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Driving in France
The French drive on the right. Therefore, it is essential to be careful when pulling out from the left, for example from a service station. On roundabouts, give priority to traffic already on the roundabout coming from your left.
The speed limit in France is 50 kilometres per hour in the cities, 110 kph on open roads and 130kph on highways. Fines for traffic violations are issued on the spot.
Drink drive laws are stricter than the UK so it is adviseable not to drink at all if driving. The minimum age for driving is 18. Warning triangles should be carried. In towns, give way to traffic from the right if no priority is shown.
France has nearly 40,000km of national highways. Around 9600km are four-lane superhighways which are known as "autoroutes". There is also a good network of secondary national highways, denoted on maps by an "N" before the route number.
In Britain we flash our lights to motorists to mean 'after you' but in France, flashing your lights means the opposite - 'I'm coming through' - which can cause trouble when you first start driving in France.
French headlights are directed slightly to the right, reducing glare for night driving. UK cars are the opposite, so glare is in the direction of oncoming cars. Be aware that you may be dazzling oncoming cars when you drive at night. Oncoming cars may flash at you, thinking you have fog lights on.
Driving in France is a bit different to driving in the UK and takes some getting used to although most rules are similar to the UK.
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