Driving to spain

[L00b]

The flics were about to stiff me good with that trick until I pointed out I had entered the system over 24 hours before and stayed overnight at a motel...:-) They do check tickets though and can and do fine you based on them if you arrive early and are taking the proverbial with the speed limit.

(if you have the confidence and a bit of lingo) don't ever fall for that trick. They cannot validly and legally prosecute a speeding offence without a speed reading from a homologated and calibrated (and still so within the legal calibration validity period: 12 months) radar device. I must have got away with it at least 4 or 5 times over the years on that basis.

 

...just make sure everything else (car, equipment, papers etc.) is in perfect order, though: they'll be going over the lot with a fine toothcomb to find anything they can nail you with.

 

Also, I must have been flashed 2 or 3 times by auto-cameras (motorways, centrally-mounted grey pillars) over the past 6 years on a Brit plate. Never heard nothing about any of these.

[mlfc]

Just make sure you have all the high vis jackets, warning triangle, bulb kits etc and a map is a really good idea.

And breathalyser now - obligatory if driving through France

[DT Ralge]

And breathalyser now - obligatory if driving through France

 

Not so clear-cut as that:

http://www.drive-france.com/faqs/france-breathalyzer-law/

[mlfc]

Not so clear-cut as that:

http://www.drive-france.com/faqs/france-breathalyzer-law/

 

Actually it is clear cut. The same website says "You will notice on the list that breathalysers do not carry a fine, even though they are a legal requirement"

[Lobos]

We are due to be on our way to Spain in august. towing the caravan with the shogun,there are seven of us we are going to tarragona north Spain,just make sure you service the car and have all the relevant documents and breakdown cover,in France they have some daft rules about carrying a breathalyzer and first aid kits, the French coppers don't usually bother tourists they will pull you if you haven't got the converter kits on your headlights though, watch out for the speed cameras over there loads of them everywhere and they are not noticeable in yellow like ours,French motorways are mostly toll roads but are excellent roads to drive on with loads of pull ins and services on the way,there are three of us who can drive so we are going to share the driving should take us about two and a half days to get there....all good fun

[Guest sibon]

Actually it is clear cut. The same website says "You will notice on the list that breathalysers do not carry a fine, even though they are a legal requirement"

 

Indeed. They are a legal requirement. And just a couple of euro from any French supermarche.

 

Don't be tempted to shell out megabucks at Eurotunnel or on a ferry.

[Hesther]

Oh, and a sat nav that has speed camera warnings is illegal in France, unless you can disable the speed camera warnings.

[Kidorry]

Indeed. They are a legal requirement. And just a couple of euro from any French supermarche.

 

Don't be tempted to shell out megabucks at Eurotunnel or on a ferry.

It is better to get 2 because if you buy 1 and have to use it then you are without one to carry on your journey.You can buy a kit of the essentials you need for driving in France from Amazon with the spare bulbs and vest and triangle etc. also different countries have different requirements so read up first.This gives you most of the information you will need http://about-france.com/travel.htm

Edited June 18, 2015 by Kidorry

[old tup]

We have driven to Spain 3 times,the first time in the 70s in a VW beetle on a camping trip,my wife and my two young girls one of whom is handicapped with brain damage!.We planned it for months it was too much driving on the England side,Sheffield to Dover on to Calais then Lyon, Carcasone to the Spanish border!.Our first campsite was at the Bay of Rosas!.Then on to the Costa Brava to Calonge a massive beautifull site set in a pine forest leading down to its own beach,Camping Cala Go Go!.Next on through Barcelona and Tarragona to Salou,we stayed there until it was sadly time to head home,I did it in 3 days,the holiday was 3 weeks long not enough but it was an adventure!.Second time around it was with a VW Passat and caravan,this time Newhaven to Dieppe and down France to Spain,in the mid 80s we did it in a Volvo plus a larger TEC caravan!.One thing I learned was to make the trip down through France longer and a part of the holiday instead of going hell for leather to reach the Costas,in fact since we have holidayed a couple of times in France,Orlorne sur mer and La Rochelle ,La Tranche sur mer!.This area is in the middle of the Bay of Biscay it can be reached in one day from St Malo it looks just the same as the south of France and as warm,cross from Portsmouth you can sleep on the ferry as its 8 hours to cross,try it out for a different enjoyable holiday!.

[L00b]

One thing I learned was to make the trip down through France longer and a part of the holiday instead of going hell for leather to reach the Costas

In the late 80s, we had to drive down from near Luxembourg to Toulon to catch an overnight ferry to Corsica. That's basically driving down the whole of France north to south. We 'budgeted' an average of 50mph for about 550 miles (IIRC), 15 hours total with 2 short and 1 long stop (4 hours allowed for breaks and any queuing).

 

'Til we hit the mother of all traffic jams south of Lyon...

 

...I think we managed a 110mph average over the last 200-odd miles of the trip, to make the ferry on time!

 

I generally dislike clock-driven ('must be there by time X') long trips, because Murphy's Law (no matter how much slack you plan in). The Chunnel is no too bad because their system allows for early/late arrival either way of the allotted timeslot.

Edited June 18, 2015 by L00b