Quiet country roads....
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►►► Click here for a real-time map of driving conditions in France today
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Today's France has an excellent road network; but do not forget that
France is a big country, and while there is generally less congestion
on the roads than in England or Holland, distances can be longer. Allow
at least ten hours for the journey between Calais and the
Mediterranean. Depending on the route taken, the speed you drive, and
the destination, it could be a lot more.
Beware of the "cheap ferries" scam
Some internet sites that announce "cheap" ferry prices are actually charging more than the ferry companies themselves. Click here for more details. |
| Getting to your destination In spite of the tolls, it is usually best to use the French motorway system (autoroutes) specially if your holiday time is limited. However, you can cut your costs by following a few tips.
a) Petrol (gasolene) (fr. essence):
motorway filling stations generally charge premium rates, so fill up
off the motorway. You can usually find a superstore offering cut-price
petrol close to a major motorway exit.
b) Use free motorways where they exist, or motorway-standard dual carriageways (divided highways). Click here for a list of the main free motorways in France.
Note: New driving legislation.
Since
September 2008, all vehicles using French roads have had to carry a
fluorescent waiscoat or jacket, that must be put on in the event
breakdown before the driver leaves the vehicle. The jacket must be
carried in the car, not in the boot. Drivers not carrying the item face
an on-the-spot fine if stopped by police. The jacket is also obligatory
in a growing number of other European countries. |
Overnight stopovers
There are plenty of hotels sited close to motorway exits, notably
modern national chains such as Etap, Formule 1, Campanile, Ibis and
others. Click here for maps of handy hotels beside motorways to the south of France . Alternatively click here to find some B&B's near French motorways
. Booking in advance is advisable if you are travelling during a
summer weekend.or in a peak holiday period. At other times, it's
usually no problem just to show up.
Avoid Paris
Unless you feel quite at home on busy urban motorways, or the risk of
horrendous jams at busy periods, Paris and its Boulevard Périphérique
are to be avoided. Indeed, they are best left far away. Avoid Paris by
skirting well to the west, or well to the east, depending on your
destination. Click here for details of routes avoiding Paris.
Avoid congestion
If you can avoid travelling on Saturdays in July and August, this is
very advisable. On these days, many French motorways - and in
particular all the routes to and from the south - are liable to get
snarled up in places. The worst bottlenecks are in the Rhone valley
south of Lyons, along the south coast, and around Bordeaux.
Traffic can also be very congested at times of bank
holidays (jours fériés), notably Easter, 1st May, 8th May, and
"Toussaint" (1st November); French bank holidays do not necessarily
fall on a Monday. The weekends closest to the two summer bank
holidays (14th July and 15th August) tend to be particularly busy.
In January and February, Alpine motorways can get hyper-snarled up with ski traffic.
At other times of the year, Saturdays and Sundays are the best
days to travel on French roads, as most HGVs (lorries, trucks) are
banned on the French road network from Saturday 10 pm to Sunday 10 pm,
and on public holidays. Click here to check out busy holiday periods and weeks in 2010.
If time is not an issue, and you are just looking
for relaxed motoring in or through France, the network of secondary
roads can offer a wonderful way to see the country; except in the
vicinity of big towns, many secondary roads are under-used, and largely
free of lorries and trucks. The main obstacles may come in the
form of combined harvesters (in season), other agricultural vehicles,
or slow-moving camper-vans.
Finding your route
Road numbering in France:
Except on motorways, the French do not attach such importance to road
numbers as the British or Americans do; so the rule is to follow a
destinationrather than a
number. Motorways have numbers starting with A, such as A26;
strategic trunk roads, called "routes nationales" have numbers starting
with N, for example N13; but the once dense network of "routes
nationales" has been greatly reduced in recent years, and a lot of
former "N" roads are now "D" roads, meaning roads whose upkeep is the
responsibility of the local authorities.
As in the UK, motorway destination signs are white on a blue background, main trunk road signs are white on a green
background. A few cities (Paris, Lille, Lyon, Marseille,
Bordeaux, Toulouse) tend to be indicated on road signs over very long
distances on main routes; but apart from these, and on less major
routes, signs may just point to the next medium-sized town along the
way, even if the road itself goes all the way across France. It's fine
for the locals (who make up most of the traffic), but not very helpful
for long-distance travellers, who tend to be those who have greatest
need of route signs. A map, or Satnav (known as a GPS in
France) is therefore useful.
Like the UK, France has a
system of alternative holiday routes; these are known as "routes bis"
(i.e. b routes). They tend to be cross-country routes, using roads with
few lorries – though this is not always the case. "Route bis"
destination signs , like main roads, are white on a green background, and they often indicate fairly distant destinations, such as Perpignan, Lyon or Bayonne.
Speed limits
BE WARNED! Until
2007, cars registered outside France generally avoided getting speeding
tickets when flashed by a roadside speed camera. This is no longer the
case. New agreements between European police forces now mean that
details of any car caught speeding can be sent through to the offending
motorist; the system is not yet 100% operational, but the risk is
there. If you are flashed by a manned, rather than automatic, speed
camera, you may be stopped regardless of the nationality of your
vehicle; you may face an on-the-spot fine or, if guilty of very high
speed, the immediate impounding of your vehicle.
Speed
on French motorways is limited to 130 km/hr (just over 80 mph) -
and in places less. On dual carriageways, the limit is 110 km/hr, and
on ordinary roads it is 90 km/hr. In built-up areas, the speed limit is
50 km/hr, or sometimes 70. Beware of speed cameras. Over a thousand of these have now gone up on France's roads and motorways, and you can find the official French radar map
of them on Internet. However, do not forget that new radars are being
set up all the time, and that the official map obviously does not
include the mobile radar cars or the movable stationary radars. So the
best rule - not to say the most sensible one - is to observe the speed
limit.
Crawler lanes on French motorways; the speed limit for
crawler lanes is 60 km.h (Article R43/9 of French highway code). It
appears that police in Normandy have been fining foreign drivers on the
spot for exceeding this speed limit.
Car insurance:
Technically, if you have UK registered car, you do not need a green
card to travel within the European Union, just your national car
insurance certificate. Your insurer should be able to provide you at no
cost with a "European accident statement form", which should be used if
you are involved in an accident (see below). However, standard UK
insurance generally only provides third-party cover once outside the
UK; if this is the case, if you want full comprehensive cover, you will
need to get the extra cover from your UK insurer for the time you plan
to stay abroad. Consult your insurance company on this matter, or click
here for the AA.
What to do if you are involved in an accident in France
If you are involved in any accident with a French car, you will be
asked to fill in a "constat amiable" (an amiable declaration) by the
driver of the other car involved. This is a routine procedure.
If possible, call your insurance company at once on your
mobile phone. They may put you in touch with a local French
representative.
If you are involved in an accident
involving any sort of injury - even if it is not your fault - you MUST
remain until the police have come.
If your car is immobilized on the open road, due to an accident or breakdown, you must put up your hazard warning triangle at a suitable distance behind your vehicle. All cars travelling in France must carry a hazard warning triangle.
Driving at night in France
If you plan to do any night time driving in a vehicle with normal UK
right-hand drive, you must get beam deflectors for your headlights. UK
headlights dip to the left - which is fine in the UK, but means that
they dip into the view of oncoming traffic when you're driving on the
right. Deflectors can be bought form any motoring accessory store, or
you can simply stick a bit of black tape on the spot indicated.
On some vehicles, headlights have an adjusting screw for this purpose.
(Incidentally, continentals coming to the UK do not need to adjust
their headlights, as on the Continent headlights simply dip
vertically.)
In theory, all vehicles driving in France must carry
a spare set of lightbulbs - even though replacing them is now often a
garage job !
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