Driving in France - mandatory items

jprboy · 31-05-2015 12:38pm #1

Taking the horse car to France soon. The AA lists the following as requirements:

- A driving license for each driver (learner permits don’t count).
- Passports.
- The original registration document (not a copy) or a Vehicle on Hire Certificate.
- Motor Insurance Certificate.
- A self-test breathalyser is required by law in France, however there is no current legislation demanding a fine for non-compliance. It needs to be unused and certified with the NF mark. It should also be in date; breathalysers have a validity of 12 months, so if you got one last year, you will need a new one.
- You are also required to have a warning triangle if you breakdown. If renting a car, check with your car hire provider to see if they will provide safety equipment

http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Ezine/AA-Ezine-May-2013/Driving-in-France.aspx

I think the following may also be required:

- Spare bulbs
- Headlight beam convertors

Anyone here ever been fined for not having any of the above?

Asmooh · 31-05-2015 12:50pm

jprboy wrote: »

Taking the horse car to France soon. The AA lists the following as requirements:

- A driving license for each driver (learner permits don’t count).
- Passports.
- The original registration document (not a copy) or a Vehicle on Hire Certificate.
- Motor Insurance Certificate.
- A self-test breathalyser is required by law in France, however there is no current legislation demanding a fine for non-compliance. It needs to be unused and certified with the NF mark. It should also be in date; breathalysers have a validity of 12 months, so if you got one last year, you will need a new one.
- You are also required to have a warning triangle if you breakdown. If renting a car, check with your car hire provider to see if they will provide safety equipment

http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Ezine/AA-Ezine-May-2013/Driving-in-France.aspx

I think the following may also be required:

- Spare bulbs
- Headlight beam convertors

Anyone here ever been fined for not having any of the above?

I never drove with:

- Headlight beam convertors (I have LHD car)
- A self-test breathalyser
- warning triangle

Never been stopped at all

edburg · 31-05-2015 1:16pm

Never been stopped, but have a few mates been marched to atm but they were being silly judging by stories.

Some of it handy to be fair for here, some of it rsa are trying to get in place here.

Don't know your car but alot of modern cars have ability to change light angles to lhd spec.

anonanymore · 31-05-2015 1:30pm

I think you also need a second pair of glasses, if you use them.

edburg · 31-05-2015 1:34pm

anonanymore wrote: »

I think you also need a second pair of glasses, if you use them.

That's a new one to me. Wonder if prescription sunglasses count as second pair.

Sheep Lover · 31-05-2015 1:36pm

And a 12 foot trailer to carry all this s1ht

shamrock55 · 31-05-2015 1:41pm

You also need a high vis jacket as far as i know in case you break down or need to change a wheel at the side of the rd, i had the car in france for a wk last year and had none of the above!!

cormie · 31-05-2015 1:46pm

Having things like fire extinguishers, first aid kit, spare bulbs, hi-vis jackets for each seat, warning triangles and the likes makes perfect sense. I don't like the idea of tonnes and tonnes of out of date breathalysers going to landfill every year and the need to have the original certificates is a pain too.

I have all vans kitted out with everything required for travel from all the EU states and as long as you don't buy them anywhere near the ferry ports, you shouldn't get ripped off too badly. You can get full kits from amazon for cheap enough.

The beam benders are a pain, I looked into it and got some cut out templates for my transit headlights and can just use a bit of duct tape cut in a certain way to cover the glare to the one side. They may not be as fancy as the €12 ones, but as long as the police accept them it's fine, I've also kept them on the vans here and the vans have passed the DOE with them on, although last DOE I had to take them off. They don't reduce night visibility at all so no problem to keep them on if you can.

jprboy · 31-05-2015 2:05pm

Thanks for all the replies.

Re high vis jacket, yes, and it has to be kept in the passenger compartment as you're supposed to have it on getting out of the car if you break down.

As for second pair of glasses I do remember reading that somewhere. Doubt if prescription sunglasses would be acceptable (e.g. night time driving).

Car is a Peugeot 3008 so don't know if I need specific deflectors for this make/model. No mechanism to change the beams.

CelticRambler · 31-05-2015 2:15pm

jprboy wrote: »

- A driving license for each driver
- Passports.
- The original registration document (not a copy) or a Vehicle on Hire Certificate.
- Motor Insurance Certificate.
- A self-test breathalyser is required by law in France, however there is no current legislation demanding a fine for non-compliance. It needs to be unused and certified with the NF mark. It should also be in date; breathalysers have a validity of 12 months, so if you got one last year, you will need a new one.
- You are also required to have a warning triangle if you breakdown.

- Spare bulbs
- Headlight beam convertors

Anyone here ever been fined for not having any of the above?

You also need a high vis jacket

Due to a rise in the number of road deaths in recent months, the police in France are being particularly aggressive with their general controls, mostly looking for speeding and over-the-limit drivers, but there's also an assertion circulating at the moment that "foreigners" are responsible for a greater proportion of accidents than natives. That's debatable, but there's always a chance you'll get inspected at a checkpoint. If so, you will spend a long time on the side of the road if you don't have the documents in red.

If something goes wrong (puncture, no fuel, queazy driver, whatever) and you attract the attention of a passing gendarme, not having the items in blue will get you in trouble. When driving in France, you'll see that a lot of native professional drivers actually have their hi-vis vest on display on the back of one of the front seats.

Breathalysers - legally required, but no punishment for not having one. No-one I know has ever bought one and the gendarmes will happily give you one of theirs to blow into.

Seat belts! If you get pulled over with more people in the car than there are seatbelts, you will be told to make alternative arrangements there and then.

Beam benders - you can get away without them, but having headlights wrongly directed just might be the thing that attracts the attention of an under-worked gendarme.

Spare specs - that's Spain, but it's sensible to have a spare set if you're the only driver in the party.

TrailerBob · 31-05-2015 5:54pm

^^^ interesting post. Though I have heard the 'clampdown' thing more than a few times

Most of the mandatory things are very sensible. Do bring a set of bulbs and check yours regularly, as this is a common bugbear of the cops there. Many of them link the word 'foreigner' to the word 'British', and they pay special attention to UK cars. But it's as easy to get the few bits and have them, don't forget some of them could save your life/car at the side of the road.

Heading again in 4weeks, with all the kit and caboodle!

_Brian · 01-06-2015 9:43am

Been to France 12 times driving including towing caravan.
Bring most f the above.

You need a viz vest for each passenger and they need to be accessible from passenger cabin.

Never been stopped, waved through plenty of checkpoints.

Seems to me most of the people stopped are excessively speeding or otherwise being idiots on the road.

I'd say the infrastructure and general level of driving ability is much higher in France.

Heading again end of July.

CelticRambler · 01-06-2015 11:23am

_Brian wrote: »

You need a viz vest for each passenger ...

This is not correct. The law requires a high-vis vest only for the driver (which should be put on before leaving the vehicle, hence the accessibility condition).

On ordinary roads, passengers are advised to remain in the vehicle, so don't need a high-vis vest; on motorways, passengers are advised to leave the vehicle and wait behind the security barrier, so aren't obliged to have a high-vis vest.

Of course, light the spare specs and spare light bulbs, that doesn't mean that it's not sensible to have another at least for the front-seat passenger.

Bif · 08-06-2015 2:02pm

Lads. Can anyone tell me where I can access all the bits the needed for driving in France in a kit form? Thanks.

BMJD · 08-06-2015 2:09pm

Bif wrote: »

Lads. Can anyone tell me where I can access all the bits the needed for driving in France in a kit form? Thanks.

http://www.micksgarage.com/shop/Driving%20in%20Europe

Or do a search on Amazon

edburg · 08-06-2015 2:22pm

AA/Halfords/micksgarage/motor factors will all do some kind of kit along with ebay/amazon which you should be able to find a spare bulb/fuse kit for your car if not at a dealer.

Hi-viz can get from most diy store most likely, maybe your work will have spares to borrow (depending on type of work)

cormie · 08-06-2015 4:14pm

The RSA give out free hi-viz jackets. You can pick them up in some advanced pit stops and I also saw a big stack of them at the "Talk to your local garda" pop up shop near the church in Main St. Bray.

CiniO · 08-06-2015 4:34pm

Bif wrote: »

Lads. Can anyone tell me where I can access all the bits the needed for driving in France in a kit form? Thanks.

You've seen this thread, and you can see there isn't any clear answer what items are required, therefore hardly anyone is going to offer a kit like that.

To know exactly what is required or not, you'd have to go through French law throughly...

coylemj · 08-06-2015 4:42pm

CiniO wrote: »

You've seen this thread, and you can see there isn't any clear answer what items are required, therefore hardly anyone is going to offer a kit like that.

+1 Buy a cheap hi-vis jacket - often to be found in the bargain bucket in Halfords. Fold it up and shove it in the glove box so you can show it to the French cops in the (highly unlikely) event that you get pulled over. Bring your passport, insurance cert. and driving licence with you when driving. I seriously doubt that you need to bring the registration cert. What are they going to do - put a family and their luggage on the side of the road and confiscate their car because they can't prove that they own it - even though the reg. no is on the insurance cert?

A lot of the scare stories put about saying you need this and that fail to recognise one thing - cops in western countries generally don't bother with law-abiding tourists so just don't be a plonker, stay below the speed limit and they won't bother you.

I have never even been asked to show my passport driving off the ferry, let alone get pulled over and asked to produce all that stuff.

keithclancy · 08-06-2015 5:13pm

Was never stopped, France is more flashy camera focused than Direct Policing.

CiniO · 08-06-2015 5:40pm

coylemj wrote: »

+1 Buy a cheap hi-vis jacket - often to be found in the bargain bucket in Halfords. Fold it up and shove it in the glove box so you can show it to the French cops in the (highly unlikely) event that you get pulled over. Bring your passport, insurance cert. and driving licence with you when driving. I seriously doubt that you need to bring the registration cert. What are they going to do - put a family and their luggage on the side of the road and confiscate their car because they can't prove that they own it - even though the reg. no is on the insurance cert?

You'd be surprised, but that's actually very likely.
I know in Ireland and UK there isn't and there wasn't really any need to carry reg cert with you, but most countries on the continent required and plenty still require drivers to carry reg cert with them at all times - and that apply to domestic cars, so not to even mention it's very serious issue with foreign cars.

I've had few road checks in France and Germany, some in Slovakia, Hungary, and plenty in Poland, and always the first thing they requested was driving licence and registration certificate.
There's no chance I would risk driving abroad without carrying registration cert with me.

A lot of the scare stories put about saying you need this and that fail to recognise one thing - cops in western countries generally don't bother with law-abiding tourists so just don't be a plonker, stay below the speed limit and they won't bother you.

I have never even been asked to show my passport driving off the ferry, let alone get pulled over and asked to produce all that stuff.

Passport control indeed I agree you hardly get checked going from Ireland or UK to France. But other way - passports are always checked.
Most of Continent is Schengen zone so no border controlls, but you still need to have your travel documents with you.
I would love to see how you are explaining to German polizei that you forgot to take you registration cert with you for the car you are driving because you are a tourist. I'm nearly sure you'd end up on the side of the road with the car lifted to police parking.

PS. Another thing which might surprise you is that insurance cert is not that important. EU laws say that police should assume that foreign registered car is insured, and fact it's displaying valid registration plates be a proof. Therefore insurance cert in most cases won't be needed, and I must say through most roadchecks I had on the continent, I wasn't asked for it.
However it's still very wise to have it with you in case of trouble.

cormie · 08-06-2015 6:06pm

Isn't it advised not to keep the log book in a vehicle in case the vehicle is stolen? Would be grand just to leave it in the glove box at all times if it wasn't an issue.

CiniO · 08-06-2015 6:20pm

cormie wrote: »

Isn't it advised not to keep the log book in a vehicle in case the vehicle is stolen? Would be grand just to leave it in the glove box at all times if it wasn't an issue.

Definitely a bad idea to have it in a vehicle.

I always keep it in my wallet folded (when driving abroad) together with my driving licence. 2 big awkward booklets so I had to get a big wallet.

CelticRambler · 08-06-2015 6:20pm

coylemj wrote: »

I seriously doubt that you need to bring the registration cert. What are they going to do - put a family and their luggage on the side of the road and confiscate their car because they can't prove that they own it - even though the reg. no is on the insurance cert?

Doubt all you like, but it is 100% required in France. The gendarmes will be much more interested in what they call the Carte Grise than your passport, hi-vis vest or out-of-date breathalyser.

I was caught out on this once, the day I renewed my insurance (French reg car) with a different provider. I left the Carte Grise on the table when I went to post office, got stopped on the way home coming out of a side-road.

I also know of one (English) family (visiting grandparents & three grandchildren) who were indeed made to stand on the side of the motorway until someone else in the family came along with the necessary stuff.

coylemj · 08-06-2015 6:21pm

CiniO wrote: »

I've had few road checks in France and Germany, some in Slovakia, Hungary, and plenty in Poland, and always the first thing they requested was driving licence and registration certificate.
There's no chance I would risk driving abroad without carrying registration cert with me.

Cinio, how many times have you been pulled over in France (the topic of this thread) and asked to produce a registration cert? Were you driving an Irish-registered car at the time?

CiniO wrote: »

Passport control indeed I agree you hardly get checked going from Ireland or UK to France. But other way - passports are always checked.
Most of Continent is Schengen zone so no border controlls, but you still need to have your travel documents with you.

I never suggested otherwise, in fact I emphasised that you should have your passport and driving licence at all times when driving in France.

CiniO · 08-06-2015 6:23pm

coylemj wrote: »

Cinio, how many times have you been pulled over in France (the topic of this thread) and asked to produce a registration cert? Were you driving an Irish-registered car at the time?

In France once. And yes - I was asked for registration cert together with my licence. And yes - it was Irish registered car.

I never suggested otherwise, in fact I emphasised that you should have your passport and driving licence at all times when driving in France.

SpaceTime · 08-06-2015 6:24pm

_Brian wrote: »

Been to France 12 times driving including towing caravan.
Bring most f the above.

You need a viz vest for each passenger and they need to be accessible from passenger cabin.

Never been stopped, waved through plenty of checkpoints.

Seems to me most of the people stopped are excessively speeding or otherwise being idiots on the road.

I'd say the infrastructure and general level of driving ability is much higher in France.

Heading again end of July.

Depends where!

They've a major "boy racer" problem in around towns and cities and to be perfectly honest given the scale of Ireland (comparable to say a couple of western French regions) it's actually got pretty decent infrastructure these days!

They're more used to motorways but non-motorway driving in Ireland is a hell of a lot better behaved! There's a major problem with very aggressive driving in cities / towns and also on rural roads and single carriageway N roads!

Les Anglaises get blamed a lot on accidents because they're not used to the side of road and also the "priorité de droit" rules that do not exist in Britain, Ireland or any other English speaking country I'm aware of tend to result in British cars driving into the sides of cars entering a non-priority main road.

I've seen UK cars hurling abuse and beeping at the "crazy" French drivers who have just driven out in front of them because they're completely unaware of the priority systems used in many continental countries (not just France). This gets them a terrible reputation as "dangerous and arrogant".

Irish cars aren't identifiable as easily and are often assumed to be German oddly enough because there's a vague similarity in the look of the plates. UK plates are easy to spot!

coylemj · 08-06-2015 7:00pm

CelticRambler wrote: »

Doubt all you like, but it is 100% required in France. The gendarmes will be much more interested in what they call the Carte Grise than your passport, hi-vis vest or out-of-date breathalyser.

Fair enough, I'll bring the registration cert. next time. Though my last two visits have involved flights and hire cars.

keithclancy · 09-06-2015 10:03am

coylemj wrote: »

Cinio, how many times have you been pulled over in France (the topic of this thread) and asked to produce a registration cert? Were you driving an Irish-registered car at the time?

Never been pulled driving a Dutch Registered Car, was pulled twice on Irish plates, once outside Lille (random check I didn't do anything)

Another time on the way to Calais was also stopped for another random check.

Like Cinio said they weren't interested in the Insurance Cert, actually one of them said "I could have just made that thing myself"

Just driving license and vehicle registration certificate.

Requirement for a breathaliser wasn't in at the time.

The Dutch/German border every so often they have a super checkpoint, usually when the weather is really nice (assholes) so you sit in a queue for around 2 hours with other German people that are heading to the beach.

If you don't have the VRC driving a non Dutch car they will lift it for sure.

SpaceTime · 09-06-2015 10:12am

So much for freedom of movement across Europe- still lots of bureaucratic barriers to contend with!

CelticRambler · 30-06-2015 12:36pm

Not quite a "mandatory item" - more the opposite - but as of tomorrow, wearing headphones, earphones or a bluetooth earpiece while driving in France is illegal. Applies to all vehicular road users - cars, vans, lorries, motorbikes, pedal bikes, scooters, etc.

Also the alcohol limit for new drivers (first three years after getting a licence) has been set at zero. This limit also applies to (older) drivers who have been required to re-take their test.

Driving in France - mandatory items

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