Travelling to the continent for the first time can be daunting. Many people worry about driving 'on the wrong side' but from experience you don't need to. As long as you arn't some crazy driver who has to overtake everything in front, you'll be fine. Most of your driving will be on the fantastic motorway (autoroute) system which have a minimum of two lanes and compared to the UK are very quiet.
When driving a right hand drive vehicle you just need to remember to keep yourself on the side of the road and your passenger in the middle . Around our family holiday cottages the country lanes are really quiet, you rediscover the joy of driving.
There are however a few things you need to remember.
There are some legal requirements when driving in France.
A warning triangle must be carried and then placed around 30m behind your stopped / crashed / broken down vehicle depending on visibility .
A high vis jacket that can be accessed without leaving the vehicle ie in the glove box not in the boot, ideally you should have one for each member of the family. You must put it on before leaving your stopped / crashed / broken down vehicle.
You must have your valid drivers licence, passport and the 'log book' proof of ownership. These will be asked for if stopped for any reason by the police (and they do do regular spot checks)
Breathalysers should legally be carried but they can no longer fine you if you don't have one; they are very cheap if you buy them beforehand so you may as well have one just in case.
Remember to deflect your headlights with the stickers you can pick up from places like Halfords and have a GB sticker if it's not on your registration plate.
There are hefty fines for having speed camera detectors but to be honest all the speed cameras are well signed before you get to them apart from the 'mobile' ones which are unmarked cars that can 'flash' you for speeding and travel around the country ! You have to de activate it if it's on your sat nav.
Valid insurance. Companies generally cover you third party for travel to Europe but you should check before hand to make sure what level of cover you have: is it third party or full insurance; does it include breakdown cover - does this include onward travel, repair or repatriation of the vehicle, replacement vehicle etc
Vehicle emissions in central Paris are controlled now and you must have a Crit-air sticker . Only certain cars can drive in central Paris when there are high pollution levels. Find out more on the official web site certificat-air.gouv.fr/en
- Full and valid driver’s licence
- • V5C (car ownership)
- • Proof of Insurance
- • Passport/national ID
- • Two NF certified breathalysers
- • Reflective jackets for all passengers
- • Warning triangles
- • Headlamp beam deflectors
- • GB sticker (non GB-euro symbol plates only)
- • No speed camera detectors or sat-navs with camera locations
- Crit-air sticker if driving through central Paris
Speed limit on the autoroutes is 130 kph (80 mph)
WHEN DRY ! When it's wet /raining then the limit is 110 kph (68 mph)
National speed limit is 80 kph (49 mph) unless otherwise stated
In any town / village the speed limit is 50 kph (30 mph)
unless otherwise stated. This means as soon as you pass the village sign this speed limit applies
Many villages have speed limits of 30 kph (18 mph)
but there will be a sign stating this, there are also speed bumpsand other speed restricting measures
This is one that we know a number of holiday makers have been caught out on. Not so much in big towns or on big main roads , but it is common in the rural communities. When you see the signs on the right, above (the red triangle with black cross is particularly common around here) it means YOU DO NOT HAVE PRIORITY and YOU MUST GIVE WAY. So if you are driving along a main road and you see this sign it means you must give way to the car coming out of the tiny side road. It seems illogical but it's the law ! It applies to side roads with no give way or stop markings which are common here. The locals know they have priority so will freely pull out of a tiny side road into a main road with oncoming traffic as they know they have priority and you are in the wrong if you crash into them. If in doubt GIVE WAY !
Also be extra vigilant when pulling out onto unmarked roads as it's easy to forget which side to drive on. We've heard many a story of people driving miles on the wrong side until another car comes speeding towards them and blowing their horn !!
Children under 10 cannot travel in the front seat unless there are NO backseats
Babies can travel in the front seat if the air bag is disconnected and they are in a rear facing, correctly installed baby car seat
Seatbelts must be worn at all times by all passengers
Children must use an approved size appropriate car seat . When hiring car seats from a car hire company BEWARE . Many of our guests have been told there are no seats available even when they've ordered one, or are given one that is not age appropriate; the company will not help you fit it to the car. For these reasons we recommend that you bring your own car seat with you (airlines usually allow you to put this in the hold or even use on the plane, free of charge if you get permission in advance) You can then be sure it is age appropriate and you know how to fit it safely.
For spring, summer and autumn trips to Europe throughout 2020 NOTHING WILL CHANGE .
You will be able to continue driving or flying or take the train to the continent as if nothing had happened.
As of 31st January 2020 we will be in a transition period which apart from my right to vote for my local Maire or my MEP (which are being taken away) everything else will stay the same.
This is until the end of December 2020. However this period of transition could be extended but that remains to be seen.
So for your holiday to France this summer all the above information is valid and you won't have to do anything 'unusual' . For summer 2021 things will change if the transition is not extended. Of course many things may be agreed in the trade talks which are about to take place but the likely worst case scenario will be that on top of everything mentioned above you will also need:
- a green card (proof of 3rd party car insurance in Europe) which is a sticker that you get from your insurance company and put on your windscreen)
- travel health insurance (as your European health card may no longer be valid)
- an international drivers licence (from a designated post office, ask for the correct one for your destination as there are different ones)
- ETIAS visa waiver as the UK will be a '3rd country' and although it has already been mentioned that Brits won't need a visa to enter Europe they will need an ETIAS visa waiver as this system is being brought in by the EU in 2021 which will work in a similar way to the US esta visa waiver and involves a small fee and an online declaration of your passport and personal details . More info can be found on the official web site here etiasvisa.com
Of course we will update this information when more is known. In the meantime book your holiday with us now for summer 2020 !
For more about general travel to France; whether to take the car or fly and the positives and negatives of each read our post
'Travel to France' here
