Dangerous

[Teamedup]

We were behind  a brit brown/beige Ford people carrier today and at a priorite a droite they slowed slightly as a lad on a scooter went to take his priority, but the Ford didn't stop and my heart was in my mouth as the young lad was obviously on the ball and braked hard. How the Ford didn't hit him as they continued on their merry way, it was just this lad's quick response and good luck that there was not a nasty accident.

Whoever they were, think their registration finished with HYE, they were driving very dangerously.

[Beryl]

I think there are still vast numbers of Brit drivers that are totally ignorant of this law.

I have friends that came over in their huge camper van  and tootled all around France before staying with me. The conversation came round to this law when I was giving them directions and they admitted seeing plenty of X signs but hadn't a clue what they meant.

There are a quite few around our way that don't have any pre warning signs, so you have to be on the ball!

[cooperlola]

We have a particularly nasty PaD near our home.  When an English friend was coming to visit, I made a point of explaining the rule to her (including sending a pic' of the "X" sign).  When she arrived I said, "You see what I mean about that particular road?"  She replied, "Oh, surely it doesn't apply there."  There's just no telling some people![:)]

[Jc]

Many "BRITS" appear to think that most French law does not apply to them.

[Ron Avery]

What X signs?  Unless the signs in the SW are different to the rest of France, these Xs just indicate there is a junction ahead and not that it has the priority from the right.  The signs to take notice of the large yellow diamonds that indicate that there is no prority from the right and those with a diagonal bar across them that indicate that some but not all roads entering from the right have priority.  The latter are normally found on the approaches to villages and towns.

[Dick Smith]

In Normandy the X means priorité a droit - and whether or not that is still the law a lot of gentlemen on tractors believe that it is. We have a nasty one near us - completely blind due to a raised field and 45 degrees backwards.

[Beryl]

By me, we have X signs for PaD.  very often without the red border

and our junction signs look like this

[Bugsy]

[IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/Bugbear2/roadsign2.gif[/IMG]

[cooperlola]

Well, I have my Code Rousseau de la Route in front of me and it definately says that the X sign means "ceder le passage a droite".

[Bugsy]

Sorry Beryl, great minds etc.....................................[:D]

I have always treated any road on the right with suspicion, particularly when on two wheels. I always look for white lines on the junction and if I don't see them I take extra care. Common sense really.

[cooperlola]

Even given the white lines, Gary, there are a number of farmers around here of a certain age, who have no idea that there is any junction at which the priorite a droite rule does not apply!

[Sunday Driver]

Given that the majority of members of this forum are resident and therefore habitually drive in France, the lack of knowledge of the French highway code is frightening....[:(]

 

 

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Given that the majority of members of this forum are resident and therefore habitually drive in France, the lack of knowledge of the French highway code is frightening....[:(]

 

 

[/quote]Yup.  Can't imagine why the gendarmes treat UK registered vehicles with such suspicion, can you?

[Beryl]

Do tell, who has got it wrong then?[:D]

[Bugsy]

[quote user="cooperlola"]Even given the white lines, Gary, there are a number of farmers around here of a certain age, who have no idea that there is any junction at which the priorite a droite rule does not apply!

[/quote]

Sorry Coops, I forgot to mention farmers, I always treat them with suspicion........ [:D] 

 

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Bugbear"]

[quote user="cooperlola"]Even given the white lines, Gary, there are a number of farmers around here of a certain age, who have no idea that there is any junction at which the priorite a droite rule does not apply!

[/quote]

Sorry Coops, I forgot to mention farmers, I always treat them with suspicion.................... [:D]  

[/quote]Especially if they look like the Wizard of Oz, no doubt.

[Frederick]

[quote user="cooperlola"]Even given the white lines, Gary, there are a number of farmers around here of a certain age, who have no idea that there is any junction at which the priorite a droite rule does not apply![/quote]

 

Farmers of a certain age habitually carry kids on the bonnets of their tractors. ...and when following them it scares me as I am waiting for one to fall off.... should not imagine they know what a highway code is anymore than Brit drivers

[powerdesal]

Irrespective of any PaD rules, the answer must surely be to drive defensively at all times everywhere. I recommend a 'defensive' course by driving for any time in the Middle East, where road signs, white lines, red traffic lights etc have whatever meaning is desired at the time depending on how the individual driver feels. [8-)].

[Lori]

Powerdesal - no kidding.  Every day my husband leaves for work in Riyadh I cringe.  Try taking a drive round that city !

And I agree that many a farmer don't seem to bother following the rules either - at least around here.  A copy of the code de la route is invaluable, worth every penny.

I have some American "friends" who come here and drive 110 in the far left lane on the autoroute, even when I have explained to them not to.  I won't get in the car with them.

[powerdesal]

Lori,

I lived / worked in KSA for 3 months, that was about 90 days too long.

The problem with USA drivers is that they are conditioned to 'free lane' driving. The concept of European lane discipline is as alien as it is to the Arab world.

[PossumGirl]

We had just entered the village the other day.  I was on the bridge and there was a car coming up from the right, so I stopped to let him go.  The car behind me (a FRENCH registered car!) pulled around me and passed me on the left, on a bridge, in a village, with a PaD!

I SO wished I was a gendarme at that moment!

PG

[Lori]

PG - that's when the fist flies at that driver.  Similar things have happened to me in a parking lot where the posted speed was 20 km and a car whizzed past me going somewhere round 40 km (French tags). It infuriated me and the middle finger flew !!  Internationally recognized.  I know it was bad as I had two teenage girls in the car with me.  They thought it was funny ...

[Deimos]

In fairness to some (maybe visitors), even if people research on the net there are quite a few comments around about PaD not being used any more in France, things like it was stopped in the 1950's, etc.

True that people should check the official codes rather than whatever Google may throw-up - but there is quite a bit of misleading info around.

With regard to the "Crosses" and "Yellow" signs, I thought the crosses (on triangular signs) applied to the junction you are approaching and that the yellow squares (standing on their corner) meant that there was no PaD on junctions until you get to one with the line through it. But please do correct me if I have this wrong.

Ian

[Ron Avery]

I drive up to 600kms a week through many towns in the Aveyron, Lot, Auvergne , Lozere, Puy de Dome  etc and I have never seen a cross within a red triangle on any road I use, maybe most of the roads I use are covered by yellow diamonds as most are RN roads, and therefore such signs would not exist where yellow diamonds are but interestingly on a BBC programme drivers were interviewed at Dover and asked what the yellow diamond meant, when many did not know, the interviewer told them it was give way from the right, no wonder the Brits are confused!!

Interstingly the only UK internet site I can find on French road signs, does not list the red triangle with the X, it is only American sites like that BB shows,  that show this as a sign, maybe they are not installed where there are not so many tourists about, or only in larger cities, but there are none round this way.  There are plenty of white signs with an X which indicate that there is a junction, but these are not shown in BB's listing. What I find really confusing are roundabouts in cities like Marseilles where you have to give way to traffic joining from the right once on the roundabout and not to traffic from the left as on smaller "rural" roundabouts.

[Cat]

Read all about it here, from the French Government website, the leaflet showing the meaning of French road signs...

http://www.securiteroutiere.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/depliant-signalisation.pdf

This states that "Aux carrefours, la règle générale est la priorité à droite. Lorsque cen’est pas le cas, des panneaux précisent les règles à respecter auxintersections"

 

"Intersection où leconducteur est tenu decéder le passage aux véhicules débouchant de la ou des routes à sa droite"

 

"Intersection avec une route dont les usagers doivent céder le passage"

 

Perhaps a good idea to print off a copy of the leaflet if anything there is a surprise to you? [:'(]