£40 worth of kit needed to drive in France

[basquesteve]

The high vis Spanish jackets are yellow you need two in the car and you wear them at any time in the event of an accident the same applies in Portugal where I Was involved in a prange 

[sid]

And for breakdowns too.

[Saucedecochon]

Now see what happens when you read the Daily Fright - 4 pages of fear follows.

Most of this required motoring stuff is just common sense, sadly not abundant in devotees of Fleet Street. I am frequently stopped by Douane or Gendarmes because I travel in a van - not once have I been asked about triangles, bits of sticky on headlights, or my reflectives, which are very evident on the seats, and its only good sense to bung one on if exiting the vehicle, especially at night though of course one exits the right from a UK motor, and I would never let a passenger exit the left, high vis or not!

I've tested my blow in bags, while not needing to drive, and now have a useful idea as to my limit, which is a pint of London Pride or a glass of wine - but I have my own rule to NEVER drive once I have imbibed

Same as with the EU rules which strikes fear into those at home, the British are best at implementing and jumping into bureaucracy the moment it exists, whereas Europeans know it exists but try not to let it overly impinge on life if possible.

Perhaps the Europeans could pass a law that requires home British drivers to prepare for winter, with a shovel, blanket, flask of char, good battery, charged phone, suitable clothing, breakfast, - before venturing out into an eggcups worth of neige. Or maybe that requires a press led campaign.

[powerdesal]

To be fair - In winter our car always has a shovel and suitable water proofs ( Helly Hensen) in the boot. The phone charger lives in the car all year and I always have breakfast anyway.

[Frederick]

Last week Southern TV did a report from the docks .They questioned people on what kit they carried and were they aware of the breath test regulation ? 

The result seemed to show lots of Brits go over to the Continemt without so much as a spare bulb . Most did not know the breath test kit regulation existed .

One guy had been fined in Fance after a stop because his Hi-Viz vest was in the boot .He stated he now has it under his seat where he was told he had to stow it .  I

[allanb]

[quote user="andyh4"]Strictly in France the jacket should be yellow (I believe to distinguish you from autoroute and rescue personel who use orange), while in Spain they should be orange. [/quote]I'm not sure about that.  As it happens, I have a yellow one which I bought in France, and an orange one which I bought in Spain, but I don't think the the colour was obligatory in either country. 

The EN471 standard doesn't appear to specify a colour.  Certainly there are manufacturers in France who offer at least 3 colours (orange, yellow, green) all allegedly conforming to the standard.

[Loiseau]

I have got a couple of obsolete bulbs in the car for form's sake, but (a) they don 't fit my car, and (b) having watched my friendly local garagiste change one, there is absolutely no chance of my being able to fit them if they did.

I do carry a battered tartan travel rug at all times. I always feel it would be handy for keeping warm if stranded in the cold, or would serve to picnic on in more clement times.

Angela

[andyh4]

The bulb business is essentially nul and void (except in statute) as anyone who has had to replace a Xenon unit will testify.

 

Replacement can cost 750€+, the lights are of course handed so you need a left and right (1500€+) and essentially could only be done by a professional garagiste

 

As to people on the docks not knowing what kit they should carry, a couple of years ago the AA did a survey and over 50% of drivers did not know the speed limits of the countries they were visiting!!

[sid]

The mention of the tartan travel rug made me smile; we have one in the car and it belonged to my parents and must be at least 40 years old, probably 50! It still looks good and we use it on picnics. The quality is first-class, really good wool. Ah, nostalgia isn't what it used to be! [:)]

[idun]

[quote user="Saucedecochon"]Now see what happens when you read the Daily Fright - 4 pages of fear follows.
Perhaps the Europeans could pass a law that requires home British drivers to prepare for winter, with a shovel, blanket, flask of char, good battery, charged phone, suitable clothing, breakfast, - before venturing out into an eggcups worth of neige. Or maybe that requires a press led campaign.
[/quote]

 

I will never understand why anyone goes anywhere in the car without some sort of supplies in it, winter or summer. Summer, if one gets stuck in a jam, then drinks are a great idea. And winter well, even when I lived in the UK before leaving I always had something like a blanket  in the car. Now I am always well prepared in case I get stuck anywhere.......... unlikely as it is that I will, it is there, like my insurance policy, just in case I do!