Driving in France

10 Useful Tips from Eurotunnel Le Shuttle

There is a bit more to driving in France...

than just remembering to stay on the right hand side of the road and carrying a high vis jacket and a red warning triangle in the car. At Eurotunnel Le Shuttle we want to make sure your holiday in France goes smoothly and is an enjoyable experience. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of useful tips to make your drive through France as easy as possible.

1. Petrol is extremely expensive on the autoroute, make scheduled stops at large supermarkets as they have far lower prices. Also, petrol is not petrole in French! Look out for these words on the fuel pumps:
   1. Essence = Petrol
   2. Sans Plomb = Unleaded Petrol
   3. Gazole = Diesel
2. All villages and urban areas are 50 km/h. However, often there is not an obvious speed sign to indicate this, instead the village or town sign acts as the marker and you are expected to know this.
3. Unlike England, if there is a speed camera sign present, there will be a speed camera. You have been warned! Police can fine you up to €375 on the spot, and can confiscate your vehicle if you don't cough up. Also if you've been breaking the speed limit by over 25 km/h you can lose your licence. If you're over by 50 km/h your vehicle can be confiscated there and then.
4. Speed traps in France are widely spread, from fixed cameras to police hand held detectors. It is illegal to use or even possess a radar detector in France. However, these are different to the Sat Nav GPS warning devices which are still allowed.
5. Speed limits are weather dependant, here's a quick rundown of the speed changes in the 4 main zones, going from fine to difficult driving conditions:
   1. Urban areas: 50 km/h – 50 km/h
   2. Rural areas: 90 km/h- 80 km/h
   3. Dual carriageways: - 110 km/h – 100 km/h
   4. Autoroute: 130 km/h – 110 km/h
6. One thing guaranteed to cause confusion is the lack of upwards arrow signs to indicate that you should carry on going straight. Instead the French have arrows pointing left on the right hand side of the road to indicate this. So how do they show you when to turn left I hear you cry, well, they then have a sign on the left hand side of the road pointing left. Simple.
7. In France the alcohol limit is 0.05mg/ml as opposed to the British 0.08mg/ml. It is advisable not to drink and drive at all because if you are caught over the limit, penalties are severe.
8. One thing to be thankful for is that you now have a handy card to play if your children are arguing over who gets to ride up front. It is illegal for under 10's to be in the front seat.
9. An old rule called priorité à la droite is currently being phased out of the country but just to be safe it's best to be aware of it. Basically wherever there is a junction of sorts, you must always give way to those approaching from the right, even if you are on a major road and they are on a minor. However, this rule is not regularly enforced and there are yellow and white X signs to indicate the areas where it is still upheld.
10. If you are on a narrow road and the oncoming driver flashes his lights at you he is not giving you the all clear to go on through! Instead he is warning you to watch out, he's going first. However, if you are on a major road and a motorist flashes his lights at you, he is probably warning you of a speed trap up ahead; either that or something is wrong with your car.

Image Credit: Warning Triangle by Juanedc. All pictures licensed for commercial use at time of publication.