Travelling to France - What do you need?

[DanD]

Over the years, people have regularly asked whether of not you need headlight converters, spare bulb kits, and other items when travelling to France. 

There is NO requirement to carry spare bulbs when you drive in France. You MUST, however, use headlight converters, unless your car has a flat beam - which is the case for all current  Lexus models as well as for the previous gen RX300/350/400h/450h. You SHOULD switch off AFS.

In addition, you MUST carry a triangle, and at least one high vis vest. It is recommended that you carry one per passenger.

You MUST display a GB sticker at the back of your car, unless it is built into your number plate.

It is recommended that you carry at least one single-use, NF approved breathalyser (they are cheap and available from Amazon): you should be able to produce one - if asked - but not having one does not carry a penalty. (It used to be a compulsory requirement, but for reasons I cannot remember, the law was relaxed).

Importantly, radar detectors are illegal and you WILL get fined if you carry one, even switched off. If you have a portable SatNav that shows the location of speed cameras, this facility MUST be switched off. Your Lexus built in system will not show camera locations in France.

See: http://www.euroadlegal.co.uk/country/france.html

(other websites are available, but I have found - after checking with the French Consulate  during a recent visit - that this one is particularly accurate.

Some additional clarity about using mobile phones / hands free kits:

https://www.frenchentree.com/living-in-france/driving/driving-in-france-hands-free-kit-ban-effective-june-30/

 

[DanD]

Some months ago, France lowered the national speed limit on A and B roads from 90kph to 80kph.

Predictably, the move has proved very unpopular. To the point that the Government has now (as of last week) agreed that, while the 80kph speed limit will remain the default, departmental authorities (equivalent to county councils in the UK) will be allowed to increase (or indeed decrease!) the speed limit where they see fit, using appropriate signage.

National speed limits on the motorways and in urban areas remain unchanged.

[DruLS]

A word of warning on the headlight reflectors - back in my VW days a member of one of the forums I was on was driving to Austria for the Worthersee car show and got a ticket for not using the beam reflectors. His headlights were not the flat beam type, but he had installed LHD headlights for the purpose of the trip. It was a show car and I guess he didn't want to ruin the look of the car. Either way the officer was having none of it and gave him a ticket, so if you're worried about that it might be worth sticking them on anyway.