h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Practical Tips for Driving in France for British Drivers - A452837
Author: Gnomon - U151503

A collaborative effort from Whisky and Gnomon.

**wanders in**

Gnomon did all the real work - i'm just here for the

Isn't there an entry somewhere on driving etiquette in france?

Also, which way round roundabouts do you go when you're driving on the other side of the road?

A412796

Which, as you can see leaves a little to be desired as a practical guide...

You go round roundabouts in an anti-clockwise direction but when you're actually driving its pretty obvious - to go the other way you'd have to cut straight across the oncoming traffic, which is not only suicidal - it's actually virtually impossible

Fair enough!

My aunt hit a car going the wrong way round a deserted mini-roundabout in France, so it clearly is possible (if not advisable).

Faisez le plein is wrong, (le plein svp would be common) but irrelevant anyway as most places you will have to fill up yourself.

You might want to mention that automatic speed cameras have just hit France (esp round Paris) and are doing a roaring trade.

One curiosity is that speed limits on the motorway are reduced in the wet - not something that UK motorists will be familiar with perhaps.

Finally be very careful on busy Nationales - speeds are high, even through villages, lorries are frequent and accidents more so (Bordeaux-Angouleme is a good example.)

Sprout

I learned 'Faites le plein' in school (with a circumflex on the 'i'). Is that still correct, or is my memory playing tricks?

Apologies if my French for "fill it up" is incorrect. There are still plenty of petrol stations in rural France where a guy manning the pump will look at you enquiringly and you suddenly realise you don't know how to say "fill it up". So it's worth having the phrase.

Can anybody say for sure what the correct phrase is?

"Faites le plein s'il vous plait" is correct. A cheery "le plein s'il vous plait" would also work.

Sprout

I'll agree with that sprout...

(Although to be honest I've only run across one garage in France that still serves customers - obviously I don't end up in quite as many remote corners of France as Gnomon does )

I've changed that phrase for 'fill it up', as well as changing the wording to indicate how rarely you will need the phrase.

THat other 'etiquette' entry is interesting: it took 39 researchers to produce only 173 words. That's less than 5 words each!

Does look quite impressive doesn't it...

Apparently there was one single entry covering a multitude of countries at one stage, the entry was split up but everyone seems to have been credited with each section.


Hmm, what does everyone else think of putting a table of speed limits in?

Waste of time or not?

I think a table of speed limits would be a good idea. Can you provide the figures? Most of my books are quite old (at least 10 years) and the limits may have changed since then.

No probs... i'll sort it out at lunchtime

hi all,

a much needed 'update' to the old and seriously inadequate 'etiquette' entry,

can't talk now (in net cafe) but will catch up with this in a few days

good stuff, anyways

spiff

Ok, the table's here --> A1070795

Couple of other additions you might like to throw in...

When talking about speed you might want to add that, new drivers (those who have passed their test within the last year) must display a sticker on the back of their car - a white oval with the letter 'A' in red...

These people are further restricted as to their maximum speeds (110 on a motorway and 80 elsewhere)

Second little point - which I only found out today...

Police Radar detectors - those little boxes people have on their dashboards to warn them of a speed trap ahead... in the UK they're legal as long as they don't interfere with the physical operation of the radar gun... in France they are strictly illegal and if you are stopped with one in your car you will be fined (and possibly have the equipment confiscated).

Those little boxes for detecting the radar signals of a speed trap are illegal in Ireland too. The guards have an even better device - a detector detector - which can tell when you're using a radar detector.

I've added the Speed Limits section to the entry. I didn't bother with the thing about the A sticker. If you really want it included, let me know.

A detector detector? Sounds like theres a miniature arms race going on over there

Re the 'A' sign... Not really that important to foreigners - I only talked about it because it's something you don't find in the UK

Psst! Stick a 'd' at the end of reduce'd' in the speed section