Description:

Driving in France can be a joy.  Along tree lined Route Nationales , with very little traffic, it is far removed from the hustle and bustle of much of the United Kingdom road network. A slow drive through the French countryside could be part of a relaxing holiday.

Autoroutes are the equivalent of motorways in the UK.  These are generally very well maintained and traffic jam free except near major cities. Large stretches are owned and operated by private companies, who charge a toll (autoroutes a peage) for their use. Have a look at the Autoroute website which allows you to easily enter a route and calculate the toll charges and also provides up to date information on congestion.  Most of these highways are in good condition, and will have a selection of well-equipped service stations.

The speed limit on an autoroute is 130km per hour (80mph) in dry conditions and 110km per hour (68mph) when it is wet.

There are no major toll roads within Brittany.

These are the equivalent of A roads in the UK and are a mixture of single and dual carriageway roads which take indirect routes and often passing through towns.

The speed limit on a Route Nationale is 110km per hour (68mph) on a dual carriageway and 90km per hour (56mph) on a single carriageway.  If the conditions are wet drivers should reduce their speed by 10 km per hour.

Route Departmental are simlar to British B roads and can vary from dual carrigeway to single track lanes. Speed limits are the same as for route nationale.

Some signposts will also carry the abbreviation BIS next to the name of a major destination. It stands for ‘Bison Fute' (the cunning bison), and will be pointing you to an alternative route for the destination. During peak season this can help you avoid bottlenecks.

A useful map detailing these alternative routes are available free of charge at petrol stations.

Entering a town is marked by a town name sign and leaving a town is marked by a town name sign with a diagonal line through it. Within the town signs, the speed limit is 50 kph / 31 mph unless otherwise indicated.

 When trying to navigate around France, the signs often do not have road numbers, only destinations. Sometimes the next major town is shown as the destination, other times it could be the next village, so a good map is essential and planning ahead highly recommended.

As in the United Kingdom, speed cameras and the policing of speeding figure highly in the governments attempts to reduce accidents. On the autoroutes, the fixed cameras are well signposted but, the mobile cameras will have no warning and will not be obvious until it is too late. The best advice is to remain within the speed limit.

Drink driving is taken very seriously in France and the drink drive limit is lower than in the UK.  The best advice is not to drink if you are driving even though it is very tempting when wine is usually included with the menu de jour. It is not uncommon for the police to target the hour after lunch for random breath tests.

Drive on the right!

Carry your driving licence, insurance and registration documents in the car at all times. If the car isn't yours, make sure you have written permission to be driving the vehicle.

You must have a full driving licence (you can't drive here on a provisional licence)

The minimum age for driving is 18yrs

Priorite a droite - The general rule is give way to the right unless otherwise indicated, even if you are travelling on the main road and a minor road is jining from the right. Many older French drivers still remember when this rule also applied to roundabouts, meaning traffic on the roundabout had to give way to joining traffic! Take care.

Traffic lights - There is no amber light when going from red to green. Also, where there is a right turning at the lights, you may come across a flashing amber light. This indicates that you may proceed to turn right, with caution, even though the main traffic light is still showing red.

Display a country sticker if your vehicle is not French registered.

Unlike the UK, it is not usual for traffic to stop at pedestrian crossings. If you decide to stop check your rearview mirror first, as the driver behind will not expect you to stop!

Until recently, it was only possible to use a UK credit card at petrol stations when paying at the cashier. The automatic machines generally would not accept them. The situation has now improved and it is possible to pay at many machines now. Just remember that late evening and Sunday opening is still quite rare in France and find a petrol station that will accept your card to avoid getting stuck.

At autoroute toll booths, head for the lanes showing "CB" if you are going to pay by card. The manned booths have a small white symbol depicting a cashier and these will take both cash and cards. Some toll booths are unmanned and it is possible to pay by cash at the machine in this case.

Driving a UK RHD car? - Fit beam converters to your headlights - it's the law.

If you have a radar detector in your car you will need to remove it as they are illegal in France and you could be fined.

If you are driving a vehicle registered outside of France, you must display a country of residence sticker.

Children under the age of 10 may not travel in the front seat.

Carry a warning triangle and a reflective jacket in your vehicle at all times, these are required by law from July 2008 (failure to do this could leave you 90 Euro lighter in the pocket).

Before leaving home, check the advice on the AA or RAC websites for the most up to date road and regulation information.

The main thing to remember is not to rush, enjoy the drive and the scenary and make the most of the time driving through beautiful Brittany.

Bonne route!