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Driving in France - Legal Stuff

3K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  fu-kacper 
#1 ·
Sorry for a possible boring thread but I am going to France over Easter and have some worries about what I have to take . .

Compulsory items are:
Nationality sticker
Beam deflectors
Warning triangle
Bulb kit (I will come back to this one)

Recommended items are:
First aid kit
Fire extinguiser

I have all apart from a fire extinguiser and the bulb kit. I have a bulb kit to cover brake lights, side lights and indicators. My problem is that I have xenon OEM lights and the bulbs are pricey to say the least at £70 a bulb. The other issue I have is that if they do fail and I have to replace them it will be a real task with the bumper on.
Am I expected to shell out £140 for bulbs just so I have them in the car? Xenon bulbs aren't supposed to fail so will that help in my defence at all?
 
#3 ·
I drove down to Le Serignan, the south of France last august on holiday m8....
You certainly don't need a fire extinguisher so forget that part. As far as bulbs go, just a standard set from Halfords will do as long as you can show them if asked. They only want to see that you have them in the car.
To be totally Legal though with Xenons, yes you will have to carry a pair of them.

May I add though something that is LAW to carry in the vehicle and NOT in the boot and that you have missed off your check list.....
Flourescent vests for each person in the car. Check places like poundland or poundworld for these vests or you will be forking out £12.00 each for them!
You do not need a GB sticker if your numberplate already has the blue EU logo with GB on it.:thumbs:
 
#27 ·
Hi guys,



No, the only thing that must be kept accesible in the car is the hi-visibility jacket (only one per car in France), I put it under a seat...
You can put everything else in the boot :
1 standard bulb kit, one bulb of each type is enough (so you can add one xenon bulb if you want, but I bet that nobody will look at that...), the warning triangle too.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies. I missed off the high vis vests. So I need to get 4 then - 1 for me, 1 for the good lady and then 2 small ones - 1 for a 6 year old and 1 for a 4 year old. I have an old 1 I can use, it hs Royal Mail across the back but I am sure thats fine :)
I wasn't aware they had to be in the cabin so thanks for that info!
But I am not forking out £140 for a pair of xenons that i won't have to use, thats just silly!

Thanks again for the advice.
 
#7 ·
The French hang the hi-vis over their seats to show they are in the car and stop getting pulled in the first place.

I usually have mine in the door pocket so they can see them when they lean in the window.

Watch your speed after you get off the ferry, the connecting motorways seems to be where a lot of the traffic police choose to hang out.

Only the petrol 156's really need fire extinguishers, and then only those that are not looked after with regular oil checks ;)
(speaking as a former 156 driver, not having a bash!)
 
#9 ·
Apart from all that... Great roads, even the motorways! Your satnav should pick out the fixed speed camera's. I did a 2,024 mile round trip and not one flash from the frenchy camera's :) .... Just be careful of the laser gunners though, they are usually set up on the overpass bridges.
Many peeps will complain about the french drivers in general ( it's true if you are in or around the outskirts of Paris):rolleyes:
But, saying that.... I found them to be very, very polite drivers, they don't hog the outside lane at all and if you are going to overtake on a motorway just make sure you keep your indicator flashing and they will quickly move out of your way without complaint.... Nice peeps... No, Really :)
 
#10 ·
Having lived in France for 3 years now, a couple of minor items of advice. 1. Be very careful on roundabouts, the french have a habit of still giving way to traffic entering a roundabout even though the law changed many years ago, also they have a habit of going all away around the roundabout in the outside lane, so be very careful exiting a roundabout. 2. get yourself familiar with the signs indicating you must give way from the right. That means you can be on a main road and you have to stop and let the guy turning right onto your main road from a little side road enter, otherwise if you dont and he hits you its your fault 100%. Just be aware and careful. 2 types of signs A black cross with the words "priorite a droite", 2nd type is for zones and I cant quite remember but its similar to a no stoping sign and a national speed limit sign. Have fun. I think the law in France is 1 hi-vis jacket minimum, but in Italy it is 1 per person... Dont want to get into a debate, I have 1 in my car.
 
#12 ·
This should give you the 'low-down' on what you require. :)

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/AA_France_Monaco.pdf

Then just enjoy yourself - every time I cross the Channel, I find I'm more relaxed driving there than a lot of places in the UK. As others have said, a lot of the rumours you here about French drivers are just that -rumours, :rolleyes:. And if you behave yourself, the cops there won't hassle you any more than those here are likely to. In over 80 visits, I've never been stopped yet - oh well, I suppose that's just put the 'kiss of death' on my next trip, :D .
 
#13 ·
a lot of the rumours you here about French drivers are just that -rumours, :rolleyes:.

I'd say your wrong here, during my visit in January I was in the center lane doing the legal 70 (120) during a blizzard, the outside lane was 6 inches of snow, as I was in the queue overtaking slower traffic a van with a trailer decided that the traffic wasn't fast enough and pulled into the 3rd lane and acccelerated to at least 90mph, this retard wasn't the only one to go out there, and about 5 miles down the road had had a glint in my eye as I tooted the horn when we passed the up turned van and the 3 cars that piled into it in single file, the 3 cars were needless to say, a beemer, a merc and a citroen and all wore french plates.
 
#15 ·
Enjoy the drive on quieter roads (unless you are going near Paris.....). I drove to the south coast of France last summer and I think everything has been covered. I only took one Hi Vis jacket as I thought that was all you needed. Make sure you get a green card for your insurance - I got reversed into while we were away and have still not had te excess back!!!
 
#19 ·
I looked into the legal requirements prior to a trip to France last year. Fairly sure (as Doc G has already mentioned above) that you only need 1 hi-vis vest in the car, not one per passenger. Having said that, if you can pick them up cheap, then it wouldn't do any harm to have 1 per passenger as I recall reading they might extend the law to 1 per passenger at some point (in an attempt to extract further fines out of the visiting Brits).
 
#20 ·
France is usually very easy to drive in with most people being helpful when you are a little confused as to where you are going.
However, watch your speed. The French have become increasingly keen on setting radar traps and issuing on the spot fines. It is very easy to let the speed drift up if you are on an empty road.
One other note of caution. If you are in some cities make sure your doors are locked. In places like Nice thieves will target cars at traffic lights for bag snatches.
But really it can be a very enjoyable place to drive.
have a good time
 
#23 ·
A minor hijack of this thread now but it is relevant - where the hell do you stick the headlamp reflector thingies on a facelift 156, I've bought some but never figured where to put 'em, second question does anybody bother with them?
I've been to Germany several times with my Fiat Cinq, but I didn't bother with the converters. Not right I know, just like the thousands of LHD Euro cars running round the UK without them.

Alfa used to sell headlight protectors for the pre-facelift 156 in both plain and masked converter versions. I have both (purchased 9-years ago!) haven't been over with my 156 yet, so they are still in the loft unused.
 
#24 ·
:rolleyes:

Please fit converters, its really dazzling on unlit roads.

If you don't you can of course also look forward to an extra fine if your stopped for any other reason.

PAJ - euro countries differ, all needs jackets, some need for driver only, some for any person getting out of the car, some for every occupant. Check the AA site for a list of what countries need what.
 
G
#26 · (Edited)
:rolleyes:

Please fit converters, its really dazzling on unlit roads.
What he said.

FFS it's not difficult.

Point you car at a wall and then use black electrical tape
to mask out the bits of the beam that are bent for RHD driving.


Flourescent vests for each person in the car.

No you don't. Driver only. :thumbs:

And I'm not even sure it applied to foreign reg'd cars yet.

The French hang the hi-vis over their seats to show they are in the car and stop getting pulled in the first place.

That will not stop you getting pulled if they are looking to pull you.

You do not have to display it on the back of the driver's
or passenger's seat unless you want to look like a dick. ;)





Not sure you need the green card anymore in the EU?
(could be wrong?)

Well I do. The green card is the insurance doc in France.
You must have all your docs with you in the car at all times:
Reg doc, insurance doc and licence. It's a €90/doc fine if they
feel like throwing the book at you.
 
#25 ·
i did a 2k trip to south of france and only stuck a GB sticker on the car. Looks like i escaped a few fines then!!! Great driving though, 100mph all the way on there major roads and only 3 speed cameras in 2000 miles. Loads of warnings for them too. Loved every minute of driving in France and then was seriously pissed off driving on the uk roads. Viva La France:rolleyes:
 
#31 ·
Also, when driving in Austria - even for a few KM's on their roads, you must pay a toll - this is NOT CLEARLY MARKED out at all, you have to pull over and stop and pay at a petrol station/roadside cafe as soon as you enter and stick the ticket to your windscreen, the Austrian Toll system is totall sh:t.
 
G
#32 ·
i have drive through France for the last few years and really enjoy it, as others have said the drivers are very laid back.

Toll roads are another thing to watch out for, when you get to the pay booth if you have got there too fast i have heard they can stop you on the spot...

I stick to 130Kmh, it's not worth the risk, however i have heard of people being flashed by the cameras and not getting fined, not a chance i want to take.

have fun and enjoy
 
#33 ·
I know this is late as I went to France about a month ago but I just want to say thanks to one and all for their advice. I didn't get stopped once and the roads were fantastic! Toll roads were empty and free of any police at all!
Only 1 mistake I made was on the way to Euro Disney from the direction of Rouen - follwing my sat nav. Sat nav is great in most cities - not on Paris's motorways. Most of them go through tunnels, in those tunnels they have the junctions I needed. Of course my sat nav couldn't tell me as it had no signal. So driving up the Champs Elysee was interesting but not as nearly as "interesting" as the 8 car wide no-road-markings roundabout at the Arc De Triomphe!!! That was just plain scary!:eek:
I suppose better advice to ask for on this trip would have been "what to do for 7 hours sat on Calais docks?" Yep, our return trip to the UK was on one of the days of the port blockade by French fisherman . . . marvelous!
:mad:
 
#34 ·
They also have a recent new law (only came in a couple of months ago) that says if they catch you speeding 20km/h over the posted limit, they can confiscate your car on the spot. My mate who lives in France and has a Porsche and AMG Mercedes is really paranoid about it!

You don't get the car back if you've had it confiscated, so for example if Mr Filthyrich were to buy a brand new Ferrari and take it on the road and get caught at 160km/h, he could lose his car and be £160000 out of pocket :|
 
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