From: GeoffC on
Mortimer wrote:
> or the absurd "priority from the right"
> rule in France whereby traffic on a major road may have to give way
> to traffic emerging from a farm track, rather than a blanket "traffic
> on the major road always has priority over traffic on a minor road".

ITYF that is the standard rule in virtually every European country except
for the UK.

--

Geoff





From: Clive George on
"Adrian" <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7qjfnjFbkaU13(a)mid.individual.net...
> "Clive George" <clive(a)xxxx-x.fsnet.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding much
> like they were saying:
>
>> France 24H petrol often relies on cards, and doesn't accept UK cards
>
> It usually does these days.

Didn't two years ago :-( Have they caught up? (I'm not talking about
autoroute ones here).


From: Clive George on
"Mortimer" <me(a)privacy.net> wrote in message
news:7qj6fcFn7U1(a)mid.individual.net...

> He probably hasn't worked out his detailed itinerary yet ;-) He did
> mention several countries: France, Spain, Germany, Belgium. Legal driving
> requirements will be the same for the whole of each country. He asked
> where to stay - general advice such as "stay in small hotels rather than
> faceless 'chain' hotels" or "B&B in Spain is very good value for money" is
> probably what he was looking for. Maybe he wants to know of
> country-specific rules of the road, such as the one in the Netherlands (I
> know he didn't mention that) where traffic *on* a roundabaout has to give
> way to traffic *joining* a roundabout (opposite of UK and America) or the
> absurd "priority from the right" rule in France whereby traffic on a major
> road may have to give way to traffic emerging from a farm track, rather
> than a blanket "traffic on the major road always has priority over traffic
> on a minor road". Traffic lights in many European countries follow the
> American convention and do not have a red-and-amber phase: they go
> straight from red to green with no advance warning. Does France still
> require cars to have amber headlights, either by law or by common practice
> (ie drivers will harrass you if you don't have them, even though there
> isn't a legal requirement)?

ISTR having a discussion with you about going abroad, when you said you'd
not done so for many years.

Priorite a droite in France is pretty darned rare these days IMO. I tend to
avoid autoroutes, and seek out the smaller roads on my bike as well, and the
priority has been pretty much normal everywhere.

They're all on white headlamps these days, and have been for ages.


From: GeoffC on
Clive George wrote:
<SNIP>

> Priorite a droite in France is pretty darned rare these days IMO.

Just because you don't see it does not necessarily mean it is not there.

> I tend to avoid autoroutes, and seek out the smaller roads on my bike
> as well,

Well there is a surprise :-)

> and the priority has been pretty much normal everywhere.

Which of course prompts the question what is normal?


--

Geoff


From: GeoffC on
Brimstone wrote:
> I'm thinking about taking myself off on a tour of western Europe a
> bit later in the year, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium etc.
>
>
> Any pointers to potential pitfalls would be useful as well.

I'd like to draw attention to something not yet mentioned AFAIK. Trams.
You'll find them in many European cities.
They almost always have right of way.
They can't swerve to avoid you.
Being relatively quiet they can creep up on you.
They are hard and heavy if you hit one.

--

Geoff