Thank you. Would be nice to have a 'Major' meet with hundreds of members!

Thank you. Would be nice to have a 'Major' meet with hundreds of members!

Lets go!!

A few years ago I was parked up at Citie De Europe whilst wife did the last minute shopping, suddenly a van and a car full of gendarmes arrived and started looking at all the british registered vehicles on the car park, they then started to issue tickets to all of them that did not display a nationality plate on the rear or did not have beam deflectors on the headlights, the guy parked next to me protested that he had only just come over on the shuttle and would be going back in the afternoon, both trips in broad daylight, no such luck ! he still got an on the spot fine.
This was the first and only time I have seen this happen but it made me realise that for the sake of a couple of pounds and 3 minutes time to fit them its far better than a €50 fine.

Regards Phil

Bonjour Mothy
Nice to hear from you.

Well I am one of those naughty boys who never uses beam deflectors. Until a couple of years ago I had RHD headlamps. These were on the van when is was imported by the dealer 14 years ago! But I have changed them now, as the lenses were misting, they are UK spec and I have them adjusted on the low side so as not to dazzle (too much anyway)?? The trouble with deflectors is that they block out so much light ! As we usually use Aires etc we tend to find somewhere before it gets dark anyway. The French police are hot on speeding at the moment and use a lot of unmarked cars. Did you see my post Driving / Motorcycling France? Here is the link again anyway http://www.drive-france.com/

Where are in France are you going? :cheer:

Spinner

Hi Mothy
Like Spinner I no longer use beam deflectors. I used to attach stick on patches every time we went into europe but now we have a Rapido, it's possible to set the beam at a low level. So far we have had no adverse reactions from other roadusers so will continue.Regarding travel generally, if you intend using toll roads it's a good idea to get a Sanef transponder so you can get through the toll booths quickly with no hold ups. Can get it from sanef but I got mine via Eurotunnel who had an offer going- worth checking the website. Payment is by DD following month.
We use aires almost all the time and have All the Aires from Vicarious Books. It is worth checking the route you going to take and select aires with free water and/or electric every so often to minimise cost- aires book has the info. Regarding security on aires we have been using them for 7 years and only twice have we decided to move on. Trust your gut feeling- if you are not comfortable with the aire, move on there are so many great aires out there.
Let us know how you get on.
regards
Barry

Hi All,
I agree with many of the above points, I always fit the clear stick on the lens beam deflectors, I cant remember ever having the lights on in France!
Last year was my first time in France for 7 years but previous to that we went annually for years and years.
French road signs are often on the junction and not before.
I always use aires and always plan to find one before nightfall, never felt unsafe and agree with the follow your gut feeling advice and don't worry about certain 'rules', I have stayed in many when a sign or the aires book says 'max stay 48 hours' or something, only to park up next to a Frenchman who has been there for a week! Obviously talk to people and see how the land lies. I have also found in the North they are much keener in July and August at coming round and checking you have bought a ticket. South of the Loire I cant remember anyone ever checking (not saying they don't!) but many that way only charge at night, where as Its more all day further North. Many only charge in July and August though!
We have only ever used 1 toll road, never seen a policeman stop a vehicle for anything.
Last year was the first time I took logbook, insurance documents etc with me as it was the first time with our kids, so thought it would be best to be safe and proper!
Don't worry about going to France, the driving is easy, the roads are good and the people are lovely. I was surprised last year how good it was, I had forgotten!
I'm not recommending this but my father in law has a house in the Loire and he never takes anything in his car, no warning triangle, documents, reflective jackets etc, he has never been stopped or had a problem but he always thinks he knows best!
He also says you don't need to worry about fixed speed cameras, apparently he has been flashed loads of times over the years and never heard anything!

When are you thinking of going? We are going on the 24th March if you wanted a friendly face to laugh at!

Well!, great bits of real info from you Guys, thank you. Not sure when I'm going yet but I feel happier with the above advice. Will update in near future.
Cheers all and drive safely!

Hi Mothy,I purposely imported a LHD from germany to make it easier to drive in europe so don't have the trouble with stick on deflectors .However at M.O.T time I stuck on some tape to get through over here.I usually get Flashed every time I go over there its easy to miss a speed sign never got a ticket yet though.There are sometimes no apparent speed signs when entering a town or village but look out for the red line around the town name
I use a garmin satnav also a samsung tablet with Navmii loaded for which I can put in an RV option,these give ample warnings of speed limits.
Above all enjoy the roads they are so much less crowded(apart from the paris periphique).Take the N roads as they usually run parallel to the motorways and give you the opportunity see more.
May see you over there one day :thumbs:

Hi

We always used to use the stick on beam deflectors when heading for France but last time I bought some cheap ones from ebay but 'forgot' to fit them. When we were heading for the tunnel in pitch darkness I was not flashed once by oncoming drivers so I don't think I caused a problem.

Only other tip I can give about driving in France is to beware of the give priority to traffic from the right rule. There seems to be a bit of confusion about this but if you see a black 'x' in a red triangle it means that you have to give way to traffic from roads on the right, traffic can just pull out without stopping which is a bit scary as I found out.

Generally though, driving in France is just so easy with their (mostly) quiet roads.

Paul

Cheers Paul. Very welcome info.

I used to visit France on work a lot and always just fitted yellow bulbs and never had any problem. These days I always fit stickers, one less thing for the plods to bother you with if they are bored. Life is to short to spend time chatting to the police however polite they are