Driving in France

Howdy,

We usually fly and drive, so tend not to worry about tyres/chains, emergency triangles, breath test kits... blah, blah, blah, as the hire company have all this sorted.

We are however, driving door-to-door in early Feb and just wanted to know what we HAVE to have in the car.

We've already sorted snow chains, and the car has all the emergency stuff re triangle and hi-vis vest etc. Is there is a specific brand of breathalyser we need, and if indeed this law is now in play.

Cheers folks.

Hi Smokey Barr - we usually drive to France and our checklist is as follows:-

Fire Extinguisher
WD40
Spare bulbs
Fluorescent jackets
Snow shovel
Gaffer tape
Beam benders
Screen wash
Antifreeze
Water & sponge or cloth
Oil
Snowchains
Gloves
Plastic bag/mat (to kneel on when attaching chains)
Basic tool kit
Sat Nav with French maps
French road atlas
Screen cover (frost protection)
Brush (for clearing car & skis)
Scraper
Torch
Head torch
Documents (driving licence, reg.document, insurance, breakdown cover).
Breathalyser Kit

It looks like a lot, but actually doesn't take up much space. To be honest, most of the stuff we've used to cope with conditions here rather than in France! This year we've put snow tyres on the car & again we've needed them here over the last week, rather than in France over Christmas & New Year.

I got a breathalyser kit off Amazon - £3.98 with free p+p. We alsways use Prestone de-icer as its effective down to -25 defrees & doesn't re-freeze like a lot of the cheaper ones do.

The following website is very good for current advice:-

http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/winter_driving.htm

I usually print the route out from the http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ website. We were driving in heavy falling snow one year & the sat nav had a melt down, so it was useful to refer to it once or twice. It also tells you where the tolls are & how much they are. I always have about 80 euros in notes & change for the route & just pay cash at the manned booths - it's very quick & easy.

Have a safe journey! :)

Thanks Salski :)

Halfords have the approved breathalysers by the till.

Don't think they are a legal requirement yet are they?

According to www.chamonet.com :- The rule was initially proposed to come into effect in November 2012 but the French government have now pushed back their plans to enforce penalty fines until early next year. The law is an attempt by the French government to reduce the number of alcohol related accidents on the roads and from March 2013, drivers will now face an on-the-spot €11 if they are found not to have two breathalyser kits in their vehicle.

So I am right.and smokey is ok :-)

Bugger.

I bought a pair yesterday morning.