It's a few years now since significant changes were made to driving regulations in France but with spring (apparently) on the way, at least in some places, we thought a review of those changes was in order.

In the past, new laws would take aeons to spread through France - motorcycle helmets were made compulsory in France decades before police in the South of France actually enforced the law - but communication now seems to be more effective and a Gallic shrug of the shoulders doesn't seem to work as well as it used to.

There were two major changes brought in in 2012.

Breathalyser kit

The first was the requirement to have a breathalyser in the car at all times. Note that this doesn't mean that you have to use it every time you have a drink, as was erroneously reported on some French forums - it just has to be in the car.

However, the on-the-spot fine (€11) for not being able to produce your breathalyser was never implemented. It was first meant to happen in November 2012 but was put back to March 2013, then in January 2013 it was postponed indefinitely. As of last summer we can't find any evidence that it's been put in force.

So there is a law that says you have to have a breathalyser but .... er ....no penalty for not having one. But then it's these idiosyncrasies that make France such a popular destination for us.

Speed trap detection

The second change was to outlaw any device (including satnavs) which tells you where speed traps are. So if you have a built in satnav that marks speed traps you'll need to disable that feature.

In theory, this law could include paper motoring maps and atlases that highlight speed traps, but so far we've not heard of any police being pedantic enough to try and make that one stick.

More fines

There was also a third change which wasn't so much about new laws but to add more on-the-spot fines.

The police have long been able to fine people on-the-spot for speeding and other offences but in 2012 more were added to the list. Mobile phone usage now carries a fine and driving on the hard shoulder has gone up from €35 to €135. There are some very heavy fines now as well - watching a DVD while driving (!) and having a speed trap device will attract fines of €1,500 - enough to wreck most people's holiday budget.

Other points

A couple of other points about driving in France are worth repeating while we're on the subject:

• If you breakdown on a motorway you aren't allowed to call a commercial recovery service - you must use the orange roadside phone.
• You should when driving, strictly speaking, carry a passport, insurance documents, V5 and driving licence (including the paper part, until it's phased out).
• Carry a warning triangle and reflective safety vests.
• Fit beam deflectors or cut out the dip beam with black tape - they really don't like being dazzled in France.
• GB stickers should be fitted unless you have new-style Euro plates.
• Using a mobile phone while driving is an offence unless a full hands-free kit is fitted.
• Most roundabouts now follow the same rules as in the UK but occasionally you will come across those where traffic coming onto the roundabout has priority over traffic already on it - the complete opposite! These should have signs that say: 'priorite a droite'.
• If someone flashes you it's to indicate that you should get out of their way - not to let you pass!

There are other rules, of course, but these are the main points that are significantly different. You can find out more detail about driving in France on the RAC, AA or caravan club websites - they are all good sources of information (see below).

If you are taking your caravan to France this year we hope you have a safe trip and enjoy yourselves to the full.

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