About to take a Ferrari to France and Italy....
Discussion
Get yourself one of these for the Paege https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/ Nothing like pissing off the locals who laugh at the rosbif only to see you sail through the priority lane.
Oh and keep the vest inside the cabin....in the boot and it's a fine. Apparently they do check.
Oh and keep the vest inside the cabin....in the boot and it's a fine. Apparently they do check.
...I would avoid France.
Turn left when you exit the channel tunnel and then take the route through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and then through the Brenner and down through the lakes to Bolzano and so forth. The french' attitude towards sports cars with a British registrations are deplorable.
Turn left when you exit the channel tunnel and then take the route through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and then through the Brenner and down through the lakes to Bolzano and so forth. The french' attitude towards sports cars with a British registrations are deplorable.
hornbaek said:
...I would avoid France.
. The french' attitude towards sports cars with a British registrations are deplorable.
Utter rubbish. . The french' attitude towards sports cars with a British registrations are deplorable.
Don't take the pi££ with your speed, especially near Calais and you will be fine. If you think you have the right to blast through their country at any speed you like then of course the Gendarmes will have a problem with you.
The French love sportscasts in my experience and are always keen to speak to you about them.
The vast majority of France is rural. Avoid the autoroutes and major roads and head off the beaten track and enjoy yourself on some of the amazing deserted B roads.
swerni said:
traxx said:
Make sure you fit a front plate for France - they really have some problem with that
Is that anecdotal or do you know people who have been pulled?swerni said:
Is that anecdotal or do you know people who have been pulled?
I only ask as I'm taking the Vette over to France and don't have a front plate.
ps don't worry about breathalyser, there's no punishment for not carrying them. The wheels fell off on that bit of legislation.
I got pulled by the Gendarmes for no front plate. Talked my way out of it but they were not happy!I only ask as I'm taking the Vette over to France and don't have a front plate.
ps don't worry about breathalyser, there's no punishment for not carrying them. The wheels fell off on that bit of legislation.
Edited by swerni on Thursday 23 May 18:47
Davey S2 said:
Utter rubbish.
Don't take the pi££ with your speed, especially near Calais and you will be fine. If you think you have the right to blast through their country at any speed you like then of course the Gendarmes will have a problem with you.
The French love sportscasts in my experience and are always keen to speak to you about them.
The vast majority of France is rural. Avoid the autoroutes and major roads and head off the beaten track and enjoy yourself on some of the amazing deserted B roads.
Sorry but not my experience. They do want to talk to you about them but not in a nice way. I got stopped after paying at the toll and had not done anything wrong. No speeding etc. They wanted all the paperwork, examined the tyres and were really annoyed they could not find anything wrong. Funny we were the only UK sportscar around!Don't take the pi££ with your speed, especially near Calais and you will be fine. If you think you have the right to blast through their country at any speed you like then of course the Gendarmes will have a problem with you.
The French love sportscasts in my experience and are always keen to speak to you about them.
The vast majority of France is rural. Avoid the autoroutes and major roads and head off the beaten track and enjoy yourself on some of the amazing deserted B roads.
Make sure that if you want to go faster then the normal speed limit you'll never go more then 30km/h above that. Within 30km/h it's just a 135Eur fine (you need to pay that in cash or they'll take you to the closest cash machine), above 30Km/h it's a nightmare.
Got 2 speed bans in France over the past years, fine is something like 1800Eur and you can end up in court...nightmare!
Got 2 speed bans in France over the past years, fine is something like 1800Eur and you can end up in court...nightmare!
There are many great rural roads in France, espcially because the tarmac is generally in a better shape than Italy, but yes, you have to be more careful. I am Italian and I live close to France and I have been stopped many times both in ordinary and flashier cars.
In Italy too you may get stopped if you are going around in a 599 but generally beacause Police want to look at the car. The most boring differnce in speed controls is the placement of speed traps. In Italy there are fewer speed controls but the ones they put are always in trafficated places or at the entrance of a small town/village. In twisty and interesting roads out of towns I never saw a hiding speed trap in Italy while in France I once got caught in a place where I thought it was absolutely safe a bit of speeding.
I mean, you can't never be totally sure of avoiding a speed ticket in France, I saw many well hidden speed traps.
In Italy too you may get stopped if you are going around in a 599 but generally beacause Police want to look at the car. The most boring differnce in speed controls is the placement of speed traps. In Italy there are fewer speed controls but the ones they put are always in trafficated places or at the entrance of a small town/village. In twisty and interesting roads out of towns I never saw a hiding speed trap in Italy while in France I once got caught in a place where I thought it was absolutely safe a bit of speeding.
I mean, you can't never be totally sure of avoiding a speed ticket in France, I saw many well hidden speed traps.
I've been lucky I guess with a bit too much right foot, especially on the toll roads to get from A to B.
Don't avoid France, particularly the Alpine section. The D902 is the best road I've ever driven. Drive from Chamonix to Turin via the 902 and it'll be a drive you'll never forget. Sooooo much better than the likes of the Stelvio.
I'm off to France/Italy/Switzerland too next weekend. Flash me if you see a bloke trying to get a grey FF to go sideways.
Don't avoid France, particularly the Alpine section. The D902 is the best road I've ever driven. Drive from Chamonix to Turin via the 902 and it'll be a drive you'll never forget. Sooooo much better than the likes of the Stelvio.
I'm off to France/Italy/Switzerland too next weekend. Flash me if you see a bloke trying to get a grey FF to go sideways.
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=calais&dadd...
This, come back through France as it is a round trip. You can do the autobahn and the scenery.
This, come back through France as it is a round trip. You can do the autobahn and the scenery.
I've driven between UK and Italy many times in the last 4 years in an Aston and more recently in the FF. Most of the French drivers watch their speed, which should say something about the risk of being caught. Like anywhere, I keep an eye on the behaviour of the other (local) cars - if they all suddenly drop to 130 or 110, then they probably know something I don't - like a camera up ahead.
I've been lucky really, because after 2 hours of cruising along the (normally quiet) motorway at 130, the temptation to give a bit of gas is pretty high. Closest I came on my last trip was to notice a couple of bikers behind me in the distance - I instinctively slowed down a little and they closed up to about 5 metres behind me. Yes they were police
After a couple of awkward minutes they pulled out and came past thankfully.
my dealer told me they had 2 customers who have had their cars impounded for excessive speed in France.
I've been lucky really, because after 2 hours of cruising along the (normally quiet) motorway at 130, the temptation to give a bit of gas is pretty high. Closest I came on my last trip was to notice a couple of bikers behind me in the distance - I instinctively slowed down a little and they closed up to about 5 metres behind me. Yes they were police
After a couple of awkward minutes they pulled out and came past thankfully.
my dealer told me they had 2 customers who have had their cars impounded for excessive speed in France.
I live in Prague and have the odd business trip through Germany a few times a year. It is such a shame when I get back to the limited 130km on Czech motorways after doing 250km/h on the autobahn. You have a 599, how often do you get a chance to do 250km/h on public roads?
As mentioned earlier the Brenner Pass is awesome with amazing scenery, have done that one twice. If you have a love affair with France then fair enough but for me it would be.
Day 1- Calais- Frankfurt autobahn time after rush hour or preferably on a Saturday morning
Day 2_ Frankfurt -Innsbruk ( heh, you want to be fresh for the Brenner pass)
Day 3 Innsbruk to somewhere on Lake Garda for a few days.
Day 6 or 7 head up to the stelvio pass
After that just head home thorough Switzerland, Italy or France as the adrenaline rush would have been satisfied
As mentioned earlier the Brenner Pass is awesome with amazing scenery, have done that one twice. If you have a love affair with France then fair enough but for me it would be.
Day 1- Calais- Frankfurt autobahn time after rush hour or preferably on a Saturday morning
Day 2_ Frankfurt -Innsbruk ( heh, you want to be fresh for the Brenner pass)
Day 3 Innsbruk to somewhere on Lake Garda for a few days.
Day 6 or 7 head up to the stelvio pass
After that just head home thorough Switzerland, Italy or France as the adrenaline rush would have been satisfied
Heading through mid-eastern France is fantastic on some of the 'D' roads. Quiet, country roads, good condition, fast sweeping curves, often with great visibility ahead. Just be careful in towns (why wouldn't you? - no point in being stupid and risking other people).
Given the frustration of driving in the UK with too much traffic on all the good roads, French back roads, full on, are fantastic if you use a little care and common sense.
I remember heading from Paris to a small town stopover in a place called Vonnas (heading to a final destination of Maranello via Chamonix, the Alpine passes and the Italian lakes) - a fantastic day's driving off the beaten track.
Given the frustration of driving in the UK with too much traffic on all the good roads, French back roads, full on, are fantastic if you use a little care and common sense.
I remember heading from Paris to a small town stopover in a place called Vonnas (heading to a final destination of Maranello via Chamonix, the Alpine passes and the Italian lakes) - a fantastic day's driving off the beaten track.
I can mainly echo the comments of others but also add keep your wits about you in France, the number of times I've had someone pull out in front of me whilst driving substantially slower than my approaching speed is unreal, maybe I've been unlucky but I find the level of drivers awareness of their surroundings to be generally lower in France
swerni said:
traxx said:
Make sure you fit a front plate for France - they really have some problem with that
Is that anecdotal or do you know people who have been pulled?I only ask as I'm taking the Vette over to France and don't have a front plate.
ps don't worry about breathalyser, there's no punishment for not carrying them. The wheels fell off on that bit of legislation.
Edited by swerni on Thursday 23 May 18:47
They were just made to attach them (as they had them in the boot), no fines..
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