Strange driving habits in France?

[mizx]

Jasandjules said:

Fairly normal driving. Also note in Germany a car 6" off your bumper at 90mph will be flashing you out of the way. This is not deemed aggressive but your fault for being in the way of a faster moving car.....

Maybe I haven't driven enough in Germany, but I've never seen anything like that happen there (last driven to Kitzbuhel area via Bamberg and back via Bodensee a few weeks back), in fact I think I much prefer driving on motorways there than here.

It seemed stressful at first trying to get out when you need to, there's often much less time to indicate and get out than you get driving back here (two lanes doesn't help) but I found you just need to indicate and do it (obviously within reason), people will slow down behind you and then pass again when you move over - not seen the slightest whiff of roadrage. It probably sounds like pulling out in front of people reading what I've written, its not like that in reality.

Seemed to me the majority are pretty respectful of speed limits if there is one on the Autobahn they stick to it, and very rarely saw someone speeding in a 70km or a 50km limit - if a reduced limit appears or you're approaching roadworks everyone seems to slow down in good time, I don't think I saw a single car sailing through as some over here would do knowing there weren't cameras. I also like the fact everyone puts their hazards on when the traffic stops quickly.

[Steve7777]

France has just as many idiots as the UK unfortunately. You can often get someone up your bum indicating away when you’re stuck in a slow moving convoy in the outside lane. Floor it for a few seconds when the lane clears and drop back to 140-150 and when they eventually do catch you up they often drop in behind you.

[RSTurboPaul]

ClaphamGT3 said:

Baldchap said:

It means 'please let me pass'. It's been a feature of continental driving for decades.

It isn't 'fk you' or 'You're an idiot', it's simply 'please may I pass'. The correct response is usually to speed up beyond the flasher's desired speed or get in and stop lane hogging.

Absolutely correct - it is the more mannerly equivalent of flashing your headlights which, in France and much of continental Europe, is reserved as a “I’ve asked you nicely, now just fk off out of my way” signal

I've taken to doing this myself in the UK.

With so many muppets sitting in L2/3/4 for no reason, sticking the indicator on and sitting on the right hand line white line so you're definitely obvious to anyone paying even half the attention they should be usually means they pull in and let you pass, after which I'll raise a hand to say thank you as I pass - it rankles to do so, but I'm hopeful that 'reward' for doing what they should will reduce aggression and encourage them to do the same in the future.

However, if someone is blatantly paying zero attention, they get a flash.

If they're a totally fking moron, they'll get a toot or two.

[Bill]

mizx said:

It seemed stressful at first trying to get out when you need to, there's often much less time to indicate and get out than you get driving back here (two lanes doesn't help) but I found you just need to indicate and do it (obviously within reason), people will slow down behind you and then pass again when you move over - not seen the slightest whiff of roadrage. It probably sounds like pulling out in front of people reading what I've written, its not like that in reality.

You do get the odd throbber tanking up behind you before slamming on the brakes and flashing. If they weren't a knob and/or had been paying attention they'd have seen I was coming up behind a truck and would pull out and would have eased off in good time.

[AC43]

ClaphamGT3 said:

Baldchap said:

It means 'please let me pass'. It's been a feature of continental driving for decades.

It isn't 'fk you' or 'You're an idiot', it's simply 'please may I pass'. The correct response is usually to speed up beyond the flasher's desired speed or get in and stop lane hogging.

Absolutely correct - it is the more mannerly equivalent of flashing your headlights which, in France and much of continental Europe, is reserved as a “I’ve asked you nicely, now just fk off out of my way” signal

I've been doing this in the UK for decades. It used to sometimes work but these days often just results in volleys of abuse from the ignorant self entitled numpties who insist on blocking the overtaking lanes for whatever reason. fk knows why they do it.

I've just done 900 miles in France and it's utter bliss in comparison.

[NDA]

I've just done 1,500 miles or so in France and did have a couple of cars right up behind me - and when I was able to move over, they moved with me and remained on my bumper. Prats.

Fortunately France is so vast compared to the UK that I hardly saw any traffic on the back roads and very little on the motorways. Fabulous country...

[Jaguar steve]

NDA said:

I've just done 1,500 miles or so in France and did have a couple of cars right up behind me - and when I was able to move over, they moved with me and remained on my bumper. Prats.

Fortunately France is so vast compared to the UK that I hardly saw any traffic on the back roads and very little on the motorways. Fabulous country...

Indeed.

Just popping over for a long weekend and a bootfull of booze reminds you what a ghastly overcrowded and rapacious dirty little sthole the UK has become.

We've just got back from three weeks ambling down to Barritz and back. Would do it all again tomorrow.

[ecsrobin]

Steve7777 said:

France has just as many idiots as the UK unfortunately. You can often get someone up your bum indicating away when you’re stuck in a slow moving convoy in the outside lane. Floor it for a few seconds when the lane clears and drop back to 140-150 and when they eventually do catch you up they often drop in behind you.

The car probably pulls behind as they think you’ll just accelerate when they’re alongside?

I’ll take driving in Europe any day of the week.

[DoubleD]

Jaguar steve said:

Indeed.

Just popping over for a long weekend and a bootfull of booze reminds you what a ghastly overcrowded and rapacious dirty little sthole the UK has become.

So why stay here then?

[Stuart Fordyce]

DJP said:

Having just returned from another continental road trip I'd say that the French take lane "discipline" a little too far.

They seem to indulge in "swooping and zooming" whereby they get right up the arse of the vehicle they're overtaking and then pull around it at the last second.

So, if you pull into the overtaking lane in good time you just get baulked by a piddly Peugeot or Renault who decides to pull out at the last second, right under your nose just as you're about to overtake the truck or whatever.

And, having overtaken, they also seem to pull in less than a car length front of the vehicle they've just passed even if there's nothing behind them.

It seems designed to minimise their time in the overtaking lane. True, you get used to it easily enough and they don't get lane hogs, but it does seem a bit pointless at times.

Totally agree with this after spending a week on the bike there. It's like their driving culture was laid down by someone with Asperger's - no grey areas at all. Things like:

1. catching the car in front, then pulling out to overtake. Separation distance isn't considered at all
2. once you have passed, pull back in. Don't worry about giving the car you have just passed any room
3. a further aspect of this on the peage is that folk weave in and out of the smallest gaps between vehicles, rather than staying in the overtaking lane and making like comfortable for everyone
4. drive at the speed limit at all times, regardless of whether this is appropriate.
5. stay in the right lane on roundabouts, even if turning left

[Hungrymc]

Jaguar steve said:

Indeed.

Just popping over for a long weekend and a bootfull of booze reminds you what a ghastly overcrowded and rapacious dirty little sthole the UK has become.

We've just got back from three weeks ambling down to Barritz and back. Would do it all again tomorrow.

I don’t drink often so have never been one of the “booze cruise” crowd. Used to enjoy holidaying in France though, it’s been a few years since.

Plenty of very dodgy parts of French cities though. I’ll certainly take a few days in the Ardeche over a few days in St Denis.

[Porsche911R]

Stuart Fordyce said:

Totally agree with this after spending a week on the bike there. It's like their driving culture was laid down by someone with Asperger's - no grey areas at all. Things like:

1. catching the car in front, then pulling out to overtake. Separation distance isn't considered at all
2. once you have passed, pull back in. Don't worry about giving the car you have just passed any room
3. a further aspect of this on the peage is that folk weave in and out of the smallest gaps between vehicles, rather than staying in the overtaking lane and making like comfortable for everyone
4. drive at the speed limit at all times, regardless of whether this is appropriate.
5. stay in the right lane on roundabouts, even if turning left

Why do you need to give the car behind more room when over taking at a much faster speed ?

If people in the uk pulled over quicker it would be great, but the fastest lane in the uk is the inside lane these days, I stay in that and over take when I need to into lane 2, under taking every one in lanes 3 and 4 to do what they want.

Uk is the worse for lane hoggers.

[Jaguar steve]

DoubleD said:

Jaguar steve said:

Indeed.

Just popping over for a long weekend and a bootfull of booze reminds you what a ghastly overcrowded and rapacious dirty little sthole the UK has become.

So why stay here then?

Heavy family commitments and a wide circle of great friends. And err... that's it.

We already spend as much time out of the UK as we can manage traveling and sailing and it weren't for the kids and grandkids we'd both cheerfully sell up and bugger off tomorrow somewhere warm and sunny whilst we've still got the health and cash and enthusiasm to learn a new language and make a new life and maybe a new business too happen.

[Hungrymc]

Jaguar steve said:

Heavy family commitments and a wide circle of great friends. And err... that's it.

We already spend as much time out of the UK as we can manage traveling and sailing and it weren't for the kids and grandkids we'd both cheerfully sell up and bugger off tomorrow somewhere warm and sunny whilst we've still got the health and cash and enthusiasm to learn a new language and make a new life and maybe a new business too happen.

Go for it! Think of the positive impact on the grand kids having a staging poach over seas. The lesson it would teach them to broaden their horizons. If you really feel that way about the UK, you’d be doing them all a favour by showing them how easy it is to improve your life and they’d all visit regularly. Life is too short to live somewhere you resent.

[Wish]

This something my father , originally from Belgium would do over here. He also use to indicate right at zebra crossing when being the lead car, letting someone cross.

[DJP]

Stuart Fordyce said:

Totally agree with this after spending a week on the bike there. It's like their driving culture was laid down by someone with Asperger's - no grey areas at all. Things like:

1. catching the car in front, then pulling out to overtake. Separation distance isn't considered at all
2. once you have passed, pull back in. Don't worry about giving the car you have just passed any room
3. a further aspect of this on the peage is that folk weave in and out of the smallest gaps between vehicles, rather than staying in the overtaking lane and making like comfortable for everyone
4. drive at the speed limit at all times, regardless of whether this is appropriate.
5. stay in the right lane on roundabouts, even if turning left

And all of the above.

Don't get me wrong: I still prefer driving in France to driving here but per the OP, they do have some strange habits.

[DJP]

Porsche911R said:

Why do you need to give the car behind more room when over taking at a much faster speed ?

Who said they were overtaking at a much faster speed? If they were, it wouldn't be an issue but mostly they're not.

Otherwise, I agree with your post.

[Ken Figenus]

Have seen this impatience there too - it really winds me up when i clearly have slower cars in front of me and am just waiting for them to complete their overtake. Its childish but quite satisfying to leave the bumper grazer in a cloud of impatient humiliation once the road ahead clears.

WHY dont they get that there are a few cars negotiating traffic and that its not all about them pursuing their illegal speed on 135 tyres!? Toady selfish behaviour non?

[gareth_r]

Why do they have the offside (right) indicator flashing when they have to pass on the left? That seems counter-intuitive.

[AC43]

Stuart Fordyce said:

1. drive at the speed limit at all times, regardless of whether this is appropriate.

I'd blame the new-ish, fairly draconian speed limit enforcement for that. A lot of French people seem to accelerate up to the limit whether it's 70, 80 ,90, 110, or 130 and try not to exceed it. And I am much more likely to do something similar myself given all the speed trap warnings from Waze.

If they're irritating me I just give it a quick squirt, make some distance and then resume my cruising speed.

Overall I find them a lot less irritating that Brits. For the first hour or so out of the tunnel there were loads of Brits pulling out on me to overtake with no notice, hogging the outside lane for miles and, in one case, a bloke in a diesel Mazda 6 who decided I was leaving too large a gap from the car in front and promptly undertook. In another thread on adaptive cruise this is precisely why I don't use it in the UK.....

He was a grade A knob and in 20-odd miles he gave me the full M25 treatment of tailigating, blocking, pulling out and undertaking. He seemed to take special umbrage every time I passed him. I wasn't trying to do anything special, just maintain my speed at 110 to 130 kph on a pretty congested bit of motorway.

Eventually on a long uphill section I just nailed it for long enough to make sure I wouldn't have to deal with him any longer.

I just don't some across any French people pulling those sorts of stunts.

My heart usually sinks when I re-enter the UK motorway network at the end of the holiday and it all starts again.