2 questions on kit for driving in France
Discussion
Supposed to have the hi viz, supposed to have the breath kit.
I have both, never bothered about where the hi viz is, and in many many many trips, I've never been checked anyway !
Make sure your sat nav doesn't have scamera warnings, that is supposed to be their latest pet hate, but again, I haven't been checked.
I have both, never bothered about where the hi viz is, and in many many many trips, I've never been checked anyway !
Make sure your sat nav doesn't have scamera warnings, that is supposed to be their latest pet hate, but again, I haven't been checked.
Synchromesh said:
1) Is hi-vis needed for just the driver, or all passengers? I've seen conflicting advice on this.
craigjm said:
1) all passengers and they must be in the car not in the boot
agtlaw said:
1. 1x hi viz to be worn before exiting the vehicle.*
See what I mean. Does anyone have to the official French highway code equivalent which would have this explained definitively.- according to the AA and RAC it's one; not one per occupant.
I only know this from a podcast from radio le mans talking about driving to the race, but they had some useful advice,
hi vis jackets- must be worn as soon as the door is open, so as mentioned above, in the back of the car, not the boot, and everyone out of the car must be wearing 1, so might as well keep them all in the car,
breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
hi vis jackets- must be worn as soon as the door is open, so as mentioned above, in the back of the car, not the boot, and everyone out of the car must be wearing 1, so might as well keep them all in the car,
breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
rwstokes said:
everyone out of the car must be wearing.
breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
The AA and RAC say otherwise. What's your authority for one per occupant?breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
I've checked. Law now in force. Fine in force from 1st Nov.
This is possibly the French law on hi vis: http://textes.droit.org/JORF/2008/10/04/0232/0004/
My schoolboy French is a bit lacking.
Edited by agtlaw on Saturday 7th July 23:54
Might be as well to risk it on the UK side, and to visit a french supermarket on their side, where they are available for a couple of euros, without the UK side ripoff pricing.
On the SatNav question, I presume that is only speed camera warnings within France, rather than having to remove the UK ones too?
On the SatNav question, I presume that is only speed camera warnings within France, rather than having to remove the UK ones too?
agtlaw said:
This is possibly the French law on hi vis: http://textes.droit.org/JORF/2008/10/04/0232/0004/
My schoolboy French is a bit lacking
that says only the driver needs the hi-vis vest, but it must be reachable within the vehicle and worn when exiting the vehicle in emergencyMy schoolboy French is a bit lacking
That's also what the police explained as they handed out free vests at the autoroute services on the day the law on vests came in
Edited by mikef on Sunday 8th July 00:23
agtlaw said:
rwstokes said:
everyone out of the car must be wearing.
breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
The AA and RAC say otherwise. What's your authority for one per occupant?breathalyzers i believe doesn't come into effect into 1st october, but is advisory from first of july, so might as well.
I've checked. Law now in force. Fine in force from 1st Nov.
This is possibly the French law on hi vis: http://textes.droit.org/JORF/2008/10/04/0232/0004/
My schoolboy French is a bit lacking.
Edited by agtlaw on Saturday 7th July 23:54
You don't need to wait until you get to the port.
POUNDLAND had HiVis jackets for.... ONE POUND.
They currently have universal bulb kits for a pound too!
Breathalysers - lack of wont be prosecuted in foreign vehicles until November - if they bother to enforce it at all!
The best way to acquire hi-vis vests is to learn to fly. It's the sort of thing that people leave lying around in the back of your aeroplane, and I've even had the bloody things appear in my flight bag. You don't need to steal them; they just gravitate inexorably towards you whether you want them or not.
Seriously? Your going down to the Alpes and your not going to bother? So your happy to spend £100 on road tolls and £150 on Fuel but not £5.99 on a breathalyzer?
The fine is £8 so it isnt really rocket science,,,,,,,,but then again,,,,,,,
On the subject of vests, imagine the scene, your driving down the M1 and your electrics start to fail, you pull over as the engine has now died, you try and turn on your hazards but they don't work. You get out in the dark and notice the marker post with a picture of a phone on it directing you to the nearest one (You all knew that didn't you),you start walking away from your car and someone approaching you has a child who wants a pee and pulls over assuming there is nothing on the shoulder having seen no lights or anything alerting them to the fact there is something there.
I don't need to go on. Why anyone wouldn't carry and wear one is a mystery to me but then with the dumbos we have on our UK roads, its hardly surprising. On a recent trip (to the Alpes) I saw several people on the shoulder, triangle out, vest on and well away from their cars, not like our uneducated, thoughtless lot who sit in their car in the rain 1 foot from 56 mph trucks.
The fine is £8 so it isnt really rocket science,,,,,,,,but then again,,,,,,,
On the subject of vests, imagine the scene, your driving down the M1 and your electrics start to fail, you pull over as the engine has now died, you try and turn on your hazards but they don't work. You get out in the dark and notice the marker post with a picture of a phone on it directing you to the nearest one (You all knew that didn't you),you start walking away from your car and someone approaching you has a child who wants a pee and pulls over assuming there is nothing on the shoulder having seen no lights or anything alerting them to the fact there is something there.
I don't need to go on. Why anyone wouldn't carry and wear one is a mystery to me but then with the dumbos we have on our UK roads, its hardly surprising. On a recent trip (to the Alpes) I saw several people on the shoulder, triangle out, vest on and well away from their cars, not like our uneducated, thoughtless lot who sit in their car in the rain 1 foot from 56 mph trucks.
Edited by 'G'ster on Sunday 8th July 12:17
agtlaw said:
1. 1x hi viz to be worn before exiting the vehicle.*
2. 1x breath test. Law now in force. Fines in force from November 1st (from memory)
This2. 1x breath test. Law now in force. Fines in force from November 1st (from memory)
That said though, with an EN471 tabard only costing £1 if you buy them well, it makes good sense to have one available for anyone who may leave the car in the event of a breakdown.
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