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Driving in France

June 3rd, 2013 · 4 Comments

Driving in France has one big advantage over driving in England,at least for an American: they drive on the right side of the road here.

It’s really not bad driving here, and the French drivers are competent and disciplined. Road signs can be confusing. For example, what would you make of “Interdict sauf” followed by a picture of a bicycle? Watch for bicycles? No bicycles allowed? Actually I learned from Gisele that it means “Prohibited except bicycles”. Little things like that take some learning.

We rented an Opal Astro for our trip to Normandy. Opal is GMs European label, and the controls are very similar to my Chevy Volt. The rental agent told me that 95% of cars in France (and Europe, I assume) are diesel, and roughly the same proportion are manual transmission, most of the new ones 6-speed. Diesel fuel is much cheaper here than gas, and gets better mileage. Diesel costs about $6 per gallon, while gasoline is closer to $8. I am getting almost 40 mpg with my Opal, and the performance is quite good. I’m not sure why diesel costs more than gas in the US, but a better question might be why is gas so cheap.

Of course all the measurements are metric, but once you get used to it, it’s very easy to work with. Quick: How many feet in 1/4 miles? It takes a little thought. The equivalent metric question is easy: 250 meters in 1/4 kilometers.

Anyway, we’re enjoying our little jaunt around the French countryside.

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4 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Don // Jun 3, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    But, how many feet in 250 meters?

    I still pretty much think in feet although I can say it’s roughly 750 feet pus a little.

  • 2 Daryl // Jun 4, 2013 at 1:58 pm

    I forgot to mention an important aspect of driving here: Roundabouts. They are everywhere.
    I think a roundabout is an excellent solution for a low to moderately busy intersection. Traffic flows more smoothly than with stop lights or a 4-way stop. On the other hand, they don’t work we’ll at all for truly busy intersections. The classic example is the roundabout around the Arc de Triumph in Paris. It is complete chaos with cars edging through, competing to see who is the most aggressive.

    The basic rule of the roundabout which will get you through in 95% of the situations is that a vehicle in the roundabout has right of way over one trying to enter.

    I wish we had more in the US, but it will take some driver education before they work as well as they do here.

  • 3 Richard // Jun 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    I agree that for many intersections they are great. However, it may depend on what you’re driving. They have them off the 202 at the McKellips and Brown overpasses. They’re fine if you’re in a car or a motorcycle, but impossible to navigate in a truck or when pulling my trailer. I have to go over the curb or take both lanes. Someone didn’t think that through. By the way, Ireland has them everywhere also.

  • 4 Daryl // Jun 8, 2013 at 10:45 am

    I can also vouch for England, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand. Interesting to note that France is the first place I have driven where the roundabouts go counter-clockwise.

    I can still hear the GPS talking to me, “At the roundabout in 250 meters, take the third exit”. A few seconds after passing through, “At the roundabout in 300 meters take the first exit”. I would sometimes go through 3 or 4 of them within 3 or 4 minutes. I didn’t always catch the right exit either.

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