Riding in the Alps (France and Switzerland) - requirements and documentation

redsmartie

redsmartie

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I've been searching for requirements and local knowledge but still unsure so I thought I'd get definitive information here.

I know I need all my docs (passport, vehicle registration, drivers licence, insurance details, EU health card)

I'm interested in knowing the current status of the following:

  • Use of intercoms
  • GPS speed camera warning use
  • Requirements to carry warning triangle, bulbs, florescent bib, breathalysers, etc
  • Use of GoPro, etc (is it just Spanish police that can be funny about this?)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Speeding, that's most definitely illegal.

As regards the etctera... A turnip is a must. Its requirement is set out in the Code Napoleon and dates back to the early 19th century when everyone was obliged to carry ammunition for the cannons. A regular cannon ball was deemed too heavy and grapes (as used in shot) too squishy. A turnip is perfect
 
Wapping said:
Speeding, that's most definitely illegal.

As regards the etctera... A turnip is a must. Its requirement is set out in the Code Napoleon and dates back to the early 19th century when everyone was obliged to carry ammunition for the cannons. A regular cannon ball was deemed too heavy and grapes (as used in shot) too squishy. A turnip is perfect
Click to expand...

Richard - if travelling light would it be acceptable to substitute the turnip for a Radish? :nenau;)
 
redsmartie said:
I've been searching for requirements and local knowledge but still unsure so I thought I'd get definitive information here.

I know I need all my docs (passport, vehicle registration, drivers licence, insurance details, EU health card)

I'm interested in knowing the current status of the following:

  • Use of intercoms
  • GPS speed camera warning use
  • Requirements to carry warning triangle, bulbs, florescent bib, breathalysers, etc
  • Use of GoPro, etc (is it just Spanish police that can be funny about this?)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge:
You don't need a triangle anywhere.
High viz is required in France but only requires to be worn if stopped at the side of the road (not when riding).
France also requires you to carry a breathalyser and spare lamps (most headlights are all sealed beams so that's a no and all WC BMWs will be leds so, again, no spares as they're all sealed units).
Haven't used a GPS but I don't believe the French will allow you to have speed camera warnings.
Intercoms - don't use it so can't help there either.
Both countries will charge for motorway use - France by road sections and Switzerland will want you to buy an annual Vignette at a local gas station.
 
Khulu said:
Haven't used a GPS but I don't believe the French will allow you to have speed camera warnings.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the Navigator V is intelligent to know this and doesn't have any cameras in the database?

Other than that I suspect its just a case of manually turning off the warnings.
 
Khulu said:
To the best of my knowledge:
You don't need a triangle anywhere.
High viz is required in France but only requires to be worn if stopped at the side of the road (not when riding).
France also requires you to carry a breathalyser and spare lamps (most headlights are all sealed beams so that's a no and all WC BMWs will be leds so, again, no spares as they're all sealed units).
Haven't used a GPS but I don't believe the French will allow you to have speed camera warnings.
Intercoms - don't use it so can't help there either.
Both countries will charge for motorway use - France by road sections and Switzerland will want you to buy an annual Vignette at a local gas station.
Click to expand...

Very few vehicles have sealed beam lights, check yours first, most have separate bulbs and even if not required by law carrying spares can save a lot of wasted time finding replacements.

John
 
Toddmeister said:
Richard - if travelling light would it be acceptable to substitute the turnip for a Radish? :nenau;)
Click to expand...

Not sure if thats allowed, was in Italy when the customs man started shouting" Radishie Radishie " at me. I shrugged my shoulders and showed him a packet of crisps.
 
Technically its not a requirement to carry bulbs, but you may not proceed on your journey if you have a lamp out.

On modern cars, this apparently means that a duff headlight means a trip on a trailer.
 
There is apparently still a requirement to carry a breatherlyser thing, but no penalty for not having any.

I don't normally use a gps but I did hear that any such device used in France must not mark the positions of the fixed speed cameras.
Didn't the general French populace get them changed to read "danger zones" or something? Urban myth?
 
redsmartie said:
Use of intercoms
GPS speed camera warning use
Requirements to carry warning triangle, bulbs, florescent bib, breathalysers, etc
Use of GoPro, etc (is it just Spanish police that can be funny about this?)

I don't want to be banged up by no coppers.. see
Click to expand...

In the same order:

No problems

Garmin (I have no idea about Tom Tom or any other bits of kit) have disabled the warnings by default in countries where it's illegal

No. It's illegal (just as it is in the UK) to have a defective bulb on a vehicle, take one or more if you fancy it or drop into a local garage to pick up your H7 when it blows *. Yes, it does not have to be worn all the time, only if broken down on the side of the carriageway. Yes but few if any bother. Etc.... See above.

No


As with speeding and with many things in life, it's only illegal if you get caught. The chances of you falling foul of some of Europe's motoring laws are certainly no higher than the UK and arguably a lot lower. Don't worry about it. If you have committed some offence so heinous that the police are emptying your panniers, running through your satnav for a spot check or reviewing your Go-pro film, your lack of a breathalyser will be the least of your worries. If it happens, hire a good local lawyer.


* If, like me, you have a 1600GT, the replacing of a front bulb requires tools, the removal of several panels and a considerable degree of patience. I'll probably not be doing it at the roadside after I have picked up a fresh H7 in a garage. The rear light is a long strip of LED's, probably only obtainable from an authorised BMW dealership or ordered via a shonky Chinese website, with a two week delivery time. I'll not be carrying a spare. The front lights also have a ring of LED's, the so called 'Owl eyes', similarly only obtainable from BMW and whose replacement - should they fail - is not a five minute job. Carry a spare? You are having a laugh, officer.
 
The Grey One said:
Very few vehicles have sealed beam lights, check yours first, most have separate bulbs and even if not required by law carrying spares can save a lot of wasted time finding replacements.

John
Click to expand...

Correction: my TC has lamps (I had to change one last year in Switzerland) but I thought all the new WC models were leds and came as complete units?
 
I wonder about documentation for vehicles. In the UK all is done online these days so 'official' MOTs and certificates of insurance/green cards are things of the past.

What would a gendarme do if, when asked for these docs, I point him at a website?

I appreciate that you can print off some of these, but since they look just like something one could knock up in MS Word in 5 mins, they're not overly convincing at the roadside.
 
I showed a French policeman my renewal invitation. He seemed very happy with it.

I should imagine (which I am really good at) that a policeman in France would be no better at looking at a British document than one in Italy, Ethiopia or Japan and certainly no better than PC Plod looking at a Polish or Brazilian document. I then made another imaginative leap that should the offence be so serious that the police were taking a real interest in the documents, they'd pretty soon work out that it had been hacked together in Word. No different really to invitations to cash in on Nigerian winnings (or winings)
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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