Drive Safely in French Roads
If you’re thinking about a self drive holiday to France remember to take the mandatory documents along with you in case you get blocked by the French police. It is not uncommon for police in France to set up casual road checks to make sure people are driving legally.
An official identity card, papers confirming car ownership, insurance documents and driving license are the proofs which should be produced to the police if asked to during driving in France. Car crimes in France is a growing menace and hence the periodical checks.
Passport or a national card may be shown as the evidence of identity. A period of one year from your entry into the country is the validity period for the foreign driving licenses which are also accepted. Grey card or ‘cart gris’ and the green card or ‘cart vert’ are the papers proving car ownership and insurance respectively.
Make sure you get both of these of the previous owner if you’re buying a used car in France. Anyone caught driving in France without these papers is subject to an instant fine at the preference of the police officer involved.
Ensure that you have the photocopies of these documents related to your car and never leave back these papers in your car because car crimes are on the rise in France and you should not be a victim either to the theft or to the checks by the police of France.
Always bear it in mind that you are driving in a foreign country and things are a little different in France. It is illegal to turn right at a red light in France where as in the US it is okay. Otherwise driving should be a pleasant experience in France.
While driving in France be particularly conscious of the fact that all drivers coming from the right have prime concern. This is regardless of the sizes of the two roads and even applies on T junctions. French drivers are familiar with this so will often pull out of smaller paths onto busy main roads expecting you to slow down. The anomaly to this rule in France is when you are on traffic circles. In such cases preference goes to the person already on the circle.
50km p/h is the speed limit allowed in the built up roads of France. Do not exceed this limit and slow down further when you are driving on busy roads. A white sign with red borders containing the name of the place in black informs that you are entering a built up area. Similarly you can increase the speed once you leave the built up area indicated by the same sign with a red diagonal line.
130 km p/h is the speed allowed on auto routes in France which are the biggest motorways. The speed allowed on dual carriageways is of course 110km p/h while the limit is 90km p/h while driving on smaller district highways. These speed limits are not to be seen on the roads and this is a defect and so you are supposed to be aware of these rules.
Driving in France is on the whole a pleasant experience. If you are hesitant then you may want to look into alternative means like Trains in France.




