French Driving Laws
Discussion
surveyor_101 said:
Amateurish said:
Driving in France is much more pleasant than in the UK
Sorry there is a caveat to that>!!!As long as you have all the legally required kit and don't drive a lease performance car like a price nob= over 40kph over the limit!!!!
k99 said:
90kph roads are still that unless there’s no central reservation, then it’s 80kph.
Yup, there were lots of signs on the motorways telling me that. Everyone still seems to do 90kph on them though.Has anyone got any idea what the gantrys with loads of sensor/cameras hanging off them are for? As in 3/4 different sensors for each lane on the motorway and generally not speed ones (unless they've stopped playing nice and not signing these).
mcdjl said:
Yup, there were lots of signs on the motorways telling me that. Everyone still seems to do 90kph on them though.
Has anyone got any idea what the gantrys with loads of sensor/cameras hanging off them are for? As in 3/4 different sensors for each lane on the motorway and generally not speed ones (unless they've stopped playing nice and not signing these).
I was just over there for a couple of weeks. I started using Waze on one journey as the in built sat nav isn't much use getting around jams. Suddenly a whole new world of cameras and average speed areas was opened up to us. Probably not legal in France as it told you were all the police check points were but worth it as it’s not easy trying to keep to all the different speeds limits never mind trying to work out whether a road was 80 or 90. I generally found most vehicles, including lorries kept religiously to the limits. It was mostly Belgians for some reason that went tanking past.Has anyone got any idea what the gantrys with loads of sensor/cameras hanging off them are for? As in 3/4 different sensors for each lane on the motorway and generally not speed ones (unless they've stopped playing nice and not signing these).
k99 said:
I was just over there for a couple of weeks. I started using Waze on one journey as the in built sat nav isn't much use getting around jams. Suddenly a whole new world of cameras and average speed areas was opened up to us. Probably not legal in France as it told you were all the police check points were but worth it as it’s not easy trying to keep to all the different speeds limits never mind trying to work out whether a road was 80 or 90. I generally found most vehicles, including lorries kept religiously to the limits. It was mostly Belgians for some reason that went tanking past.
I used radarbot in France recently and it was great .. amazing how many there were. I wouldnt have seen them all without it. It didnt work in Italy/ Spain, either that or they don't have any! Jonny TVR said:
I used radarbot in France recently and it was great .. amazing how many there were. I wouldnt have seen them all without it. It didnt work in Italy/ Spain, either that or they don't have any!
Isn't any app or device that warns of speed cameras illegal in France?
|https://thumbsnap.com/TSstyiWB[/url]Abbott said:
The big law of the road that is very different to the UK is the "Priority Adroit". This can happen in big cities or small villages and it means that a car pulling out into the main carriageway has priority. Don't expect people to sheepishly emerge, they can treat it like a sport to catch you out. On main roads you will see yellow diamond that means you have priority. A backline through the yellow Diamond means watch out Priority Adroite applies
A red triangle with a 'x' in it also indicates priorite a driote. A red triangle with a '+' in it is priority to the main carriageway. To a British motorist they both just mean crossroads 
When I used Waze in France a couple of months ago it was reporting 'enforcement zones' of a few kilometers at a time, which invariably meant there was a camera somewhere in the middle.
I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
simion_levi said:
When I used Waze in France a couple of months ago it was reporting 'enforcement zones' of a few kilometers at a time, which invariably meant there was a camera somewhere in the middle.
I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
Weird the French! You can keep a bird kept in the dark so eat over eats in a panic swelling in size and then drown it alive in Armagnac! Then cook it and eat it feet first in one mouthful under a napkin, but you start sticking to the speed limit and using something to tell you where the cameras are they draw the line!I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
surveyor_101 said:
simion_levi said:
When I used Waze in France a couple of months ago it was reporting 'enforcement zones' of a few kilometers at a time, which invariably meant there was a camera somewhere in the middle.
I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
Weird the French! I'm led to believe that this is a legally acceptable dodge as they are not reporting the exact site - and since at least 115.3% of French drivers use it, you probably should too.
surveyor_101 said:
nickfrog said:
Nowhere near as weird as your posts on this thread though. But you're not going there anyway, so it's all good.
Insults aplenty, are you able to offer comment on whether apps that show speed enforcement zones are, are illegal or did or were you trying to Troll me?
Breadvan72 said:
You mention French/EU law. It may help to clarify how the legal systems of the EU and of EU member states interact. NB: this is a summary, not a dissertation for an LLM.
EU law is part of the law of each member State (including the UK until next March, and possibly in some form thereafter, depending on what happens. But EU law only covers some aspects of life, and not all of it, and member states remain mostly free to do their own things in most areas. Broadly speaking, motoring laws are matters for individual member states and are not determined on a EU-wide basis, although there is some harmonisation in certain areas of the law relating to motor vehicles.
Stuff like speeding and making illegal turns and so forth is usually a matter of national law. Thus there are local variations in rules all across the EU, and there is no one quick and easy guide to the extent to which the law of France is the same as or is different from the law of any other State. Googling can show some key rules for driving in France, Italy, Germany and so on. In general, "don't dick about", and "don't come over all Imperious British and silly if stopped" are useful guidelines. There have been some recent threads here about what happens when people disregard the second of those guidelines.
The above is a pretty good summary as far as I'm concerned.EU law is part of the law of each member State (including the UK until next March, and possibly in some form thereafter, depending on what happens. But EU law only covers some aspects of life, and not all of it, and member states remain mostly free to do their own things in most areas. Broadly speaking, motoring laws are matters for individual member states and are not determined on a EU-wide basis, although there is some harmonisation in certain areas of the law relating to motor vehicles.
Stuff like speeding and making illegal turns and so forth is usually a matter of national law. Thus there are local variations in rules all across the EU, and there is no one quick and easy guide to the extent to which the law of France is the same as or is different from the law of any other State. Googling can show some key rules for driving in France, Italy, Germany and so on. In general, "don't dick about", and "don't come over all Imperious British and silly if stopped" are useful guidelines. There have been some recent threads here about what happens when people disregard the second of those guidelines.
Whilst there are a number of guidelines published online and on paper from various sources, in general these are often fairly limited, sometimes very limited in covering a few key points.
There is a book listed on Amazon, French Highway Code in English, from 2016(?), but is not available for whatever reason.
If you really want chapter and verse, from LegiFrance website you can get Code de la Route, search it or get the entire thing on pdf. 450 pages in French legal text. I have reasonable conversational French, plus some specialist technical French and my eyes glaze over after about ten minutes, so good luck with that option.
This issue encapsulates my objection to after the fact cross border enforcement of trivial motoring offences. It's all well and good following the "don't be a dick" mantra, and genning up on some of the key issues, but how many threads are there on here which descend into arguments around interpretation of signs with worded plates, or interpretation of the rule where we gave full access to the legal wording, and not just the Highway Code Janet and John interpretation. Try doing that in Finnish, where it's all Greek, or one of the Baltic languages. Can, open, worms all over the place.
You can always rely on threads like this to bring out one or two of the narrow-visioned Little Englanders, who seem to object to the right of Johnny Foreigner to have rules that are not exactly the same as British rules (the same British rules, BTW, that the same people often slag off on here as dreadful). Hey, some of the grumpies seem to object to the right of Johnny Foreigner even to exist at all. How dare anyone not be British! If all this fear of difference and experience keeps the timorous John Bulls at home, this is good news for those of us who enjoy the pleasures of driving in France, and the civilised lifestyle stuff that awaits when you stop driving. Also, the French are quite good at footy.
Breadvan72 said:
You can always rely on threads like this to bring out one or two of the narrow-visioned Little Englanders, who seem to object to the right of Johnny Foreigner to have rules that are not exactly the same as British rules (the same British rules, BTW, that the same people often slag off on here as dreadful). Hey, some of the grumpies seem to object to the right of Johnny Foreigner even to exist at all. How dare anyone not be British! If all this fear of difference and experience keeps the timorous John Bulls at home, this is good news for those of us who enjoy the pleasures of driving in France, and the civilised lifestyle stuff that awaits when you stop driving.
Wise words. Again.But the Breadvan72 said:
Also, the French are quite good at footy.
And then you go and spoil it all by exposing yourself as a yobbo.They get a bit snotty if you don't maintain the appropriate gaps on motorways, there are markers to assist with this . They have recommended gaps as well as speed limits in many tunnels , as do most European countries .
In Germany the low village speed limits (50kph) start at the name plate of the village as you enter and end at the name plate as you exit . Many do not have the speed limit posted . The speed limits for towing often change over bridges and at pinch points on the major roads .
In Germany the low village speed limits (50kph) start at the name plate of the village as you enter and end at the name plate as you exit . Many do not have the speed limit posted . The speed limits for towing often change over bridges and at pinch points on the major roads .
anonymous said:
[redacted]
To be fair, the Brits have, for many years, taken a somewhat lax attitude to driving rules in Europe, because the roads are generally good quality and generally quiet, and the risk of prosecution was always low to nil. The EU rules have (not very) recently changed, so that UK drivers can now be fined for abusing those rules and, thanks to the reputation that UK drivers have cultivated in the past, they are potentially easy pickings.When I was stopped last year, the officer asked me if I'd had a drink. At 11am, I said no, although I did have a drink the previous evening. He did the Universal Mime for an English bloke 'getting on it', which I denied (as it wasn't true), and I think he was a little surprised when I blew zero on the meter.
Brits have a self-inflicted reputation in France, and it will take a while to shake off. Events like Le mans are a good example of it.
Most Frenchmen in my village have had more than one drink by 11 am,just this morning I was drinking with two French mates in thier cellar at 10.30 am.
The police are used to people having an early morning drink.
Edited to add that I didn't drive again until 6.30 pm to go to the local bar!
The police are used to people having an early morning drink.
Edited to add that I didn't drive again until 6.30 pm to go to the local bar!
Edited by magooagain on Friday 20th July 21:51
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