Driving through France - Advice Needed

[Spinal]

Not that I trust anything the DM says... but in 2006 they said this:
British motorists to be fined for speeding abroad | Mail Online

and in 2008:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...in-France-to-get-points-on-their-licence.html

Any idea what happened since?

 

[ca-uk]

From wikipedia:

France has an agreement with Switzerland for recognition of licence points and suspension and is working on agreements with other countries, especially the UK.

I assume it's up to date..

 

[Spinal]

From wikipedia:

France has an agreement with Switzerland for recognition of licence points and suspension and is working on agreements with other countries, especially the UK.

I assume it's up to date..

Good to hear... I had heard that French police were waiting around Calais specifically to catch speeding motorists... and as such I made sure to stick to the speed limit VERY accurately when in Northern France... (not that I would EVER speed )

I did see a few cops; but so far (touch wood) have never fallen foul of them in France... At least that's one country where I don't have a speeding ticket

M.

 

[Londonscottish]

If you guys have got 7-seaters (like me) then you have no option but to have the 2CV spare wheel. Not enough room under the back seats for a real one!

+1

The only saving grace is that you do at least get a nice big strong polythene bag in which to put your filthy punctured one while it has to sit in amongst your luggage.

Great.....

 

[Mr E]

Thanks for that. That's the link that I found, I used the post code of my friend's place over there and it worked fine. My only concern is whether there was enough of my address in the form to let the postal service work its magic, although I followed up with an email to their fulfilment people with the complete address. I shall cross everything and see what happens.

Little doobry arrived this morning, registered post. Much smaller than the ones I've seen before, but that's no bad thing I suppose.

 

[Spin_bowler]

Little doobry arrived this morning, registered post. Much smaller than the ones I've seen before, but that's no bad thing I suppose.

Thanks. I'll keep a look out for mine. They've debited the £8 from my card so I expect I'll get it in the next couple of days.

 

[Londonscottish]

Thanks for all the posts - here's where I'm up to

COMAND
I've got multi-country COMAND 4.1. The latest is 11.1, with TMC. But it's another £200. Might just stick with what I've got.

Xenons
I've now read the manual and figured out how to do it

Recovery
I still need to decide on AA/Autoprotect/Mobilo/other. Will probably just upgrade AA as that's the easiest way.

Insurance
I get 90 days free with ABC (and sames when I swap to Aviva half way through holiday

Other mandatory stuff
I've got a high vis jacket and a bulb kit, both from Halfords. Forgot the GB sticker. Will copy reg and insurance docs. Also upadting change of address on driving licence

Other optional Stuff
I'll probably get the widow blinds
And the toll pass thingy

Quick Service
And I'll have a quick check at the local indy to make sure everything is tickety
boo. And get the headrest DVD's fitted.

 

[Londonscottish]

Yes the 211 DVD is Europe-wide. RTFM.

Well I am slowly making my way through the 800+ pages of handbook/COMAND book.....

GB sticker on the back, hi-viz vest, 'leccy tyre pump, iPod connected - off you go!

Just the GB sticker to go.....

(but keep an eye on your speed - they are hotter over there now and hide their grey boxes in the bushes in the central reservation)

Yep - not nearly as much fun as it was back in the 80's and 90's.....

 

[Londonscottish]

APRR do Liber-T Balade which can be charged to a credit card - here's the link. It costs €10 for the tag (including postage) and you only pay €1.50 per month that you use it. They send it after 8 days as they have to allow 7 days to cancel for on-line orders now. The trick is to get round the requirement for a valid French post code.....

So, basically you need to use a valid French address during the registration process....but you can nominate a UK delivery address?

 

[Mr E]

So, basically you need to use a valid French address during the registration process....but you can nominate a UK delivery address?

Nope.....

If I remember rightly it went something like:

Rue 7 My Road (you had to select a road type in French)
My Town XX1 1ZZ
My County
61000

When the registered package arrived (I was amazed that you had to sign for it! Didn't think that type of thing worked...) the address was printed as above but without the French postcode bit. All arrived 2 days after being sent.

You do select your home country at the beginning of the process, so I asume this affects the outcome.

It seems from postings elsewhere that as long as you can get past the French postcode, and your UK one is within the address, everything seems to work out fine.

 

[Londonscottish]

Nope.....

If I remember rightly it went something like:

Rue 7 My Road (you had to select a road type in French)
My Town XX1 1ZZ
My County
61000

When the registered package arrived (I was amazed that you had to sign for it! Didn't think that type of thing worked...) the address was printed as above but without the French postcode bit. All arrived 2 days after being sent.

You do select your home country at the beginning of the process, so I asume this affects the outcome.

It seems from postings elsewhere that as long as you can get past the French postcode, and your UK one is within the address, everything seems to work out fine.

Merci

 

[Hi-Ho Silver]

This is just some stuff off the top of my head. There are blogs dedicated to travelling around France and many make good reading. I don't have time for a blog, so here's what springs to mind. It's not all negative warnings so do read on. If you need anything specific, feel free to ask.

Do not, under any circumstances, cause the French Gendarmes to have anything to do with you. They are not Police as we know them, they are armed and mostly emotionally neutral beings, bordering on very unfriendly.

When you are almost driven off the road by French lorry drivers, don't even think of retaliating because they really are complete morons and they will not stop if you plough into trees as a result of their nonsense. Keep out of their way because they need to maintain a constant speed.

The law regarding always giving way to traffic coming from the right, is gradually being phased out across France because French drivers have abused it almost as much as they abuse everything else on the roads. They posses a gene which causes them to think that anything ahead of them must be wiped off the face of the Earth if they are approaching from the right and this includes filtering into traffic from the right too! You'll notice that they always must be in front, even if turning right immediately after overtaking. They are mostly unsympathetic to other road users especially while driving from work to home for lunch and vice versa. Stay off the local roads between 12-ish and 2-ish if possible as they are rat-runs for hungry/ late French people. Mostly everything closes between 12 and 2 anyway, so plan to stop well ahead.

I had guns pointed at me by Gendarmes in Tarbes because a French pikey (correct term being used) in a white van, decided our campervan (left hand drive) was fair game and I disagreed with him.... then his face, right shoulder and right kneecap too, because he was waving a machete at me the whole time and that's simply not nice. The Gendarmes arrived (happened to be there rather than were called) just as I had disarmed him and only the road crew, who saw everything, and my missus (who is very French) saved me from being incarcerated or shot or both. I was stationary in traffic, on a one way system which they were in the process of digging up and the Pikey was aggressively filtering in from the right, then the left after mounting the pavement to 'overtake' me. I doubt he would hesitate to do it again.

IF you have to park at a service station to rest, make sure you do not leave ANY valuables in sight, if you leave your vehicle parked. I make a habit out of filling a bumbag with important stuff to take with me. If you can park directly in front of the service station building's entrance, under the main forecourt lights and cameras, do so. A few too many anecdotes to retell about this regarding the massive population of 'Gypsy travellers' who target vehicles in such places.

If camping, do make full use of the Municipal Camping areas as they are usually very good. Your satnav might have them marked but if not they're usually well signposted.

Take a clearly typed list of useful numbers with you because IF something should happen, scrambling around for a card with something on it is a right pain. A dedicated folder with everything useful in it is what I advise. Also buy a pay as you go SIM and use it while in France. I think 3 might still have a cheap deal running for using a phone abroad.

Keep lots of change handy for toll road payages and remember that you're progress is being timed between paying/ entering and leaving. If you're too quick, you may well receive a fine when you come to leave the road. Also be aware that toll road charges vary as the roads are often privately owned. Charges can soon mount up. The only reason to take a toll road over a non toll is ease of driving (roundabouts and lights on A roads) and fuel efficiency. You can set your cruise to 60mph and leave it there for hours at times but is the cost of the toll more than the savings in fuel? Probably not but it's a damn sight easier to get from A to B, if that's what you need to do. Make sure you set your Satnav up correctly.

Keep a fuel container in your boot. Sometimes stations can be just a little too far away. Obviously don't leave it filled in your boot during high temps. If in doubt, empty it into your tank.

Don't take things you could easily buy in France with you. It's not Mars!

Locals are generally lovely, Parisians tend to be a little harsher.

mosquito repellant/ room plug-ins/ coils.

Hope this helps. Sorry if it's a repeat of what others have already said, I haven't read the whole thread.

Ai-Oh Argent

 

[Spin_bowler]

Nope.....

If I remember rightly it went something like:

Rue 7 My Road (you had to select a road type in French)
My Town XX1 1ZZ
My County
61000

When the registered package arrived (I was amazed that you had to sign for it! Didn't think that type of thing worked...) the address was printed as above but without the French postcode bit. All arrived 2 days after being sent.

You do select your home country at the beginning of the process, so I asume this affects the outcome.

It seems from postings elsewhere that as long as you can get past the French postcode, and your UK one is within the address, everything seems to work out fine.

I finally got mine in the post this morning. My fudging of the address wasn't as successful and it got returned to the supplier undelivered. Fortunately I have a French colleague based in Paris who was able to sort it out for me as the telephone number for their customer service doesn't work from here.

Looking forward to seeing if it works next Wednesday.

 

[Tiff]

Good to hear... I had heard that French police were waiting around Calais specifically to catch speeding motorists... and as such I made sure to stick to the speed limit VERY accurately when in Northern France... (not that I would EVER speed )

Oops...

IF you have to park at a service station to rest, make sure you do not leave ANY valuables in sight, if you leave your vehicle parked. I make a habit out of filling a bumbag with important stuff to take with me. If you can park directly in front of the service station building's entrance, under the main forecourt lights and cameras, do so. A few too many anecdotes to retell about this regarding the massive population of 'Gypsy travellers' who target vehicles in such places.

Double oops...

After driving in France recently I found it pretty OK- got caught out by the priority from the right a couple of times,but never came across it on a roundabout. A good tip I was given from a fellow Euro biker,and use it myself all the time is to Scan all your documents,then email them to yourself, so you can print off a copy anywhere. Handy if your car would be nicked with all your stuff.
Motorway service stations were pretty crap, certainly compared to Germany,and stunk.
Also French kids are rude, and push in front in queues, as well as standing in front of all the sandwiches for ages squishing them all before decididing they didn't want one anyway... This may have been a one off......

Oh, and they speak funny....

P.S : I used the built in Sat nav on my Nokia phone, which is free and it was superb, just download maps from Ovi for all the countries you need, and traffic info,speed limits everything come up- brilliant!

 

[Beetnik]

Just had the best breakfast of my life in a cafe in Deauville - mind you it should have been at €15.25!

 

[Mr E]

Looking forward to seeing if it works next Wednesday.

Cool...

Didn't realise you're off on Wednesday too! We're on the 1730 out of Dover, then overnight (stopping somewhere...) to a village not far from Girona in Spain.

I'm just burning some mp3 DVDs for the trip

 

[Spin_bowler]

I'm on the Eurotunnel early morning and aiming for somewhere in the Dordogne, not too far off the autoroute by late afternoon/early evening. That'll leave me an easy trip to Toulouse to pick the OH and kids up at the airport in the morning.

 

[jimti]

Thanks for all the posts - here's where I'm up to

COMAND
I've got multi-country COMAND 4.1. The latest is 11.1, with TMC. But it's another £200. Might just stick with what I've got.

Xenons
I've now read the manual and figured out how to do it

Recovery
I still need to decide on AA/Autoprotect/Mobilo/other. Will probably just upgrade AA as that's the easiest way.

Insurance
I get 90 days free with ABC (and sames when I swap to Aviva half way through holiday

Other mandatory stuff
I've got a high vis jacket and a bulb kit, both from Halfords. Forgot the GB sticker. Will copy reg and insurance docs. Also upadting change of address on driving licence

Other optional Stuff
I'll probably get the widow blinds
And the toll pass thingy

Quick Service
And I'll have a quick check at the local indy to make sure everything is tickety
boo. And get the headrest DVD's fitted.

I am off too.

Do you take original docs like the V5 or will a copy suffice?

Do not take copies of your V5 and insurance documents, they have to be original and you risk very high fines if you only have copies, I drive extensively on the continent and have seen lots of people fall foul of the French for having copies of their docs and have seen fines in 4 figures on more than one occasion.

 

[jimti]

you should have an European Health Insurance Card for medical emergencies as well as any travel insurance.

other docs
Drivers licence
MOT certificate
Green card (ask insurance company for one) this may not be compulsory but will help ease you through a "Control".
If you don't speak French, get a phrase book.

 

[Londonscottish]

Do not take copies of your V5 and insurance documents, they have to be original and you risk very high fines if you only have copies, I drive extensively on the continent and have seen lots of people fall foul of the French for having copies of their docs and have seen fines in 4 figures on more than one occasion.

Thanks for the tip! One less thing to do before I go then!