Driving to and around France

[Stecivic09]

God have a safe journey and that's awful that you have to have them thanks for taking time out to tell me this before you go

Ste

[FrankstaH]

They time you from when you enter a toll to reach the otherside, so never speed as they will stop you and fine you!

Also i don't think the static speed cameras in france can actually read english plates... Or so i've been told!

Also don't annoy cops out there... they aren't forgiving to foreigners!

It is a lovely place to drive though, the roads are soo open and it's great

[northwich gaz]

been to france many times and never had any bother apart from blowing a renault 19 16v up many years ago, when travelling in town or on rural roads you will see a white diamond with a yellow diamond inside this means proite'a droite or give way to the right, funny thing is not in all places so it be aware and expect people in side roads to pull straight out,same goes for roundabouts some you have priority , some give prioprity to people coming onto the roundabout , its all common sense really , they now can lock you up for 50kmh over the posted limit but i have travelled all day at 150 kph with no bother at all, oh they can also nab you on the autroute if you arrive at the next toll to quickley, you must carry spare bulbs hi viz and all driving docs but really dont worry and enjoy it france is a beautiful country , make the effort in there lingo and you wont go far wrong, petrol is sans plomb ,diesel is gazzole,and dont waste money on headlight beam converters just put a bit of insulation tape on the dipped beam and it will do just fine

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by northwich gaz

been to france many times and never had any bother apart from blowing a renault 19 16v up many years ago, when travelling in town or on rural roads you will see a white diamond with a yellow diamond inside this means proite'a droite or give way to the right, funny thing is not in all places so it be aware and expect people in side roads to pull straight out,same goes for roundabouts some you have priority , some give prioprity to people coming onto the roundabout , its all common sense really , they now can lock you up for 50kmh over the posted limit but i have travelled all day at 150 kph with no bother at all, oh they can also nab you on the autroute if you arrive at the next toll to quickley, you must carry spare bulbs hi viz and all driving docs but really dont worry and enjoy it france is a beautiful country , make the effort in there lingo and you wont go far wrong, petrol is sans plomb ,diesel is gazzole,and dont waste money on headlight beam converters just put a bit of insulation tape on the dipped beam and it will do just fine

Thanks mate

[andyweston76]

I've been there a few times as my dad lives near Bergerac, always go Dover to Calais and drive all night. Follow what the guys have said and your be fine. I managed to drive from my dads in a place called Lougratte to Adinkerke in Belguim in 8.5 hours and the way I went was to avoid the A20, I was lucky not to be stopped and wouldn't advise anyone doing it that quick. The drive to Paris is ok, lots of service areas, if driving at night it's best to stop in the proper ones with garages, not the rest stop areas. Your also go under Charles de Gaulle airports runway, which can be offputting when a plane passes over. Breathalysers in France have to be NF approved, before November this year they will only advise you that you need to carry one of the disposable ones with you, if disposable is the ones your going to use or the more expensive digital ones, the police advice you carry two of the disposable ones so if one is used you always have a spare. as of November 1st you will be fined if you haven't got one in the car. You should manage Disneyland in about 4 hours or so. Enjoy it

[james-lew]

ive driven in france last year it was a very good experience apart from the joy at round abouts where its like everyman for himself with drivers just pulling out on me like they've got lauch control haha. im 19 now and will be going next year and ive noticed about this camera change because when i drove my sat nav told where the speed camera's were so i just slowed down, driving speed is quite difficult when theres straight roads and its just 55kmp its so tempting to go over. out of the week i only got caught by 2 speed camera's as was in the middle of the road and grey :S, all i seen was the flash and was doing quite abit over the speed limit but never got stopped. my dad has been before and he said when he got stopped by french police for a regular check it seemed but he just got out as you would and they just started righting him a ticket for not wearing a H.V jacket and then said that will be it, on your way. whilst my dad was very annoyed so as above they dont seem to like tourists so be aware because they might stop you just to check because they notice the GB number plate
also things i have known to need when driving in france are these-
*H.V jackets for yourself and passengers so if in dangerous place all of you need to get out of car
* Warning triangle
* 2 breathaliers
* a GB sticker on back of car
* first aid kit
* the headlight covers
* UK driving licence
* docs of car and insurance
* passport just in case
* most inportant cash
* also if have built in sat nav you must turn off the speed camera detecting device

[Stecivic09]

Thanks guys I have got so much info this forum is great for very helpful people thanks again

[james-lew]

glad to be part of helping you

[Stecivic09]

Cool 11 days to go before my drive from lancashire.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RevMonkey]

My parents live in France, about 2 hours north of Bordeaux, ive spent a lot of time there . took the missus to disney last january for her 30th as a surprise you will love it . If you've not been before Aerosmith rollercoaster is AMAZING so is space mountain, get free fast passes for all the rides by scanning your park tickets in the little booth things near the entrance of each ride, genius idea and no queues (was much busier than I thought). Stock up on bottles of pop and sandwiches etc at the little supermarket in the railway station ( right outside the entrances to the two parks) as inside its 4 euros for a small bottle of coke and 20 euros for a hotdog and chips . two jack and cokes in the bar in the Disney village was 15 euros each and in the hotel bar 25 euros!!!!!

Edit : the tower of terror actually made me scream like a little girl, queues are massive for it, and all the fast passes go within an hour of the park opening so go there first get a pass and do other stuff. but you HAVE to go on it!! Its nuts.....


Got stopped twice a toll booths, for a routine check monsieur, they nabbed my tom tom each time and checked to see if I had the camera locations turned off. On the spot fine of up to 1000 euros if they catch you! they actively check tourists, especially performance cars.

The French do like to tailgate I'll warn you now lol, and on pain of death stay away from the the Paris peripherique ring road its like the chase scene in the matrix 2 :/

If you run across traffic lights that just flash amber the whole time its "every man for himself" mode I'm not kidding!

Have a great time I did this time last year , I was mega excited so I kinda know how your feeling

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by RevMonkey

My parents live in France, about 2 hours north of Bordeaux, ive spent a lot of time there . took the missus to disney last january for her 30th as a surprise you will love it . If you've not been before Aerosmith rollercoaster is AMAZING so is space mountain, get free fast passes for all the rides by scanning your park tickets in the little booth things near the entrance of each ride, genius idea and no queues (was much busier than I thought). Stock up on bottles of pop and sandwiches etc at the little supermarket in the railway station ( right outside the entrances to the two parks) as inside its 4 euros for a small bottle of coke and 20 euros for a hotdog and chips . two jack and cokes in the bar in the Disney village was 15 euros each and in the hotel bar 25 euros!!!!!

Edit : the tower of terror actually made me scream like a little girl, queues are massive for it, and all the fast passes go within an hour of the park opening so go there first get a pass and do other stuff. but you HAVE to go on it!! Its nuts.....


Got stopped twice a toll booths, for a routine check monsieur, they nabbed my tom tom each time and checked to see if I had the camera locations turned off. On the spot fine of up to 1000 euros if they catch you! they actively check tourists, especially performance cars.

The French do like to tailgate I'll warn you now lol, and on pain of death stay away from the the Paris peripherique ring road its like the chase scene in the matrix 2 :/

If you run across traffic lights that just flash amber the whole time its "every man for himself" mode I'm not kidding!

Have a great time I did this time last year , I was mega excited so I kinda know how your feeling

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Cool mate thanks can't wait it going to be fun looking forward to the road trip it was a little Christmas pressie for the "kids" lol. The civic needs a good run it hasn't been on a good run for a bit. Good times


Thanks for your help buddy!!
Ste

[andyweston76]

There is also a garage right outside the car park entrance of the hotel Santa Fe, which I think is just outside the park boundary so sells at normal price and not Disney price. The speed limit is 130kph on ALL autoroutes unless otherwise stated or raining. Also think your find the thing about the Gendarmes stopping you at toll booths because you have been speeding is a myth, there are not speed cameras at then, yes the do hang around at them sometimes. I spent a good few hours doing 160kph+ when I came back last year and twice had a dodgy toll ticket which took a while to sort out, not once did I see the flick. I'm not saying go over and tear up the tarmac, just read somethings carefully, they don't have enough gendarmes to patrol every toll booth. Just watch out for the nasty speed cameras, they are starting to remove some warning signs for them! Where they still have a warning sign you get about a km before the camera, and on Autoroutes and duel carriageway route nationals I've been on the camera is on the central strip, between the carriageways.
If taking kids, take them to the rain forest cafe, they are really good.

[ElNino9]

Originally Posted by RevMonkey

My parents live in France, about 2 hours north of Bordeaux, ive spent a lot of time there . took the missus to disney last january for her 30th as a surprise you will love it . If you've not been before Aerosmith rollercoaster is AMAZING so is space mountain, get free fast passes for all the rides by scanning your park tickets in the little booth things near the entrance of each ride, genius idea and no queues (was much busier than I thought). Stock up on bottles of pop and sandwiches etc at the little supermarket in the railway station ( right outside the entrances to the two parks) as inside its 4 euros for a small bottle of coke and 20 euros for a hotdog and chips . two jack and cokes in the bar in the Disney village was 15 euros each and in the hotel bar 25 euros!!!!!

Edit : the tower of terror actually made me scream like a little girl, queues are massive for it, and all the fast passes go within an hour of the park opening so go there first get a pass and do other stuff. but you HAVE to go on it!! Its nuts.....


Got stopped twice a toll booths, for a routine check monsieur, they nabbed my tom tom each time and checked to see if I had the camera locations turned off. On the spot fine of up to 1000 euros if they catch you! they actively check tourists, especially performance cars.

The French do like to tailgate I'll warn you now lol, and on pain of death stay away from the the Paris peripherique ring road its like the chase scene in the matrix 2 :/

If you run across traffic lights that just flash amber the whole time its "every man for himself" mode I'm not kidding!

Have a great time I did this time last year , I was mega excited so I kinda know how your feeling

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Lol i had to sit down for 10 mins after tower of terror and i lost my voice cos i screamed so much

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by andyweston76

There is also a garage right outside the car park entrance of the hotel Santa Fe, which I think is just outside the park boundary so sells at normal price and not Disney price. The speed limit is 130kph on ALL autoroutes unless otherwise stated or raining. Also think your find the thing about the Gendarmes stopping you at toll booths because you have been speeding is a myth, there are not speed cameras at then, yes the do hang around at them sometimes. I spent a good few hours doing 160kph+ when I came back last year and twice had a dodgy toll ticket which took a while to sort out, not once did I see the flick. I'm not saying go over and tear up the tarmac, just read somethings carefully, they don't have enough gendarmes to patrol every toll booth. Just watch out for the nasty speed cameras, they are starting to remove some warning signs for them! Where they still have a warning sign you get about a km before the camera, and on Autoroutes and duel carriageway route nationals I've been on the camera is on the central strip, between the carriageways.
If taking kids, take them to the rain forest cafe, they are really good.

Thanks mate is the rain forest cafe in the Disney parks ill have to give it a go

Ste


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by ElNino9

Lol i had to sit down for 10 mins after tower of terror and i lost my voice cos i screamed so much

Cool lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pigdog]

is the breathalyser thing in force yet?

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by pigdog

is the breathalyser thing in force yet?

Yep I've got my kit, breathalyzers where in since June or July 2012 mate

•x2 breathalyzers (nf approved)
• high viz for myself and passengers
•warning triangle
•beam benders
•gb sticker but I have gb on my number plate
•first aid kit
•I have a few Spare bulbs for front
•two petrol cans (just incase)

That's my kit just need to check over my fluid levels this week to check all is in order!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[andyweston76]

Originally Posted by pigdog

is the breathalyser thing in force yet?

It came in in July last year but due to a shortage they decided to only enforce from November. I have since read that that it won't be enforced now until March this year. Make sure your breathalysers are NF approved, they have to be by French law

[Stecivic09]

Originally Posted by andyweston76

It came in in July last year but due to a shortage they decided to only enforce from November. I have since read that that it won't be enforced now until March this year. Make sure your breathalysers are NF approved, they have to be by French law

Oh we'll got mine now lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[andyweston76]

Originally Posted by Stecivic09

Oh we'll got mine now lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I got some last year, took a month to come because of demand, ordered 10, still have 10. Off again down there this year so will keep them