Going to France

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vanny
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Going to France

Post by vanny »

Hi Folks
In July im going on a loooong road trip to France, and im after some advice!
I have a long list of spares to take for the BX, cable ties duct tape, LHM, etc
1)
The legal things i know of are; Green Card?, Breakdown cover (albeit not a legal requirement), Box of spare bulbs, warning triangle, first aid kit, fire extinguisher.
2)
I've been warned that although tolls might seem expensive that there not too bad. (Im used to paying £1.20 to go about 1.2 miles in the liverpool to wallasey tunnel). Im also told that they have cameras that monitor your progress through the toll booths and they're not impressed when you arrive a little early! (Im assuming its Thellwall Viaduct style)
4)
Euro i presume dont fit into the BX coin Holder? I'll rip it out and revert to the second ash tray set up if needs be.
5)
If your stopped by the ole Police for a bulb out your expected to fix it there and then?
6)
I know from Mr Clarkson that the police dont take mindly to speeding, thoug i dont think it will be an issue as there is a Suzuki SJ 1litre going with us along with a 1.3 mini (real mini!). Any coroboration to this?
7)
Probably doing the crossing with Norfolk Line, any advice on ferrys in general and Norfolk line?
8)
Im taking a CB with EU, EC and Frence bands on it, as i understand its free to use as well. Any advice?
9)
Although i didnt drive, i swapped pretty quickly to lookng the 'wrong' way for cars in the states so im not too worried about that, i understand the lanes system (assuming its similar to the US).
Is there anything i need to look out for (eratic french driving to go with eratic french cars?)?
10)
I've had the 'rest areas' explaine dot me in brief and that i shouldnt stop at the smaller ones to use the toilet! Any other advice?
11)
The genral jist of the plan is to go to south east? france to the alps where all the canoers go. Any pointers of places of interest? I'm gonna try to avoid Paris as it sounds insane, 14 lanes accross i was told?
Any other general hints or tips would be much appreciated!
thanks
Vanny
Dave Bamber
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Post by Dave Bamber »

It costs me about £40 to get to the Spanish border in the Alps, it's a chunk, but the motorways are so much quieter that the UK. You take a ticket at the start of the toll section, and pay at the other end. All booths are on the LHS, except at Calias, easy if you have a passenger, pain if you are solo.
You can keep to a steady 80/90mph with no problem. The French police from what I've seen, (my opinion) only hang out within 40 miles of Calais, after that, you might see a patrol car ever 300 miles. If you are doing 120mph between toll booths someone might spot the timing but as most booths are at least 150 miles apart, chances are you will stop for a pee/brew/munchies, so your average time will increase. Speed limit is about 85 in the dry which is fast enough!
Ferry. Have a look at www.SpeedFerries.com £25 each way!
The French like to get a shift on on the motorway, so don't hog the second lane, otherwise you will have an irate frog resting on your outsize tow bar.
Rest areas. The service stations are clean, well equipped and safe. You can sleep in your car without a charge. The rest stops are not as clean, and ok if you are in need of a pee stop, but not so safe for sleeping.
Paris is a hoot! Great for driving like a loon, you need to do it!
Lyon is beautiful and a great drive through the tunnels and along the river, it's my fav bit of the journey.
Don't know about CB, but don't take any kind of speed trap detection gear at all, they will remove it and empty your wallet.
I aim to do about 500 miles a day, so from Liverpool, that will see you easy to Reims in a day. Next day, should see you in the Alps. For overnight stops, if sleeping on the road is no good have a look at this http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html book on line and very cheap. We use them in France every year.
Give me a shout if you want any more info.
Please excuse any bad spelling, it's late and the French lager has took it's toll.........[:o)]
martyhopkirk

Post by martyhopkirk »

Vanny - Hi.
The CB is legal in france in its present set up so long as you only use the EU band to transmit.
However you can alter it (see handbook) to TX / RX only on the allowed french channels which are he EU 40 FM (CEPT) at 4W and also some AM channels at 1W . Take the handbook with you. You no longer need a licence in the UK and Europe now as from April 2004 that was abolished. The UK 40 FM channels are set to be phased out in 2008 and re allocated in 2010.
VisaGTi16v
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

Having been to Le Mans a few times for the 24hour race ive seen groups of sports cars parked up on the side of the roads just before the toll booths in order to lower their average speeds :) I dont think the french are too strict, when we go down we normally cruise at 100 or so although you still get overtaken then. Only time I didnt was when doing 130+ in the zx on a max speed test. Worse they give you spot fines but you have to pay them on the spot. If you dont have cash I believe they can either impound your car or make you drive to a cash point.
Ive never worked out pedestrian crossings in france. The cars dont stop if you standing next to one waiting to cross however if you are on them then then stop. So does this mean if you cross the road where there isnt a crossing the drivers are allowed to hit you? :)
I remember being handed out the pamflet(spelling???!) at Dover in December saying how I must be carrying a warning triangle and have correctly adjusted my headlights, neither of which were true for me. I guess a snotty french police man could pull you up on them if pulled over.
Tolls in my experience are quite cheap and the french motorways are great compared to the farcical ones over here. In all the times ive gone to france ive only had one jam on a motorway and that was due to an accident but luckily I was leaving at the exit I was by anyway.
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

The first time I did this trip was in an Allegro to Spain, so speeding didn't come into it, but with foreign plates you are an easy target for french old bill for any infraction of traffic laws, so its best not to antagonise them!!
There are no cameras at toll booths as far as I can see, unless they've been put in since last year.If you want to get there in a hurry the toll roads are great- after English roads the low traffic volumes will be a revalation! You can make great progress at easy cruising speeds without resorting to caning it.
You have to go through Paris at least once, just for the experience!! The Arc De Triomph is no worse really than Hyde park corner, wider, but slower-just find a big truck to tag along behind who will clear your route for you, and the Peripherique is a bit like a racetrack, just keep out of the right hand (inside) lane as its an on and off at every exit lane.
The only other thing is that the French have quite a high death rate on the roads, mainly down to their inability to overtake safely on single carriageway roads- they just go without looking, and all just follow the leader, so you have to watch out for that. Driving on the wrong side is pretty easy really- you only tend to make blunders after your first couple of days when you become a bit too used to it, pull off for a coffee, and then go back on in autopilot un-switched on mode onto the left rather than the right.
The only thing that I still find confusing, even after many such trips, is approaching a roundabout in the dark.......the headlight directions just don't compute in my brain!!
I wouldn't bother lugging loads of spares- most stuff is easily available. Just take the RHD specific bits like the clutch cable, as you will not be able to get one, and go over on fumes as the diesel is a LOT cheaper!!
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

Overtaking is the tricky bit. Its ok if youre behind a car as you can see through it to a certain degree but if youre stuck behind a truck you have to rely on your passenger to tell you if its fine to pull out. Of course this is can be lethal when your passenger is being stupid like mine before and he kept changing his meaning ie 1: Yes (its ok to overtake), would then become at random.. 2: Yes (there is a car coming) ARGH :)
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Post by bikeboyz »

Don't forget..
Beam benders / Black tape for your headlights. I think Lucas make a kit that fits the BX as it doesn't use triangle shape outlines to mask.
Visa Debit card at the toll-booth. Drive up, slide in, slide out drive. Easier than cash, and no extra charge normally.
A can of emergency puncture foam, who wants to change a wheel peeing down with rain?
Marmite, you wont get it at Carrefour, but they sell LHM!
Mr Mobile phone with plenty of credit.
I agree with keeping up with the general 85mph of dry conditions limit, or you'll be an obstruction.
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Post by JohnG »

Another couple of bits that may help;as Mr Bamber says,speed limit is 85mph in the dry.Be aware ,though,it is 10Km/hr less IN the wet;not just when it's raining! If you have to wear glasses when driving,you are legally required to carry a spare pair.Best way I've found to do the overtaking bit is to agree with your passenger that "yes" only means that it's safe for you to pull out to have a look,then make your own decision.Don't try to drive like "them"(they've been doing it longer than us),and be courteous-that confuses the c##p out of them.You WILL enjoy it.
Bon Voyage
John.
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Post by JohnG »

Something I forgot.Ypu won't necessarily see cameras at the peages-the ticket that you take from the machine is very thoughtfully stamped with time of issue,so all Le Plod has to do is look at his watch(after grasping your ticket at the exit peage),consult his little book of times,and act accordingly.Also beware,if the opening phrase is "Bonjour,Monsieur,U 'ave a problem!"--you're knackered.Anything South of this,you stand a chance.
John.
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Post by stevieboy1 »

Driving in france is excellant[:D], in someways its nicer than england. It may seem like they drive like nutters but they don't really, they don't seem quiet as aggressive as we do in england. Just drive like them, take your turn, its all simple really. I've been in traffic were it goes from about 8 lanes to 2 and there was no horn blowing, everbody just filtered and got on with it. My only advice is don't dilly dally and be good at filtering.
You must go around Paris, its just such an experiance. The peripherique is great, get in the outside lane and gun it around until a couple of junctions before you want to get off, then over to the 2nd lane, watch some junctions come up really quick. Plus if you get stuck in traffic watch out for the motor bikes, they get pissed off if they can't get through, normaly between lanes 3 and 4! Stangest thing i saw was on a motorway coming out of paris(the motorways are free around paris) i overtook a motorbike, i was doing about 70 in the second lane, next thing was the same motor bike come by me on the inside at about 80 on one wheel!!! [:0][8D]
The Arc De Triomph is great, looks like complete madness, buts its all straight lines as far as they are concerned, just remember you have write of way when entering it, not when on it[:0]
First time i drove in france was on arc de triomph and the peripherique, its great, the girlfriend i think had about 5 litters of kittens going round it[:0]
Motorways are good but cost, but are so much faster than the main roads.
I always use to stick a arrow made of masking tape pointing right so i remember witch side to drive on, normal forgot first thing in the morning[:0][8D]
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Post by JohnD »

Don´t drive a yard without your seat belt on. I took mine off to reach for a ticket at the toll booth. Took the ticket and drove off. Two minutes later a blue light flashed by and got me to pull in. Any excuse was ignored. All they wanted was 90Euros.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by VisaGTi16v</i>

Overtaking is the tricky bit. Its ok if youre behind a car as you can see through it to a certain degree but if youre stuck behind a truck you have to rely on your passenger to tell you if its fine to pull out. Of course this is can be lethal when your passenger is being stupid like mine before and he kept changing his meaning ie 1: Yes (its ok to overtake), would then become at random.. 2: Yes (there is a car coming) ARGH :)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Yes, and my other half has said that she would like to have a left hand drive car here, for her to drive.
The problem is that means she would, have that problem overtaking here in the U.K.
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Post by ACTIVE8 »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by JohnD</i>

Don´t drive a yard without your seat belt on. I took mine off to reach for a ticket at the toll booth. Took the ticket and drove off. Two minutes later a blue light flashed by and got me to pull in. Any excuse was ignored. All they wanted was 90Euros.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
It would appear that they do have more traffic police than we have here !
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Post by VisaGTi16v »

My first time in a lhd car was with my MD in his maseratir gibli which had 330bhp. It was bad enough not having a wheel in front of me and seeming like I was in the middle of the road the whole time and he was driving into the curb but he would drive looking at me more than the curb which made it quite a scary experience!
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