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And back to french roads


idun
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Just done my accounts and we spent €141,90 on french motorways over 2 weeks, including our trip too and from the north coast.

The autoroutes were in good condition, and at prices like that, they blooming well should be.

For the most part whilst we were there we used RN and D roads, although I have noticed that many roads I used to know as RN are now D. These were a mix of conditions and comparing to where I now live, overall marginally worse.

But the worst thing, and quite a few friends mentioned it, was that when new junctions have been made, if they haven't built a roundabout, then there is a new priorite a droite and there are lots of them. A road I always used  a lot, now requires very cautious driving. However, one old priorite a droite has stopped and the main road has priority.

And tailgating, lots of it. Why do people do it, not good driving and dangerous.

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I seem to recall spending over €100 each way for a two day journey Normandy to the Ardeche in a motorhome many years ago - fortunately it was for work and someone else paid ;-)

Not so bad if you live here, after all if you only go on long péage journeys once a year it's no more expensive than annual road tax for an average UK car. But I guess if you live in the UK and pay annual road tax as well, ouch.
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But our road tax is only £30 a year in the UK and I know quite a lot of people who pay nothing.

Thing was for us that for all we lived in France, we often had to use the autoroutes. What with sporting activities all over the region and some national competitions too. And friends all over the region as well as in other regions. We were not 'just' chez nous all the time. So the motorways have always cost us, I suppose that I never noticed it, just part of necessary expenses.

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No,

UK roads are far too cheap (ducks for cover).

The fact is that national roads in France, Germany and the UK (and probably lots of other countries as well) are heavily subsidised by the tax payer. You as a user then do not appreciate the true cost of motoring.

In comparison rail networks are often unsubsidised (or only subsidised when the deficit is written off). That is why you see long lines of trucks going from Spain to the North of Europe on the A9, A7, A6, A1 when it should be better for the environment and one would also expect to be cheaper to ship the trucks by rail in long trains from the Spanish border to Lyon/Paris/Lille.

Even with French tolls it is still cheaper to go by road - hundreds and hundreds of trucks every day all on the same basic track.

Of course rail has another disadvantage which is the CGT and their strikes.

Nevertheless road with or without tolls is cheaper to the user.

So when you say French toll roads are too expensive, what you are seeing is something close to the true cost of motoring - with perhaps a bit of profit to the shareholders.

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I agree that the whole transport infrastructure needs rethinking.

Wagons, yes, they should be on canals and on railway tracks. Last time we were in Belgium there were big signs saying that canals should be used more and how many wagons would be taken from the roads.

The cost would soon be sorted out. I do not believe that it is impossible.

But motoring cheap, all that tax that the french and UK governments get from it. In the Uk they get approx £26 billion and put £15 billion back into the roads, and that is quite profit isn't it.  Maybe it would be better for the country if they did more with the surplus?

And french autoroutes, not as if there is a fixed tarif per km. That would be fairer and I would be happier with that.

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