been fixed now?

 

[markjay]

Understood.

I thought there was an issue (for all non-Teslas) with compatibility with the Tesla V3 (but not the first two generations of supercharger) when it first came out. Just wondered whether that had been fixed now?

No idea, will have to ask this question on the IONIQ 5 forum. Personally, I've never tried charging the car from a Tesla charger of any type.

 

[nyssa7]

The IONIQ 5 has an 800v charging system and can charge at up to 220kW, however this requires an Ionity 350kW charger, and these are not very common (and, you can only get the maximum charging speed with a warmed-up battery). More realistically, I'll be able to charge at ~100kW on a 150kW charger.

Hmm, I’ve seen 217kW using Ionity on my I5 that doesn’t have preconditioning, just as warm or not as having some some decent mileage before stopping to charge

 

[markjay]

Hmm, I’ve seen 217kW using Ionity on my I5 that doesn’t have preconditioning, just as warm or not as having some some decent mileage before stopping to charge

That's good news!

 

[GP801]

Last week drove we to Italy via France and Switzerland. A mix of motorway and more minor roads. In France motorway services all had banks of ultra rapid chargers available with contactless payments. Only saw one in use - by a UK plated IX. BEVs are just not that common yet in France and there is good motorway infrastucture. Not so good on the backroads though. Switzerland had plenty of options too. Many rest stops with no ICE fuel had a bank of EV chargers. Again very few in use.Swiss roads were good and literally everyone was keeping to the rules. Even the Italian plated cars were not speeding. Charging in Italy is also pretty good now. Ultrarapids common on motorways but they are often only accessible in one direction. There is not always a matching set going the opposite way. Need to plan carefully. In towns lots of AC chargers at up to 22kw but not many Ultra rapids although it is getting better slowly. Not all accept contactless but the Electroverse card seems to work for most options.

 

[clk320x]

however this requires an Ionity 350kW charger

Fairly good availability of these over in Europe.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

No idea, will have to ask this question on the IONIQ 5 forum. Personally, I've never tried charging the car from a Tesla charger of any type.

Ps. Here’s my local roadside charger.

Ridiculously cheap, but still more expensive than free charging at Carrefour

I

 

[markjay]

Ps. Here’s my local roadside charger.

Ridiculously cheap, but still more expensive than free charging at Carrefour

I


View attachment 154300

One of the chaps said that the most he ever paid for electricity in France was 50¢ per kWh.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

One of the chaps said that the most he ever paid for electricity in France was 50¢ per kWh.

Exactly, and the average would be less than half that.

Really you only need to pay for electricity when crossing France. All you local touring can easily be free, if you don’t mind doing that.

 

[markjay]

Update:

Left London this morning, arrived safely at the hotel, off the A4.

If driving in France.... forget about ABRP and EV route planning... it's just not needed. Use whatever satnav you wish, and when the charge level goes down, simply pull into the next Ionity charging station... they are everywhere. With fast 350kW chargers... lots of them. All bays free. Must have cost the French €€€€€€€€ to build them...

On the plus side, there are dozens of wind turbines along the route, many were feathered (I.e. switched off), probably due to overcapacity.

And at €0.59 per kWh, you can't argue with how the French did it. Only question is.... where are all the French EVs?