chateaubriant Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 On holiday last year, I noticed orange lamps with pedestrian crossings whilst driving through villages.Can anyone explain these please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacier1 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 It confuses the hell out of me too.....they are bright orange I think when we HAVE to give way to pedestrians, although not many people take the least bit of notice of this! I saw near Lyon Part Dieu train station an old guy crossing the street by the trams/buses to the main shopping complex with cruches, a police car came towards him, and bibbed their horn loudly, everybody in the police car laughing their head's off as this guy wobbled and nearly stumbled on the crossing.....they went off all laughing. If the police do this, what chance have pedestrians in crossing the road safely. I did not make any of this up, it disgusted me when it happened a few weeks back! But hey, this is France, nothing surprises me anymore! I just find foreign lorry drivers don't bother to stop to let people cross, even on crossings. Anybody else experience this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Not me, not here. The traffic stops for people using the stripy crossings. They don't have any lights of any colour either. It has been a constant surprise that they do stop.Pity that someone didn't get the number of the niks car and report it!The thing that amaises me still is the way that the French will go 3/4 of the way round a roundabout in the right hand lane with no indication and pull off still not indicating. It is not the way their highway code teaches them, but it is so very common. WHY DO THEY DO IT!Mind you, it does make it easy to get past the idiots by using the roundabout correctly and using the left hand lane and indicating properly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil & Pat Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 [quote user="Jonzjob"]Mind you, it does make it easy to get past the idiots by using the roundabout correctly and using the left hand lane and indicating properly![/quote]Be careful there John. The non-indicating idiot in the right hand lane might be intending to take the fourth exit when you make your move for the third. Being on your right he just might expect priority from you. [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacier1 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Oh I agree with you John! I constantly keep an eye out on my six for people who have NO IDEA as to how to take a round about. In Valence, there are 2 big round abouts, 1 comes off 5 roads (including a motorway) and the other has 6 turnings including 2 which are motorway.....I constantly see them in the right hand lane going all the way around.....I just have to wait until they pass which means stopping on the round about! I hate it but they have never learnt how to take a round about. Then you have the fast cars, the 911's, GT's etc which just take the round about at high speed CUTTING up any vehicle which is going all the way around the round about, I was in the right hand lane turning right, nearly upon the turning a while back when a 911 cut me up on the turning, making me pull dramatically to the right out of way, otherwise it would have been a side impact! Another thing I see regularly, is the two laner going into the roundabout becomes a single laner, then it turns into a "turn left/turn right" two laner, to block people from using both sides, they have put those plastic posts and double white lines as if to block people using it! You would think so, I had a "A" sign on the back of his car, he pulled INTO the NO DRIVE area, going in and out the posts, cutting up the cars turning onto the left hand lane! I was shocked at this reckless driving! Another learner in front of me in Valence (why always Valence, I do not know!!!!) cut up a red light, he just decided it was red too long, and he just put his foot down. I have enough things to say to write a book! How I long for some civilized drivers. It will not stop me from keeping to the 90kms limit, also from using my indicators.I applied for a French licence yesterday, handing in my British one. I am updating my licence to have a "petite remise" which means I can transport people in a minivan (not taxi). This will be good for my gite as I'm kinda rural. Thank god that they didn't tell me to re-take my code, because my licence has writen on it the right to drive people, I didn't even know that it had it! [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanb Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 [quote user="Phil and Pat"]The non-indicating idiot in the right hand lane might be intending to take the fourth exit when you make your move for the third. Being on your right he just might expect priority from you.[/quote]I agree. IMO that's exactly what's wrong with the theory of two-lane roundabouts.Drivers are often criticised by roundabout "experts" for sticking unnecessarily to the outside lane. But I think an understandable reason for doing that is to avoid the situation described by Phil & Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I always make sure that I am passed and clear before making any turns off the roundabout.I would love to see a Swindon type Magic Roundabout here with 5 mini roundabouts in a nice pattern. One for each entering road! I loved that one because you would get the people who took the obvious way and following everyone else got stuck, but you could take loads of ways round/across it and I don't think I was ever very long, even in the rush hour... It is magic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 No idea about orange lights on crossings, never seen any down here, the only ones I can think of are the traffic lights at some junctions that have a flashing orange arrow and are all turned to flashing orange (proceed with caution) in the evening when the roads are quiet. The problem a lot of French from the big towns have in the country is that they are not used to roundabouts that are not priorité à droite. In addition a lot of the things we do in the UK on the roads are not the way the French drive or are taught so its not always them in the wrong, its just that you are applying UK rules to French roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owens88 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Another consideration is that a lot of the things that we do / they do etc. are 'hand-me downs', not current best practice. So people might say 'I was taught this way' and be correct but wrong. e.g. when I was learning to drive all the existing drivers told me to slow by going down through the gears, but the instructors said thata) brakes are meant for brakingb) the requirement is to stay in control, so if the gear you are in is ok for the speed you are at there is no need to add unnecessary in-between steps John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Not too sure what you mean by that Ron?What on Earth could be wrong with driving on the left over here? [8-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Good idea John, be good for all those who kept their LHD cars,[I] Maybe phase it in over a period? All old UK reg cars the first month, around Easter maybe then HGVs the next [6][;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Ron, that is really silly! [:-))] I thought that everyone knew that the Southern Irish had tried that with the trucks driving on the right for a fortnight They said that it caused too many traffic jams?Did you mean RHD cars Ron? My LHD has the steering wheel on the left, commonly known as a 'left hooker' [:D]. Good fun when I got my foirst left hooker just before we moved over. I nearly fell out several times when I opened the door instead of changing gear [:'(]! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lulubel Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 It sounds like I've done my training for French driving in west Cornwall.Roundabouts were only introduced here a few years ago, so most drivers just seem to do whatever makes least sense. As far as I can gather, indicators were also only introduced in recent years, and most drivers are still trying to work out what that stalk on the steering column is for.The funniest thing I've seen was a driver approaching a roundabout with exits left and straight ahead. She was signalling right, and proceeded to take the first exit off the roundabout, then take the first turning on the right. No idea that she should signal for the roundabout at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Say no more![IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/DSC00002.jpg[/IMG]Shook the living daylights out of me. At least they waited till the lights turned green! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now