Driving in france

[clk320x]

Hi guys,

Planning a day trip to Belgium though France with the family

So I'm 99% sure all we will need:

- High vis vest
- headlamp beam deflector stickers
- breathalyser

I know I need a warning triangle but my car has one fitted in the boot which I see when I open it... is this okay?

Also is 1 high vis vest enough? Or do I need one per person.

Document wise I believe we need:
- V5
- proof of insurance
- driving license

Can anyone confirm if this is all I will need?

Cheers
Abs

 

[whitenemesis]

Spare bulbs, Hi-vis one per passenger and must be carried in the cabin

Have a read here

Top 10 tips for driving through France, Legal Requirements | RAC Drive

 

[clk320x]

Spare bulbs, Hi-vis one per passenger and must be carried in the cabin

Have a read here

Top 10 tips for driving through France, Legal Requirements | RAC Drive

Thanks

If we were taking my car it has an issue where some times one xenon won't work... so guess if we got pulled over we'd get a fine? The last couple of days they have fixed themselves but it's not something that can be fixed at the roadside if it remanifests...

Another option is taking a different car but would love to take the clk.

 

[markjay]

Hi guys,

Planning a day trip to Belgium though France with the family

So I'm 99% sure all we will need:

- High vis vest
- headlamp beam deflector stickers
- breathalyser

I know I need a warning triangle but my car has one fitted in the boot which I see when I open it... is this okay?

Also is 1 high vis vest enough? Or do I need one per person.

Document wise I believe we need:
- V5
- proof of insurance
- driving license

Can anyone confirm if this is all I will need?

Cheers
Abs

And license plate with GB marking, or GB stickers.

 

[markjay]

And you are supposed to turn off the speed cameras warning on your SatNav.

 

[rf065]

Thanks

If we were taking my car it has an issue where some times one xenon won't work... so guess if we got pulled over we'd get a fine? The last couple of days they have fixed themselves but it's not something that can be fixed at the roadside if it remanifests...

Another option is taking a different car but would love to take the clk.

There is no French law that says you have to carry spare bulbs. If a bulb is out & you are stopped by the police, they will not let you continue your journey. So it is advisable if possible to carry spare bulbs but is not required by law.

Russ

 

[Avnt]

And you are supposed to turn off the speed cameras warning on your SatNav.

Yes as the fine is quite ridiculously high for getting caught


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[st13phil]

Make sure the documents you have with you (V5, Insurance Cert., MOT, Driving Licence) are originals, not copies. Don't worry about the breathalyser as the regulation enabling the fines has been suspended indefinitely.

Have a nice trip

 

[Graeme_m]

It doesn't sound as if you will be stopping in Paris, but apparently the French have introduced another piece of legislation for us all.

New Law for Driving in France
Deadline date 31st March 2017
The French government have launched a new scheme for all cars driving in Paris and other French cities (currently Lyon and Grenoble) which will include British registered cars.
From 31/03/2017 your car needs to display an emissions sticker showing the age and cleanliness of your vehicle.
If your vehicle does not display the sticker you could face hefty on the spot fines.
The anti-pollution sticker can only be ordered on-line from the official Crit’ Air website
www.certificat-air.gouv.fr

As I understand it, this certificate only applies to three cities (for now) and will cost €4.80 I also believe there is a big backlog on the official site, which is struggling to keep up with demand.

 

[davidjpowell]

The breathalyser law is not enforced as the minister who brought it in had a large ownership of the firm that made them. How very French.

One high biz per person which should be reachable me from the inside of the car.

Most sat navs no longer show camera position but danger areas which is permitted. Check.

I always take a bulb kit but if it's a xenon or even a normal bulb it's debatable as to whether I can do anything

 

[xant14]

Fire extinguisher and first aid kit too.
And as someone has said, Crit-Air for certain French cities and an equivalent German sticker too
Environmental badge -  Environmental badge

 

[Darrell]

I went through this entire experience in August last year. Every is available in a kit from Halfords. I didn't use the headlamp deflectors cos I didn't drive at night. Didn't see a single copper in 3 weeks.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Some of the driving in France rules are pretty outdated (but still enforced) the main one that seems daft is the spare light bulb one. There are hundreds of cars out there that have lighting systems that can simply not be repaired on the side of the road no matter what 'bulbs' you are carrying with you.

I worked in Belgium for a while and one of my routes home every second weekend had me crossing in and out of northern France several times (crossing the 'border' as the road wound its way home)

Technically every time I entered France my sat nav turned me into a criminal but when I popped back into Belgium I was legal.

SWITCHING THE SPEED CAMERA FUNCTION OFF WILL NOT HELP YOU IF YOU GET STOPPED BY THE WRONG FRENCH COP.

The sat nav unit has to be switched OFF and not in the passenger cabin of the car.

They have been known to stop UK drivers when they spot a sat nav on the windscreen. Good luck arguing the toss with a French traffic cop.

Don't forget to use 'beam benders' on your headlights.

Drive safe.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I went through this entire experience in August last year. Every is available in a kit from Halfords. I didn't use the headlamp deflectors cos I didn't drive at night. Didn't see a single copper in 3 weeks.

I use beam benders every time but I seem to remember someone saying that their is a 72(or something) hour exemption rule. Something to do with lorries.

Don't know.

 

[rf065]

I use beam benders every time but I seem to remember someone saying that their is a 72(or something) hour exemption rule. Something to do with lorries.

Don't know.

There is no law that says you have to use them at all.
The law only states it is an offence to dazzle oncoming traffic, there are many ways to avoid doing this without the need for headlight deflectors.

Again, there is no law that says you must carry a fire extinguisher, only an obscure reference to it being an offence to drive past a car on fire without trying assist the occupants.

Russ

 

[Darrell]

Re the sat nav in the windscreen.
In the age of built in sat navs etc do people still have a big Garmin suckered to the screen.
I used my iPhone with Google maps. Simply plonked it in the dash, propped up against the instrument binnacle or put it up against the ashtray and my wife told me where to go.

 

[flat6buster]

Re the sat nav in the windscreen.
In the age of built in sat navs etc do people still have a big Garmin suckered to the screen.
I used my iPhone with Google maps. Simply plonked it in the dash, propped up against the instrument binnacle or put it up against the ashtray and my wife told me where to go.

My wife often tells me where to go. She does not require a sat nav to do this.

 

[Darrell]

My wife often tells me where to go. She does not require a sat nav to do this.

I knew someone would pick up on that line but I couldn't be bothered to re-edit it.

 

[219]

Re the sat nav in the windscreen.
In the age of built in sat navs etc do people still have a big Garmin suckered to the screen.
I used my iPhone with Google maps. Simply plonked it in the dash, propped up against the instrument binnacle or put it up against the ashtray and my wife told me where to go.

I regularly see people with them at night , set to full brightness and right in the middle of the screen .

I have TomTom and NAVIGON on my phone , but seldom use them .

 

[Benzowner]

Most motorways in France are only 2 lane, you MUST adopt good lane discipline not as a lot of drivers in the UK do. The only cars that hog the outside lane are normally Brits .

I regularly drove to Southern Holland from Calais through Belgium, rarely saw any police and it's a nice drive.