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what to do in an emergancy on the roads


dottylou
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Hi

we are off to the Charente later this year and i would like to know who do you call if you have an accident or break down ( as yet we have no european breakdown cover) trying to get organised so i know what to do when in a panic.!! Also is parking straight forward obviously its o.k if its a car park but what are the rules for side of road parking please.[:)]

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Do you break down very oftern in the UK then? Your car should be just as reliable here as there. If you do break down you may find that the many small garages and petrol stations here are more able to help you out than in the UK.

Parking is the same, there are plenty of (mostly free) car parks in towns and loads of laybys here.

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In the event of an accident, the EU wide emergency number is 112.  Locally, you can also call 17 for the gendarmerie and 18 for the pompiers/paramedics.  For a breakdown, contact your breakdown cover provider.

For parking, just look for the traffic signs.  Roadside parking is usually only permitted either in marked bays, or on a specific side of the road (there will be signs indicating which side applies on which days of the week).  Many municipalities allow parking on the pavement - again it'll be signed. 

Look out for blue zones (usually indicated by blue markings on the kerb) where disc parking in in place.  You can get a disc in a tabac or newsagents.  Unless you have a blue badge, don't use disabled spaces - it's a 135 euros fixed fine which is rigourously enforced.

 

 

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Emergency numbers - have a look through these threads

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/907947/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/744941/ShowPost.aspx

Have a look at Money Saving Expert for breakdown rescue in France with a UK company. They usually have a number with an English speaker.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1094823518,14076,

Re parking - just common sense stuff really - most big road maps of France have illustrations of road signs somewhere in them

Make sure you havve the right things with you , spare light bulbs, safety triangle etc

Have fun !

Edit - SD posted while I was writing!

 

 

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Not sure if you mean off to France on holiday or to live.  If you are on holiday, you should get European breakdown cover and all the phone numbers to call will be on that, you will not be thanked calling the gendarmes or fire brigade to a mechanical breakdown. those calls are for accidents only.

If you are moving to France,  you will get your car insured in France won't you, many insurers give a free breakdown cover, CA and Groupama do for a start.

Although you should not rely on it, you will find in rural France that people will stop to help if you are in trouble, because there are miles and miles of roads without any sign of a phone, garage or village.  In the event of an accident,  drivers are bound to stop by law and see if help is needed. As Bob says, you should make sure that your car is regularly serviced and reliable the same as you would in the UK.

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Am I not correct in saying that breakdown cover is normally included in French car insurance in which case presumably they either provide you with numbers to call or you call them direct ?

One of the OP's other questions remains unanswered and it's one I'm not sure of either - rules for side of the road parking - i.e. facing direction of travel. I got caught out on this one in New Zealand and got a $40 fine for about 5 minutes parking facing the wrong way whilst I got some money out of an ATM.

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I don't know that it matters in which direction you are facing, but certainly you need to watch out for the "one side of the road and then the other" rule, especially in small villages, as said above.  Keep and eye out for the "No Parking" signs as you enter villages, with the dates when parking is not allowed on each side of the road.  If you forget to do this, park on the side that everybody else has used - that's the give-away.  And don't block entrances and garages.
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[quote user="Ron Avery"]

Not sure if you mean off to France on holiday or to live.  If you are on holiday, you should get European breakdown cover and all the phone numbers to call will be on that, you will not be thanked calling the gendarmes or fire brigade to a mechanical breakdown. those calls are for accidents only.

[/quote]

Ron, the original poster asked who she should call in the event of an accident.  I gave her the gendarmes/pompiers nunbers.

She seperately asked about breakdown (which is another matter completely) and I said she should contact her breakdown company.

 

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[quote user="Ron Avery"]

......................................you will not be thanked calling the gendarmes or fire brigade to a mechanical breakdown. those calls are for accidents only.

[/quote]

Not strictly true, on the Peage you have to phone the Police, the roadside boxes are direct links to the Police, there is no other option.

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[quote user="ErnieY"][quote user="cooperlola"]...you need to watch out for the "one side of the road and then the other" rule...[/quote]I'd never even heard of this one Coops so thanks for the heads up [;-)][/quote]In the two villages either side of us it's park on one side of the road from 1st to 15th and the other for the remainder of the month.  This has struck me as an excellent idea for people in little street-side village houses.  You take turns in having to carry your shopping from the opposite side of the road to your front door!  I could think of a lot of places back in Kent which could have done with this system - the parking chicane always seemed favoured there!
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SD old mate, if you want to be pedantic she actually said " i would like to know who do you call if you have an accident or break down"

However, I was not suggesting that the information you had given was wrong in any way, just emphasising that in normal circumstances, I have no idea about Autoroutes, the Emergency services numbers were for only for emergencies.  That said we still don't know if she will be on holiday or moving here.  

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Hi

thanks to everybody for your prompt replies, just going for a visit this time might move if we like it enough! (whole load of questions to ask you all then.) In the meantime I will check out the threads that have been suggested.[:)]

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I don't think you are allowed to just stop on the open road (to read the map, admire the view etc) without *pulling off* the carriageway.  I am sure SD will give us chapter and verse on this if it is so.  And of course in a village/town, pull into a proper space (or pavement if that seems to be the local thing).

Angela

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[quote user="Loiseau"]

And of course in a village/town, pull into a proper space (or pavement if that seems to be the local thing).

Angela

[/quote]

If you do park on the pavement (local custom or not) please bear in mind pedestrians, mothers with pushchairs and wheelchair users.

Lots of French kerbs are very high and it's no fun trying to get up and down them with a pushchair or wheelchair. [:(]

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Here are some general points about parking taken from the code de la route:

Vehicles left in the same place on a public road for more than seven days may be towed away and impounded.

Whenever a local maire designates a road as alternative side parking, each period must be of fifteen days duration.

When parking in blue zones, the disc must be of a prescribed design and placed on the dashboard so to as to be viewed without having to step into the road.

Outside urban areas, vehicles which are stopped or parked must be placed off  the road wherever possible. If this is not possible, then they must be parked on the right in the same direction as the traffic flow.

Stopping or parking on a pedestrian crossing is prohibited.

Vehicles must not be stopped or parked in a manner which would cause danger to other road users, eg at or near junctions, bends, brow of hill, pedestrian crossing.  Towing away applies.

All vehicles must be parked so as not to interfere with the traffic circulation.  The following situations are designated as abusive:

-  on pavements (unless otherwise marked/signed), pedestrian walkways, etc;

-  voies vertes and cycle paths;

-  bus stops and taxi ranks;

-  where there is a solid white line in the centre of the road and there is insufficent space for a vehicle to pass without crossing the line;

-  near road signs/traffic lights where your vehicle masks the sign for other road users;

-  blocking another parked car or impeding access;

-  parking on bridges or in tunnels;

-  blocking fire hydrants;

-  using disabled spaces without authorisation;

-  stopping or parking in emergency lanes, except where necessary;

-  parking in bays reserved for police vehicles;

-  parking in front of recharge points for electric vehicles;

-  parking across entrances to private houses;

-  parking in delivery only bays;

-  double parking (does not apply to cycles and solo motorcycles).

 

 

 

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[quote user="Bob T"]Do you break down very oftern in the UK then? Your car should be just as reliable here as there. If you do break down you may find that the many small garages and petrol stations here are more able to help you out than in the UK.

Parking is the same, there are plenty of (mostly free) car parks in towns and loads of laybys here.

[/quote]

Well maybe that is so, but not always.  A car that is only used for fairly short journeys is going to face a big challenge if it has to face not 10s of miles but 100s of miles.  That usually sorts out any car.  Let me give you an example.  I drove to Moscow in my Land Rover 110.  A water leak that had probably been dripping for months but not noticed even by the pre departure service at a main agent burst into full flow just after leaving Poland.  Thanks to the fact it had a Nissan Engine I limped into Moscow and got a new rad flown out from the UK.

I would always recommend taking out foreign cover as it gives peace of mind and you can rely on English Speaking assistance. 

I live here so know how to deal with such problems as might arise but even then I am going back to the UK in a few days and I am taking out foreign cover on my French insurance.

CHRIS

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In the UK, by law, you are not allowed to park on the highway unless in a marked bay. Thus, if you park your car outside your house it can be removed at any time by the Police if they see fit. People think that if there are no restrctions i.e. yellow lines etc. that you can park anywhere, this is a popular misconception, I know I was caught out by it..Is this the general rule in France ?

John

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[quote user="Chrisdubna"][quote user="Bob T"]Do you break down very oftern in the UK then? Your car should be just as reliable here as there. If you do break down you may find that the many small garages and petrol stations here are more able to help you out than in the UK.
Parking is the same, there are plenty of (mostly free) car parks in towns and loads of laybys here.
[/quote]

Well maybe that is so, but not always.  A car that is only used for fairly short journeys is going to face a big challenge if it has to face not 10s of miles but 100s of miles.  That usually sorts out any car.  Let me give you an example.  I drove to Moscow in my Land Rover 110.  A water leak that had probably been dripping for months but not noticed even by the pre departure service at a main agent burst into full flow just after leaving Poland.  Thanks to the fact it had a Nissan Engine I limped into Moscow and got a new rad flown out from the UK.

I would always recommend taking out foreign cover as it gives peace of mind and you can rely on English Speaking assistance. 

I live here so know how to deal with such problems as might arise but even then I am going back to the UK in a few days and I am taking out foreign cover on my French insurance.

CHRIS
[/quote]I have a friend who makes the annual pigrimage to Le Mans each June.  I am not kidding when I tell you that every time he has come, his car has had some sort of breakdown or a minor repair needed.  I've learnt the French names for all kinds of obscure car parts as a result!

Just a tip.  He also lost the keys to his Morgan (the one in my avatar) at last July's LM Classic.  He had AA 5* breakdown cover.  He phoned them and they said "Sorry, your policy states that you must bring a spare set of keys with you, so we can't help."  So : DON'T FORGET TO BRING BOTH SETS OF KEYS WITH YOU.[I]

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That's the trouble with breaking out your "classic" only on sunny Sundays without an R in the month....[blink]

The bunch from my local pub all used to take their classics but never a year went by without mishap.

One memorable year they hadn't got 10 miles before one of the cars ran into the back of another and then the Westfield broke it's camshaft in the Dartford tunnel. When they got to France the MGA's distributor packed up and the MGB Roadster's clutch started playing up. I'm sure the race prepared MGC GT suffered some fuel problems too (outwith consuming it at a prodigious rate that is), oh what fun they had.

These days though, not content with wimping out of camping in favour of a cosy Gite, they all take their Euroboxes although I do think the Morgan will be making the trip this year.

Cars are meant for driving and in my own case, with my MGB, I was at one time regularly doing 20k + PA and one year actually did 44k !

In over 200,000 miles I only ever broken down twice and on both those occasions I got underway again without third party assistance. I'll tell you the story of a motorway in Holland and a bent pushrod one day but suffice to say I was mobile again within the hour [:D]

Re the Morgan BTW, if you or your friends are seriously into them mention Don Kettleborough and 4 DYK

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