First Driving Trip To France

[//j17]

Speed Limits
Motorways and dual carriageways - 130kph in the dry/110kph (with headlights on) in the rain.
General roads/outside build up areas - 80kph unless signed as 90kph.
General roads/inside built up areas - 50kph unless signed otherwise.

"Built up area" - entering a town/village you'll pass a white, rectangular place name sign with a red border and editing a similar sign but with a black border and a red diagonal line through it. Those mark the start and end of the built up area/50kph speed limit.

[GreatGranny]

Waze is a good app to have.

Do you need a roof box with only 3 of you especially if you take the Tiguan?
Tiguan also for elevated seating position and ease of getting child in and out.

I'm sure you'll be ok for accommodation doing it on the fly.
It's a big place and you're out of school hols I think.

[gazza5]

Enjoy the trip to france!

I have a golf estate - last time we went to Belgium Centre Parcs (could be a option in france for a few days?) we had one suitcase with all our clothes etc in (obviously), a buggy, 2 bags of food (the tesco bag for life slightly bigger ones - not the 20p ones). Plus a pack of water bottles (in case we got held up on motorway due to accident etc).

1. You will realise how crap our roads are - and will get to experiance the marvelous road surface as you come off the tunnel onto the M20.
2. Hi Viz - Like others I have these on the back of driver and passenger seat - I think technically you need them for the kids as well - not 100% on that - we didn't bother
3. Obviously don't fill up on the motorway (same as here) and need change for a pee
4. Keep to speed limits

Other than that enjoy!

[smifffymoto]

On main roads there are markings,in the sticks,as a rule,there are not. In towns keep your eyes peeled.

Familiarise yourself with ‘priorite a droit’.

[//j17]

There's a lot of ass covering around the hi-viz rule from people like the AA/RAC, saying "one per passenger". That's not actually what the law says though as I understand it, which is "one per passenger exiting the vehicle" - so technically it's only required to have 1 vest, for the person getting out to put the warning triangle up/fix the car/use the emergency telephone. Obviously that means everyone else has to stay in the car so one per-passenger is advantageous, just not required. Also this rule only applies to motorways.

smifffymoto said:

Familiarise yourself with ‘priorite a droit’.

To be honest there are very few "priorité à droite" junctions left these days, certainly joining more major roads - and fewer drivers who will just throw themselves into the road because the law says they have priorité. It's very much a hangover from the days when a top speed of 50mph was impressive and if someone did pull out on you the chances of there being someone coming the other way were minimal (though travel outside rush hour/big towns and you can start to wonder where everyone's gone )

[Rushjob]

//j17 said:

There's a lot of ass covering around the hi-viz rule from people like the AA/RAC, saying "one per passenger". That's not actually what the law says though as I understand it, which is "one per passenger exiting the vehicle" - so technically it's only required to have 1 vest, for the person getting out to put the warning triangle up/fix the car/use the emergency telephone. Obviously that means everyone else has to stay in the car so one per-passenger is advantageous, just not required. Also this rule only applies to motorways.

smifffymoto said:

Familiarise yourself with ‘priorite a droit’.

To be honest there are very few "priorité à droite" junctions left these days, certainly joining more major roads - and fewer drivers who will just throw themselves into the road because the law says they have priorité. It's very much a hangover from the days when a top speed of 50mph was impressive and if someone did pull out on you the chances of there being someone coming the other way were minimal (though travel outside rush hour/big towns and you can start to wonder where everyone's gone )

The hi vis law changed in 2015 and now each occupant must have a vest accessible

Re priorite à droite, many many town and village centres as well as pretty much every rural side road still have PaD in play.

Look out for a white sign with yellow diamond which means you have priority, same with a diagonal line means PaD is in force or red triangle with an X means its a junction where PaD exists and red triangle with vertical cross with thick vertical shows junction where traffic on the main (thick!) road has priority

[Craig W]

The vest thing actually makes a lot of sense, we have started to leave two hi-vis in our gloveboxes after making the trip to France as it would actually be sensible to put one on in a breakdown or tyre change scenario.

[rdjohn]

Welshbeef said:

Plan the cost of fuel - we’re seeing crazy prices to the point euro road trips might be a thing of the past.

https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/

You might find this useful

[omniflow]

rdjohn said:

https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/

You might find this useful

At the minute prices on the Autoroute are pretty steep - around €2.35 / litre for Super and €2.05 / litre for standard unleaded. It's probably around €0.20 - €0.30 / litre cheaper off the Autoroute, so with a bit of planning you should be able to avoid the really high prices - although depending on your plans, sometimes it's a price worth paying.

I would also say that you need to have a risk adjusted view on speeding - and the risk adjustment needs to be based on your own attitude to risk. There are effectively 2 potential consequences - a €90 fine, and a €750 fine coupled with an instant 1 month ban and the possibility that they impound your car. On an Autoroute, when it's not raining, anything up to 169Km/hr is a €90 fine - IF you get stopped. If you've never been stopped before, then it's possible that even over 170Km/hr they still let you off with a €90 fine - that's what happened to me when stopped for 217km/hr.

Also, I've driven many thousands of miles in France over the past 30+ years, and I've been stopped for speeding once in all that time - the incident referenced above. No UK points, JUST a €90 fine. I really wouldn't fret about it.

[deckster]

omniflow said:

Also, I've driven many thousands of miles in France over the past 30+ years, and I've been stopped for speeding once in all that time - the incident referenced above. No UK points, JUST a €90 fine. I really wouldn't fret about it.

I've never been stopped. But I have had three automated camera fines through the post

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

I would also get a CritAir certificate. Just in case you end up in one of the zones. It's €4 and lasts until the sticker disintegrates so a no-brainer.

Edit, just re read and see that you are going next week, so you won't get one in time, but you can use the receipt in lieu of the certificate if you get stopped.

[brickwall]

deckster said:

omniflow said:

Also, I've driven many thousands of miles in France over the past 30+ years, and I've been stopped for speeding once in all that time - the incident referenced above. No UK points, JUST a €90 fine. I really wouldn't fret about it.

I've never been stopped. But I have had three automated camera fines through the post

I’ve probably done 20,000 miles in France in the last 10 years, and never been stopped nor had a camera fine.
And it’s not like I’m driving like miss daisy either (my lockdown record was PdS to Calais in <7 hrs) - just a combo of not taking the piss, Waze and being observant.

[deckster]

brickwall said:

I’ve probably done 20,000 miles in France in the last 10 years, and never been stopped nor had a camera fine.
And it’s not like I’m driving like miss daisy either (my lockdown record was PdS to Calais in <7 hrs) - just a combo of not taking the piss, Waze and being observant.

The most annoying one was on the N90 just past Moutiers when it had taken three hours to crawl from Bourg St Maurice. Apparently I was doing 48 in a 40 zone when I honestly can't remember getting much above 20 at any point.

Although I do agree that mostly the cameras are well signed, the tolerances are often lower than we are used to in the UK.

[In the sticks]

So. We’ve done this with young children to catalunya a number of times. It may be different if you. Are only going to northern France but, the trip to the Chunnel is in one go then once in France, enjoy it. Depending on where you want to end up, make the journey part of the holiday. Work out where you want to stop and enjoy it. Even the service stations are fun for little ones and far better than in the uk. Look for cool places to stay as well. We used alisdair sawday here and there. Good for ideas.

At the end of the day. Have fun and don’t stress.

[brickwall]

deckster said:

brickwall said:

I’ve probably done 20,000 miles in France in the last 10 years, and never been stopped nor had a camera fine.
And it’s not like I’m driving like miss daisy either (my lockdown record was PdS to Calais in <7 hrs) - just a combo of not taking the piss, Waze and being observant.

The most annoying one was on the N90 just past Moutiers when it had taken three hours to crawl from Bourg St Maurice. Apparently I was doing 48 in a 40 zone when I honestly can't remember getting much above 20 at any point.

Although I do agree that mostly the cameras are well signed, the tolerances are often lower than we are used to in the UK.

I agree my closest shaves have been on the N-roads over the Jura, especially now they’ve dropped the limit to 80kph. Waze has been a lifesaver on that front.

In general
- Keep true speed to <140kph on the Autoroutes (normally indicated 90-92ish mph)
- Slow to 130kph whenever the speed camera sign appears (or Waze beeps), and play “spot the camera” - it’s normally within 2km of the sign
- Behave in the final 100km heading to Calais
- Be careful on N-roads

In reality I make fast progress simply by not stopping. If you’ve got a car with the range for it, you can do Calais to Dijon in about 4.5 hours without needing to go crazy fast.

[smifffymoto]

Most people stick to the speed limit these days.
Now there are private radar cars about,nobody knows where they are and they look no different from a family saloon.

[gazza5]

smifffymoto said:

Most people stick to the speed limit these days.
Now there are private radar cars about,nobody knows where they are and they look no different from a family saloon.

Agreed, plus the last 100km or so to calais is a good shout too, although i did have a very good run one night after being to disneyland paris.

I think generally if the traffic isn't too bad you are ok, although personally I wouldn't risk it, I rarely see french cars overtake me at 130kph, its normally the belgians, but admittedly I have only been driving in france for the last 6 years and only abut 10 times in that time, so not hugely experianced, and not been any further than paris.

[rlw]

Toilet roll and handwash. Some of the motorway picnic areas are not so well serviced and do run out from time to time.

[_Yeti]

What a timely thread, I am in exactly the same situation, my package holiday has been cancelled in late June so planning a jaunt into northern France instead. Never driven in Europe but have driven around in the US a bit. One thing that's really surprising me is the cost of actually driving! ViaMichelin is saying £145 each way to Paris with tolls from Wiltshire (in an Mx5 NC)... Which seems a little heavy?? As for destinations, haven't done much research but a loop of Lille, Laon, Reims, and Paris seems quite nice. Hopefully with lots of stops to see the countryside. Will be monitoring this thread closely!

Edited by _Yeti on Wednesday 1st June 09:49

[smifffymoto]

If I was in Wiltshire,I would sail from Portsmouth and tour around Brittany.