Driving In France, Traffic Laws, International Traffic Symbols

Dave Hilbert's
www.SoftSeatTravel.com

Paris

Driving in France

Driving in France differs little from driving in the
USA except that narrow roads in the rural
countryside and fast and impatient drivers among the
locals in the city may be a surprise to the less than
aggressive American and Canadian motorist. .

Otherwise the rules are the same,
including the giving of the right of way to
the car in the rotary. And the rotary will
become a most welcome sight while
driving in France and Italy because they
have signs clearly marking directions to
cities and towns. When in doubt about a
direction, you can circle the rotary as
many times as it takes to get your
bearings. The rotaries are also a
welcome sight because they eliminate the
need for a traffic light at a crossroads.
Even in the big cities the French and
Italians use the rotary to speed traffic
along and avoid the gridlock that often
snarls US big city traffic. The rotary
around the Arc de Triomphe might be the
classic: eight lanes of screaming traffic
whiz around France's iconic arch at the
end of the Champs-Elysees and peel off
in various directions without ever going
through the gears.
Study the rotary nuance, however, the car
in the rotary does not always have sole
right of way.

Will it fit: narrow roads and Medieval city gates make you appreciate the compact car and
small RV.

Speed Limits

Speed limits in Europe are in
Kilometers per hour and are
clearly marked along most roads
in France, often with flashing
lights.
Topes, berms, speed bumps or
whatever you might call the
annoying traffic slowers do exist
on the roads of France but in
limited numbers and are not the
Mount Everest variety found on
Mexican roads. They are marked
by a tent like symbol that will at
first fool the US driver looking for
a campsite.

130 Kilometers per hour on a clear day 110 in the rain. Accurately
this is 80.77 mph when clear, 68.35 in the rain and by the rule of
thumb described below it comes out to 86 when clear and 72 when
raining: close enough.

Kilometers to Miles

A handy rule of thumb to quickly convert kilometers to miles is to take the overall distance, 90
kilometers for example, divide by three and add two of the thirds. This will give you 60 miles in this
case. 90 divided by 3 =30 x2= 60, approximately converting 90 km to 60 miles. Although
inaccurate, this can be quickly done in your head and will be near enough for short distances.

Highway Travel

Highway driving is just like highway travel in
the US with toll tickets, rest areas, food and
gas stops all being very similar. Keep small
change handy in coins for the automatic toll
gates.

Learning the words for a few of the important
highway signs, the word for right, Droit, left,
Gouche, paid parking, Payant, and a few
others can help but a use of the language is
not needed for a successful road trip in
France or Italy.
Familiarity with the road symbols would help.
A map legend will have explanations of the
circle with the line through it, the word interdit,
and various other symbols and road sign
logos.