Warning Riding in France "priority to the right"

[Andy63]

if your planning a trip through France its worth having a look at this link and read the area "Priority to the right" interesting how we could mis interpret road signs. I have ridden through France many times and not realised the rules.

http://pyreneesmotorcycletours.com/blog/

 

[JPR]

Groundhog day,

 

[cookie]

i must have just been very lucky.

or something.

 

[karlp]

i must have just been very lucky.

or something.

Same here

 

[2 wheel humvee]

I have to say as a ride report it's a little light on details to say nowt of the complete absence of pics

 

[Tarka]

I'm wondering how I've survived the last 32 years of regular France trips without this link.

 

[Steptoe]

Same as it's been since i first rode in france since 1980.

 

[stolzy]

I think the message bears repeating. There are probably those new to France setting off in the next few weeks.

Plenty of Brit motorcyclists think priorite a droite has been abandoned. By no means.

I wouldn't bet my life on the presence of warning signs either.

If you can't see paint at the junction, be very cautious.

 

[hatzyian]

Same in Germany, especially in the smaller villages.

 

[stolzy]

Little test for you - count how many priorite a droits there are in this village.
How many signs?

 

[thornley]

I think the message bears repeating. There are probably those new to France setting off in the next few weeks.

Plenty of Brit motorcyclists think priorite a droite has been abandoned. By no means.

I wouldn't bet my life on the presence of warning signs either.

If you can't see paint at the junction, be very cautious.

Paint does it for me. If there is no solid line on the route joining from the right I assume some Jean pierre will pull out on his 1970's Massey Ferguson without looking for a moment. 37 years after I first arrived in this region (Provence) I am still amazed at the poor standard of driving. No small wonder that the death rate on the roads is still almost double the U.K, although dropping as the Gendarmes set up more and more checkpoints and drink driving is increasingly frowned upon. It's all about reading the road ahead.

 

[Hsound]

And it's the same signs/rules in my country, Belgium. If you are at a cross road it's always the one coming from the right that has the priority, even if he stops. (Before, if he stops, he was losing his priority).

 

[Flipfly]

Just ride as fast as you can, much harder to hit a fast moving target, than a slow moving one.

 

[Andy63]

Whoops didn't see the other threads on the same subject /0\ Sorry

 

[Our Gee]

We visit the Drome area of France about three times a year, sometimes on the bike and sometimes flying and picking up a rental car. I agree with Thornley in that the driving standards are abysmal, especially on what we would call A and B roads. The average Frenchman or Lady sees the vehicle in front as an obstacle to his progress, a challenge to his superior driving skills, and as such must be passed at all costs. I don't dawdle and yet many times we have been overtaken by French drivers on blind bends just to gain few minutes before arriving at their destination. The number of cars we have seen in ditches after a sudden summer rain shower is unbelievable.
The French can be the most helpful, polite and courteous people yet put them behind the wheel and they become absolute morons which is a shame.

 

[halfpint]

The phrase can be , or the most petty self centred bunch of twats in the world. It depends on if they have had a good lunch and few drinks, it help their driving !!!!!

 

[cookie]

Just ride as fast as you can, much harder to hit a fast moving target, than a slow moving one.

and if you ride fast enough, you'll be gone before they pull out

 

[stolzy]

We visit the Drome area of France about three times a year, sometimes on the bike and sometimes flying and picking up a rental car. I agree with Thornley in that the driving standards are abysmal, especially on what we would call A and B roads. The average Frenchman or Lady sees the vehicle in front as an obstacle to his progress, a challenge to his superior driving skills, and as such must be passed at all costs. I don't dawdle and yet many times we have been overtaken by French drivers on blind bends just to gain few minutes before arriving at their destination. The number of cars we have seen in ditches after a sudden summer rain shower is unbelievable.
The French can be the most helpful, polite and courteous people yet put them behind the wheel and they become absolute morons which is a shame.

On the other hand, their lane discipline is exemplary, unlike the Brits who seem determined to turn every three lane motorway into a two lane road

 

[The Grey One]

There is something a little odd when Brits complain about about other peoples driving standards!

Just about the first thing we notice when we come back to the UK is the poor driving standard and especially the level of aggression on UK roads. Twice on our journey up the M6 we had people accelerating hard to try to prevent us moving into lane 3 (lane 1 full of lorries, some self righteous prat doing 65 in lane 2, vehicles ahead in lane 3 at about our speed) Repeated mirror checks show the BMW (it had to be!) behind us in lane 3 was not closing the 100m or so gap. Mirror signal and manoeuvre was the trigger for the BMW driver to floor it to try to prevent the overtake. Why? he wasn't going anywhere because lane 3 was also full of vehicles. A lot of British drivers will do this sort of thing, it's far less common in Europe in my experience.

Certainly the UK driving test is far less strict than the equivalent here in Austria. I expect some of the problem for Brits abroad is that they come across different rules and customs. Witness this great long thread about priority from the right. some of you should have tried France in the days when this rule applied everywhere!. Isn't part of the reason for travelling to experience something different? Why then complain when things are just that-different from the UK.

John

 

[g00ner]

There is something a little odd when Brits complain about about other peoples driving standards!

Just about the first thing we notice when we come back to the UK is the poor driving standard and especially the level of aggression on UK roads. Twice on our journey up the M6 we had people accelerating hard to try to prevent us moving into lane 3 (lane 1 full of lorries, some self righteous prat doing 65 in lane 2, vehicles ahead in lane 3 at about our speed) Repeated mirror checks show the BMW (it had to be!) behind us in lane 3 was not closing the 100m or so gap. Mirror signal and manoeuvre was the trigger for the BMW driver to floor it to try to prevent the overtake. Why? he wasn't going anywhere because lane 3 was also full of vehicles. A lot of British drivers will do this sort of thing, it's far less common in Europe in my experience.

Certainly the UK driving test is far less strict than the equivalent here in Austria. I expect some of the problem for Brits abroad is that they come across different rules and customs. Witness this great long thread about priority from the right. some of you should have tried France in the days when this rule applied everywhere!. Isn't part of the reason for travelling to experience something different? Why then complain when things are just that-different from the UK.

John

More common in the south-east in my experience. Too many people, not enough space