Many
travellers choose to drive around France
although it can be costly - petrol is expensive
and tolls are costly. If you have several
people sharing expenses it can work out
cheaper. Here are some pointers to note
before you go.
We advise that you read through the information
below and note that driving outside your
own country can be a scary and harrowing
experience with fast drivers, narrow lanes,
difficult parking, expensive tolls and different
rules or lack of rules.
If you can master all of these things then
the freedom of having your own transport
will be rewarding.
ROAD CONDITIONS
Generally French roads are in excellent
condition and sometimes you pay for this
with high way Tolls.
If you experience tailgating and impatient
drivers the best thing to do is stay calm
and get out of the way. Learn the road types
and which ones have fees attached.
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RULES AND SPEED
LIMITS
The minimum age of a driver is 18 years.
Children must be a minimum of 10 years of
age to sit in the front seat. Those under
10 must be seatbelted in the rear of the
vehicle or in an approved seat. However,
a very young child in an approved rear-facing
safety seat can be in front. The use of
seat belts is compulsory for all passengers.
The legal blood alcohol limit is 50 mg.
Speed limits are: 50 kph (30 mph) in built-up
areas, 90 kph (56 mph) or 110 kph (68 mph)
outside built-up areas, and 130 kph (81
mph) on expressways. In good weather the
minimum speed in the far left lane of expressways
is 80 kph (49 mph). In bad weather, limits
are lowered to 80 kph (50 mph) outside built-up
areas, 100 kph (62 mph) when multiple lanes
are provided in each direction, and 110
kph (68 mph) on expressways. Visitors who've
held their licence for less than one year
must always observe a 90 kph (56 mph) speed
limit. The speed limit on Paris's Périphérique
(ring road) is 80 kph (49 mph). This same
80 kph limit applies to cars towing a trailer
that's not as heavy as the car.
A flashing red traffic light means Do not
enter; flashing amber means Caution; flashing
yellow arrows mean Yield. A sign reading
Danger Prioritè à Droite means
taffic on the right has priority at intersections.
A sign reading Passage protégé
indicates you're approaching a road that
has priority. When traffic on a roundabout
has priority, this is indicated by a red-bordered
triangular sign bearing the roundabout symbol
and the words vouz n'avez pas la priorité
(you do not have right of way) or cèdez
le passage (give way). You must give bicyclists
a clearance of at least one metre when you
pass them.
Motorcycles must be operated with the headlights
on - night and day. Vehicles parked in dimly
lit public places must have their parking
lights on. Horns should only be used in
cases of immediate and extreme danger. If
a driver coms up behind and flashes you,
he's communicating that he wants to pass.
Broken centre lines indicate a section of
road where passing is allowed. Where three
or five lanes exist the middle is to be
used for passing by traffic going both directions.
On the autoroute a double-thick white line
designates the mandatory slow lane. A moving
tram on a two-way street may be passed on
the right only. A moving tram on a one-way
street, however, may be passed on the left.
Do not pass a stopped tram which passengers
are boarding or disembarking.
Some police can collect fines of up to €380
on the spot. If you cannot produce your
vehicle registration document and driving
licence immediately, you may be fined €11.50.
If within five days you do not present them
at a police station, it can cost a further
€140. For minor offences a fine is
payable within 30 days. A deposit might
be required if a serious offence is committed
by a non resident.
FUEL
Fuel, sans plomb (unleaded), gasoil or gazole
(diesel) is more expensive along the autoroutes
than at supermarkets; look to fill up (faire
le plein) at supermarkets on main roads
exiting towns. A map called la carte de
l' esssence moins chève shows locations
of these supermarkets and is available through
French Government Tourist Offices. You can
pay at a booth or by inserting your credit
card into a machine near the pumps. Always
note the cost so you are not overcharged.
Curbside pumps on Paris streets make filling
up easy in the city and do take credit cards.
Signs depicting a pump and indicating distance
in metres to the mini-station point the
way. The blue pump dispenses leaded regular
petrol with an octane rating of 98. The
green pumps gives unleaded petrol. Super
unleaded petrol has an octane rating of
95 or 98. LPG is called Gaz de pétrole
liquéfié (GPL).
DRIVING LICENSES
France recognizes driving licenses and other
traffic documents that are valid in other
countries. An International Driver's Permit
is a good idea. In Australia get it from
the nearest RACQ, RACV or equivalent office.
In America and Canada and the United Kingdom
it is available from the automobile association.
You only need to be 18 to drive in France.
PARKING
Long term parking in large cities can be
expensive. Check if your hotel provides
free or good rate parking. Following parking
rules can be a bit tricky. Usually observing
other cars / people is a good way to work
it out. In some places parking on the footpath
is quite normal. But never park where the
curb is painted yellow. If, based on whether
the date is even or odd, parking is allowed
on one side of the street or the other,
signs reading Coté du Stationnement,
jour pairs (even) or impairs (odd) are in
place.
Parking on the left side of a street is
allowed along one-way streets only. The
end of a no parking zone is indicated by
a sign reading Fin d'interdiction de stationner.
On dark streets, parking lights must be
left on.
In Paris, parking is not allowed along two
main axes rouges or red routes: the north-south
route includes the avenue du Général
Leclerc, a portion of the boulevard St.
Michel, the rue de Rivoli, boulevard Sébastopol,
boulevard Strasbourg, boulevard Barbès,
boulevard Ornano, rue Lafayette, and avenue
Jean Jaurès; the east-west route
includes the left banks of the Seine and
the Quai de la Mégisserie.
Do not leave a vehicle parked in the same
spot along a Paris street for more than
24 hours; this also applies to Hauts-de-Seine,
Seine-St. Denis, and Val de Marne.
Pay-and-display machines (horodateurs) are
common throughout France. Unless otherwise
indicated, parking is free of charge from
7pm to 9am and on weekends, public holidays,
and during the whole of August. Provincial
towns often offer free parking from noon
to 1.30pm. The tariff and time limit are
shown on the machine. FF1, FF2, FF5 and
FF10 coins are accepted. Press the red button
to get a ticket.
Larger cities have Blue Zones where parking
discs or tickets must be displayed on vehicle
dashboards. Discs should be displayed on
the inside of the windshield, with the clock
hands set to show time of arrival and planned
time of departure. The limit in Blue Zones
is 1.5 hours from 9am to 7pm, except from
11.30am to 2.30pm, with no tickets required
on Sundays or public holidays. The discs
or tickets may be obtained from tourist
offices, certain shops, and police stations.
The police charge for the discs, but the
tourist offices don't. In Paris and some
other large cities, illegally parked vehicles
may be wheel-clamped or towed.
TOLLS
Blue signs on autoroutes that read péage
indicate payment is required, Green signs
indicate non-toll expressways. When you
enter an autoroute, take a ticket from the
gate machine and pay at your exit point.
To pay insert your ticket at the automatic
toll machines at your exit, they take credit
cards (visa and MasterCard), coins, give
change and receipts. There are personnel
on hand to help if your machine does not
work or something else goes wrong.
BUYING A CAR
Most travellers will do this before they
get to France. For those working in the
United Kingdom this is probably the best
place to do it. Look in Auto Trader, Exchange
and Mart and Loot which advertise second
hand vehicles. On Market Street in London
(Caledonian Road tube) there is an an informal
traveller's van and car market.
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WHERE TO DRIVE
Anywhere outside of major city centres.
For information and maps stop by the Automoboile
Club de I'lle de France at 14 Ave de la
Grande Armeè (17e) metro Argentine.
Tel. 01 40 55 43 00. They sell insurance
and have basic maps and itinerary suggestions.
ADVICE ON CAR RENTAL
It is possible in France to "purchase"
a car from the manufacturer and then "sell"
it back. It is often cheaper to do this
than to rent a car as you save a lot in
VAT. Only non EU residents are eligible.
Renault and Peugeot have these plans. Contact
the dealer in your country.
Check what the terms are for hiring. Check
for things like the maximum number of kilometres
specified as you pay so much money per kilometre
over. There are always individual policy
differences about the fuel (i.e you return
it full or empty depending on what you arrange),
and vehicle insurance. Always do some shopping
around to compare prices.
BackpackFrance sells car hire through Auto
Europe which has worldwide car rental
services. We ask that you consider purchasing
your car hire through them as this revenue
goes back into improving this site.
Auto Europe also have scheduled air from
the USA to Europe, 2,000+ three and four
star hotels, prestige and sports car rentals,
hotel bookings, chauffeur drive and transfer
services, European and South Pacific Motorhome
Rentals, and European cellular phone rentals.
Avis (tel. 800/331-1084; 800/879-2847 in
Canada; 02/9353-9000 in Australia; 09/525-1982
in New Zealand).
http://www.avis.com/
Budget (tel. 800/527-0700; 0144/227-6266
in the U.K.).
Dollar (tel. 800/800-6000; 0181/897-0811
in the U.K., where it is known as Eurodollar;
02/9223-1444 in Australia).
Hertz (tel. 800/654-3001; 800/263-0600 in
Canada; 0181/897-2072 in the U.K.; 02/9669-2444
in Australia; 03/358-6777 in New Zealand).
http://www.hertz.com/
National (tel. 800/227-3876; 0345/222-525
in the U.K.).
Auto Clubs
Australian Automobile Association (tel.
02/6247-7311).
Canadian Automobile Association (CAA, tel.
613/247-0117).
New Zealand Automobile Association (tel.
09/377-4660).
Automobile Association (AA, tel. 0990/500-600).
Royal Automobile Club (RAC, tel. 0990/722-722
for membership; 0345/121-345 for insurance).
American Automobile Association (tel. 800/564-6222).
Emergency Services
Emergency:
Police, tel. 17
Fire, tel. 18;
Ambulance - call the number given on the
phone box or call the police.
Expressways and main highways have roadside
emergency telephones every 2 km.
If there is an accident involving personal
injury or substantial damage contact a policeman
(agent de police) to make a report. On country
roads, contact a gendarme. If the accident
involves damage only, contact a huissier
from the nearest town. A huissier is a court
official who is part assessor and part bailiff.
The party requesting the huissier's services
must pay the fee for completing a report
on the accident.
Accidents also should be reported to the
Bureau Central Français des Sociétés
d'Assurances contre les Accidents Automobiles,
36 ave. du Général de Gaulle,
93171 Bagnolet cedex, tel. 1 49 93 65 50.
Automobile Club de France, FIA member, 68
Place de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, tel.
1 43 12 43 12, office hours from 9:00 a.m.
to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. Automobile Club
National (ACN), FIA and AIT member, 5 rue
Auber, 75009 Paris, tel. 44 51 53 99, office
hours from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from
2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Friday until 5:00)
on weekdays.
When you rent a car check your policy to
see what cover you get (i.e is accommodation
included if you have car difficulties etc).
Check also to see if the country has a 24-road
service available.
