11 Tips for driving in France
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- www.distantlands.com
11 tips for How to Drive in France
Driving in France can be intimidating, confusing and a bit baffling at times. But if you follow these 11 tips you’ll be cruising French roads like a local. #DISTANTLANDS #TRAVELTIPS #TRAVEL
I have dappled in so many "driving in France" videos trying to find one that was actually helpful. This is it! Thank you!!!
Always park underground in any major city in France, if you drive anything you don't want to see scratches on.
there are no garantees and I must admit some older underground parkings are still designed for small European cars from the 70s , making them a pain in the ass to park much larger, modern cars.
Still, if you park your car in the streets, I assure you it won't take long to find out somebody has scratched it...
Though don't drive in Paris, there's no need and it's a nightmare
Love this! I just made a video similar to this on tips for Americans going to France!
Nice video, I've driven in France (1998) left Paris pick up location straight into the Traffic Circle around the Arc de Triumph (but it was Sunday, light traffic), you are right about the signage is always for the next town or village on the route. Lots of other traffic circles all over France. I did not find driving challenging, but then again I had already driving over 3 thousand miles in Mexico, and lived with the border insanity drivers at the Southern Tip of Texas for a while, and driven in Taiwan too with their crowds.
The Triple A permit is easy to get and is used in conjunction with your drivers license. Enjoy your trip. Oh, on that trip I think we wend Paris Royan Avignon, Cassis, Auxerre, and back to Paris fun drive.
I’ve read about the French road laws but after watching this video, I can more readily understand the laws of priority. Very similar to water navigation laws.
It is confusing but I am glad my video can help. Happy Travels!
Watch out for markets
0:36 we love it when we go to the continent! The fuel is so cheap compared to Britain
Go to Spain and you will be shock to see a second stop light on a blind curve just right after your green light and after 360 degree rotation of your tires , peek a boo StopLight !
I was once with a friend in Putney, UK. As we were parking I looked across and saw a car literally parked diagonally across two spaces. I was just about to say I bet that's from F.... and looked at the number plate. You guessed. 06 (Provence Alps Cote D'Azur).
Here in California we sometimes have the same thing, but with certain expensive cars. Frustrating!
why tf do you hav2 2 red cars in that example , why not a blu car and a red car ?
Some caution in traffic circles is the rules have changed in recent
history and many older drivers still drive by the old rules. Previously
in France, and most of continental Europe, drivers in a traffic circle
had to yield to vehicles entering the traffic circle. Unified European
Union driving regulations have now switched to the British / American
traffic circle rules where drivers entering a traffic circle must yield
vehicles already in the circle, as if they are in an intersection, as
this was deemed safer by EU. Some drivers in France and Europe entering
traffic circles still expect drivers in the traffic circle to yield to
them and allow them in front of them in the traffic circle.
In fact the rule is still like that in France. Unless clear signs are present (which is often the case in roundabouts), entering cars have the priority. Take the widest rundabout, Place de l'étoile in Paris, engaged cars yield before entering cars as no signs are present.
Give way to car approaching from the right is the default rule in France UNLESS signs say the opposite.
Hi Vis jacket required for each person in car. Must be fitted before leaving the car so don't keep it in the trunk.
Thank you Paul. Good recommendation.
First tip is to drive on the road.
Weird, but i never had issues driving in France. Only in italy and ireland.
2:57 it's a bit obscure what you mean by this - some people might think that you mean you have to give-way to everyone. It's actually like any unmarked intersection where you need to give-way to the right so if there's no-one on your right, you would have 'right of way' per se.
Great tips, thank you! Regarding priorite a droite, what if there is a steady stream of cars coming from the right...when and how do the other cars get their turn?
Most likely you would not run into a steady stream of cars since this system is usually found in small villages and old country roads. In bigger towns and cities you will run into traffic signals.
@@distantlandstravel Good point, thanks!
If for some reason u had to run into a steadystream of cars u can always expect someone to gently give you way. There are still kind motorists here
@@Boss_Tanaka So true. I find that if you give little others do the same.
as a Polish person I find it weird that for Americans it's not normal lol
6:51 why did you put an italian police picture ?
Heh, passing a driving license test in France, UK or Germany is impossible for Americans ;)
Not impossible, many do but I will agree that standard for passing a driving test in Western Europe tends to be high. Have a great day and remember stay off the 110 at rush hour.
@@distantlandstravel Passing driving licence in the USA : $100. In France : 3000€ . And the level is WAY higher.
After just finding out about the clean air certificate, compulsory or 117 euro fine and all the other rules and fines etc.i will be taking the train
Oh the French! What is the certificate? The certificate is a round sticker which corresponds to a vehicle class defined according to air pollutant emissions.
Is it mandatory? The certificate is only mandatory in certain areas. Here is a link for more information. www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/en
James Maclean just found out about the clean air sticker too - how ridiculous. One can only buy it online and they send it abroad to you... tho there’s a predicted 6 week wait. is crazy not to be able to buy it in a shop. France seems filled to the brim with instant fines for the unexpecting tourist :(
@@That.old.mountain you just print the receipt you get via E-Mail, then you got a "sticker" until the real comes by mail
This is some tough stuff. Well, I can't complain over this because one day I will live in France. Just got to not let all of this get to me. I was in Le Havre back in 2017 and didn't see any crazy drivers. Been watching French Connections on France 24 to see how things are in France. Just came here to this video to see how things work inside the Francophone beast. This video hit me like a ton of bricks.
I went to Paris in 2015, and the driving was shocking, in Marseille it was even worse, zebra crossings get totally ignored and the motorbikes and mopeds just zigzagged through crowds of pedestrians, sometimes just 40 or 50 cm away from you
Fines collected on the spot?! I've never heard of anything like that. Police officers are not allowed to handle cash.
I'll take a cruise or multiple trips so I can go to Disneyland and Normandy
Don't rent a car, use the TGV high-speed train instead! Faster, cheaper and more convenient.
In many cases, this is absolutely true! We are great advocates of travel by train, especially over long distances and between major cities. However, travelers who want to explore smaller towns and rural regions where train service is slower and less comprehensive may find car travel gives more flexibility than public transportation.
If the train workers aren’t on strike..,
A lot safer too
The trains don't go everywhere. The French train network is designed to connect Paris to the rest of the country. But from Lyon to Bordeaux there is no train connection for example.
Never leave anything visible in the car there, car will get broken into so quickly in France and your stuff stolen. Happened to me last week and at rental place when I went to change the car, I wasn't the only one with the same problem at that moment😆 Happened in French riviera, sleezy criminals there
Thanks for your comments, so sorry this happened to you.
You haven't mentioned ignoring the lanes on roundabouts, sitting in the left hand lane all the way around the roundabout, not using your indicators & leaving other drivers to guess which exit you are going to take, nor how it seems that it's okay to pull out in front of the cars already on the roundabout even though the traffic coming on to the roundabout does not have priority, nor sitting in the middle lane on the autoroute, nor stopping outside the pizza shop, sitting in the car & shouting your order across & then waiting in the middle of the road for it to be prepared for you, nor how it's considered a moral defeat to give way for other traffic & NEVER let pedestrians cross the road on a pedestrian crossing
wow, practice of driving just never matches the laws of driving for many countries (but I heard Italy solved that by putting cameras everywhere and mailing tickets to everyone)
Hi, ill travel to Europe with my 3 Yrs old son. do i need a child seat?
Children under 10 must be in the back seat and must use a proper restraint system appropriate to their weight, which means a child seat if they are between 9 to 15kg. Over this weight they can use a seat belt with a booster seat.
All occupoants of a vehicle in France must have safety/reflective jacket. The Law has changed!!!
Thank You for the update!
Remember now you can get a speeding ticket from France sent to your uk address
Thanks for sharing!
Ok, but this doesn't explain how the fuck people drive in Paris, it looked like 100% chaos
I would recommend not to rent a car to get from Hamburg to Munich. Take the train. The highways in Germany come with many construction sites, traffic jams and idiots driving too fast.
how they park in france?? worst than italy?
With the use of bumpers, a car can squeeze into any parking spot in France.
Honestly, it's not as bad as it's told here, take it from a frenchman
Thank you for your input. I personally do not things are too bad in France. I am from Southern California where crossing 6 lanes of traffic can cause many to re think driving here.
Distant Lands Travel Store I wasn't trying to be mean ^^
The video is well done :)
No worries! You didn't sound mean at all. I love France, and I've enjoyed driving in France. Thanks for your input.
Would not recommend driving in France unless you were my worst enemy. I drove in France and Belgium with my English car a few months back. The french only know one driving style... which is UP YOUR ASS! literally... if they are not almost touching your back bumper they are not close enough. That kind of behaviour is intimidating to anyone, but to someone like me who was completely unfamiliar with the roads, i just felt threatened. Looks like my foreign number plates and the fact I was driving from the "passenger" seat didnt make any difference to how they drove. Don't bother with France... go to Belgium they are far more courteous and understanding that you have no idea where you are going.
Ryan Last do not generalize. I live in France, not everyone is a bad driver. Also people are more courteous on the road in some regions/cities than others. Study has shown that people in Northern France (Lille area) were the most courteous
Haze it was northern france that I visited...
I see terrible driving in the UK everyday, so it was no surprise, but every French driver I encountered while in France was an absolute idiot. I will never drive in France again - I will just use the French motorway from Calais to get straight out of that shithole I mean France... into much nicer neighbouring countries like Belgium or NL.
Did you just call my country a shit hole ? Is that how much respect you have for the countries you visit ? Just because you encountered idiots on French roads doesn't make your bad opinion about the country as a whole relevant. I have seen terrible driving everywhere and i'm sure you will find Italy is much worse than France on this point. I live in france, so i drive on French roads pretty often, and even if there ARE idiots sometimes, as you would expect anywhere, most of the time my ride is very peaceful. You sound quick to judge. Maybe you should try and meet the people of the country and talk to them before judging they are all idiots. Also have you seen the state of the roads in Belgium ? Now THAT is some shit to drive through. Pot holes and bumps everywhere on the highway, roadworks and construction everywhere, roads poorly indicated... I have been to Belgium a few times and you can feel the difference as you cross the border. Still wouldn't say that Belgium as a whole is a shithole. Take it easy. Gotta admit driving in the Netherlands is as easy and peaceful as it gets though, and the Dutch are very friendly and eager to help.
Stay in your shithole and don't come out, you sorry idiot..
I hated driving in England... you guys should get used to the driving on the right side, like civilized nations