Advice for driving in France and Italy

mjn

A speedo indicated 85mph doesn’t set off the speed cameras in the 130kph zones. Not tried anything faster since the new cross sharing of data thing came in last year.

As i used to about 90mph (speedo indicated) over there.

I did get quizzed by the Swiss police about rules and regs last year They inspected my car including tyres, lights, dashcams, etc, passports, routes, hotels where we were staying, etc

delanoster

Thanks for responses everyone.
I've driven in Italy in hire cars and seen the roadside cameras. It seems that the speed limit on normal country roads is optional though and it's only the number and severity of the pot holes that slows some drivers down!

I'll make good use of cruise control in France, 130kph is faster than I normally go in the UK.

interbear

All good advice. We drive in France every year and would highly recommend getting a tag for the motorway tolls. Breeze through the automatic tolls with no hassle or trying to find coins. Sanef Tolling

AMc

I would carry some cash even if you aren't intending to speed - I got pulled and I admit I was probably doing more than 130kph but I wasn't doing the 150kph that was on his gun - that belonged to the two French drivers undertaking me before cutting in before the lorry I'd moved to overtake in good time .  
That was why I didn't see the Ford Focus on the hard shoulder until it was too late.  Of course I slowed down to 130kph and they sped off so I got done .  The fine was <30 Euro the biggest problem was they didn't have the right change and got very upset when I suggested they could keep it

I also found a couple of petrol pumps that wouldn't accept my credit card so a bit of cash could get you out of a hole if you're low and it's late as a fair few stations go to automatic payment overnight.

I did the maths on the toll tag and it wasn't worth it for the trip to Nimes and back as a one off.  The toll machines took my Visa card and there were comparatively few queues but I guess that's route, date and time dependent.

mjn

The toll tags will save you no money, but the convenience wins it for me.

AMc

It just wasn't worth it for a single 2 week trip with a week in one location so no toll roads.
If we went regularly then the convenience would be worth the price
Sanef Tolling

                                                                                                                                       

mjn

When i got my account, there was no application fee. We have a pair of tags (one for each car) as we can be in France anything upto 5 times a year

ian34g

I believe from my motorcycling days on mainland Europe you also have to be able to provide the vehicle log book and insurance proof if stopped by the cops. Original documents not copies!
How keen they are to check or not I don't know as I never got stopped.

mjn

They still do. Only happened once to me, in Switzerland. They checked everything, MOT cert, V5, insurance cert, driving licence, tyres, glass, lights, passports, etc.