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Driving to the Alps for a season

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Fattes13, It was suspended when a) the actual accuracy of the damned things were questioned by the police themselves and b) when it proved impossible to find sufficient supplies to even meet the initial demand. The whole thing was initiated by a neat little deal done with one of Sarko's mates. You couldn't find them anywhere now to buy when I was in France 2 Autumns back and the local Flics told me not to worry. They were importing them from South Africa at one point in order to meet demand, then they found out that they were not safe. They are only in "Test" as well for 2 years then they have to be replaced anyway. There is a whole thread about it somewhere from back when they were first introduced.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
pam w, There are times when chains are vital, unfortunately my Subaru would need the extremely expensive ultra low profile ones because of the internal clearance. But with good winter tyres I have never needed them in that vehicle. If conditions are going to be too bad I'd take the snow bus, I'm more worried about other people sliding into me Toofy Grin

It was in la Grave where I needed mine, years ago before I'd heard of winter tyres, the plowed snow had melted and then refroze behind the parked cars making a nice domed ridge that stopped anyone driving out lol.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
It's actually still on the statute books it just isn't enforced by the police. Even if you were to be 'caught' there isn't a fine or any other punishment for not having one.

I work in a vehicle hire agency / garage in the summer, have done for three years now; the police come and see us to chat about licences and stuff but not once have they mentioned the alcotest. Technically all hire vehicles more powerful than a 50cc scooter should have one and the complement of hi viz vests.

The French have quite a lot of laws they officially ignore, another well known one that was only changed last year said unless riding a bicycle or a horse, women needed police permission to wear trousers.


Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Thu 23-10-14 10:14; edited 1 time in total
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dobby, I can't remember where I first heard them described as "a Porsche reversed into a shed", but it's all I can think when I see them.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Samerberg Sue, Nope the fine was removed but the law is still in place!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
Done a few seasons, if you can, take your car. Makes it much better,come and go, visit places, go to other resorts etc. plus you can nip to Bourg or Val disere pretty easily without relying on buses etc.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Fattes13, suspended means still on the books but not enforced! rolling eyes
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

unless riding a bicycle or a horse, women needed police permission to wear trousers


How were they expected to make their way to said bicycle or horse?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Davecon70, do a "proper" investigation into the covered parking. You might find a much cheaper solution than generally advertised. It will be of course on your first day off that's a bluebird powder day to discover how much time it takes to dig a car out from a metre of snow... Shocked
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Not to get into a semantic fight but just to be clear, on the alcotest requirement you're both right and wrong... Technically this law isn't suspended, it is officially enforced, there just isn't any punishment for breaking it.

The situation arose because they passed two laws, one saying you had to have an alcotest and a second bringing in the punishments for not having one. When the first law was passed in 2012 the problem of millions of motorists trying to buy something on the same day became evident as Samerberg Sue says. As a solution and to combat the rampant profiteering of garages charging up to 20€ for something normally sold at 1€, the government passed the second law stating that any punishments for breaking the first would be delayed until March 2013, thus leaving everyone time to get one at at reasonable price.

Towards the end of Feb 2013 that second law was quietly cancelled, but the first one wasn't...

This is why French government websites carry the amusing words: "You must in accordance with the law dated blahblah have an alcotest in every vehicle. In accordance with the law of xyz there is no sanction for non-compliance."

To make the farce even greater, the then Interior Minister (and now PM), Manuel Valls, said that as far as he was concerned no-one needs to carry an alcotest at all!

Nevertheless, being true to the law as it stands, hire car operators such as Hertz cheerfully declare on their websites that you still need to carry an alcotest and that they will sell you one for 2€. They don't point out that it goes without punishment. Is it too cynical to assume that the ferry and tunnel operators quoted by Fattes13 are also mentioning the requirement with a view to a profit?
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
albinomountainbadger, Probably, but considering I paid less than 2 Euro a test for mine, its no big deal!
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
albinomountainbadger, Probably, but considering I paid less than 2 Euro a test for mine, its no big deal!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Fattes13 wrote:
albinomountainbadger, Probably, but considering I paid less than 2 Euro a test for mine, its no big deal!


Even discounting repeat travellers, 2€ for each of the the few million cars crossing the channel every year soon adds up wink
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
everyone kept saying they would be €1 per test.
went to ADAC shop to buy some (along with Swiss vignette), and the going rate was €7 with 12 month expiry.
no thanks - I'll risk the €20 fine for the short drive between GVA and Morzine, and Belgian border to Calais (for that very short period of time where it might have been enforceable, or at least nobody really knew).

same with Hi-Viz jackets. Got mine for £1. Whichever Landrover club friend is a member of got them at 50p each in boxes of 100, so 100% markup for the club, and shed loads spare. First trip on Dover-Calais and they tell me I have to buy one for 700% of the price I paid, and that you need one for every passenger. The other 3 I got for free every time I've taken the car in for a test. Oddly the guy selling at the car also told me I needed to buy a set of light deflectors for a German LHD car to drive on the continent.

If they were €1, I'd probably have bought one as a gimmick. But I'm not paying 1/3rd the price of the fine (that may never have ever been enforced on the days I drove anyway).
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Does anyone have any ideas on finding van insurance (astra van) with a trip length of more than 90 days?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Daleskier, try LV. Up to 180 days for small supplement.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Daleskier, LV will do 180 days for an extra £20 or so.
Try a search on here for lots of info.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thanks guys Madeye-Smiley
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Not much to add to the already comprehensive wisdom except to add this

https://www.saneftolling.co.uk

Particularly useful if you drive alone on the toll rds
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Some cracking advice & lots to make you laugh, especially the porsche, oh what joy!

We have driven for the last four years, Tignes [3] & last Feb Les Menuires I invested in snow tyres the second year, fantastic.

Whilst we have chains never really needed them but I put them on Feb 2013 when we were leaving resort @ 0630, heavy snowfall overnight & snowing. My best mate who didn't have snow tyres decided to put his on [another pretend 4x4 in name only, X5] to save the wrath from his wife. My thoughts were, well I better put mine on otherwise if we had an incident it would be my nuts being roasted by my OH.

God, I wish I hadn't bothered as my car was loaded to bursting, roof box, 4 sets of skis, 4 pairs of boots together with the kitchen sink all stuffed in the boot [merc e class estate] not to mention 3 kids [again in name only aged 18,16 & 13] with OH & me up front.

The car was on rails, absolutely rock solid with all the weight onboard.

We left Tignes centre & after a few minutes lost my mate, slowed down to a crawl, still no where to be seen.

Phoned him to see what had happened only to be informed that his car was uncontrollable, slipping & sliding all over the show...laughed my a** off!

He said it was a bl***y nightmare, he had nearly stuffed it into the wall on several occasions.

Well, he had the last laugh, we safely got to the bottom & now the task of removing the chains, he got his off & packed away in five minutes.

Due to the weight in the car it was sat very low on the suspension, so low it was near impossible to get my hands in between the arch & the tyre & it was very cold. Fortunately we had the rug, the gloves etc but could I get them off?

No chance, they got snarled up & couldn't see a bl***y thing [had the head torch, useful but the gap was tiny] decided to draw the car forward & hope they would get left behind...stupid boy!

They just got more tangled up. If I had had a pair of bolt cutters I would have chopped them off [note to self, bolt cutters for 2015].

The only way to get them off was, empty the boot, retrieve wheel jack & take wheels off.

I kid you not, by the roadside whipping the wheels off is no fun when coaches, French mini bus drivers etc are racing 6' past you, it kind of focuses you, BTW the kids & the OH were out of the car wearing their hi-viz jackets Madeye-Smiley

I could have got a job with the Mclaren pit crew!

As you'd expect when completed, I got back in the car, jeans wet through, hands like blocks of ice, thank God for heated seats :- rolling eyes

What did I learn?

It will have to be exceptionally tough conditions to entice me to put chains back on in the future, snow tyres + fully loaded vehicle works fine.

Goes without saying, my mate bought a complete new set of wheels with snow tyres on for our trip last February & worked a treat.
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huh? getting them off is easy.
just drive forward so it's in the right orientation, turn wheel full lock, hit the quick release, untether the ring at the back and pull. repeat for the other wheel.

getting mine on is a Fitzwilliam. low profile wheels and narrow gap between wheel and wing.

oh and definitely needed them and was glad of them last year.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

I think the drivers willie fell off

Cold does make things very brittle!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Any piece of advice on using chains....... Put them on before you need them and puck you place to do stop carefully....... If you're starting the ascent and at 750m and it's snow/rain then in all prbability by the time you get to 1500m you will have had to stop and put them on.

So find somewhere to do so which doesnt block the road and not on a hairpin at 1250m when you've got stuck.

It is alledged that mini bus drivers play ten pin bowling on tourists at the side of the road putting their chains on when they stop up the mountain just after hairpin bends (hairpins are steeper than the rest of the climb)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
andy wrote:
huh? getting them off is easy.
just drive forward so it's in the right orientation, turn wheel full lock, hit the quick release


It's been a while since I used chains so wondered what you meant then remembered that frozen metal switch clogged with ice, mud and gravel after driving down a French alpine road that's 70% pothole...
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
and not all chains have a quick release. The ones you buy for a few bob certainly don't. I did have some with a quick release but it stuck once and was the devil's own job.

With most chains, especially the cheap ones, you have to reach to the back of the wheel and undo the clip that holds the two ends of the heavy wire circle - and if you let go of one end too soon it can drop down and get tangled up in the axle, or whatever it's called these days (it's best to leave the shoulder chain thing done up to help prevent the ends getting lost). And although you put the chains on with the car stationary it always seems that by the time you take them off one of those clips is in a position 180 degrees off the one on the other wheel, so you need to move the car between wheels.

Personally I find getting chains ON preferable to getting them OFF - and I've done it a fair bit.

Thankfully they're not too often needed if you have snow tyres. But it is not always the case that "snow tyres and a fully loaded vehicle works fine". And even if you think you'll be OK the police will sometimes insist on chaining up. You need chains, you need to know how to use them, and you can then hope they can stay in their clean, dear little box (into which they will never go when you've just taken them off, incidentally).
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Just a quick addition -

Could be rumour, but seems to be widely circulated in Morzine. If snow is forecast overnight, vehicles should be moved into covered parking, which will allegedly be free for that night. Ensure on the enforcement of it, the snowploughs are more likely to pack your car in with snow/mud/grit before the tow truck gets there.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
matteevan90, it's true, no cars can be left on the street between midnight and 7am if snow is falling. The Morzine public car parks are free overnight so anything left on the street has no excuse to be there. Not yet seen this practised in any other resort.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

it's true, no cars can be left on the street between midnight and 7am if snow is falling.

not supposed to be any in the main drag in Les Saisies overnight. The big car parks are all free 24/7 anyway (and there are no covered public car parks). Anyone who leaves a car in the main street when it's going to snow overnight is an idiot - I've seen cars practically buried in compacted ploughed snow; I think the plough drivers make a special effort. Laughing
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
andy wrote:
huh? getting them off is easy.
just drive forward so it's in the right orientation, turn wheel full lock, hit the quick release, untether the ring at the back and pull. repeat for the other wheel.

getting mine on is a Fitzwilliam. low profile wheels and narrow gap between wheel and wing.

oh and definitely needed them and was glad of them last year.


mmm.... would be useful except the car is rear wheel drive, hence the issue in removing the chains snowHead
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Wow never picked up that bit a morzine, snd I've just done 2 seasons with a car there!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
In Chamonix they put out the deneigement signs, in Courcheval La Praz they will tow them and leave them in the top car park without a fine.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

except the car is rear wheel drive, hence the issue in removing the chains

not to mention needing them in the first place....
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
+1 for a bag of cat litter, It's got me and 44 tons out of some very nasty predicaments, we don't get 'snow' tyres and 1/16" is legal drive tyre depth . . . even in winter Shocked (does wonders for your reaction times and sphincter control Toofy Grin )

If your pocket will stretch to it, get yersen one of those 'power stations' . . . jump leads in a box with the biggest battery that will fit. Mine even has a built in inverter for 110/12/5V outlets. Saved mine and many other's bacon a dozen and more times last winter. Much easier to use than jump leads that won't reach from the street into the snowbank the plow dumped onto your bonnet and less chance of getting hit whilst your doing your good deed for the pretty girl in the next chalet. wink
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Masque, I carry one for my car in winter, never needed it so far but when you night tour it's a handy thing to come back to just in case.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
If you're driving down on French Autoroutes on your own, it may be worth seeing if you know someone who can loan you their LiberT motorway tag, so that you can drive through the tolls without stopping. They are transferable - I loan mine to friends and family who just reimburse me when the bill comes through. It doesn't cost any more.
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Try and arrive at Bourg St Maurice with a near empty fuel tank and fill up there before heading up the hill to Ste Foy. This will have the right level of additive for the mountains.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
msej449 wrote:
If you're driving down on French Autoroutes on your own, it may be worth seeing if you know someone who can loan you their LiberT motorway tag, so that you can drive through the tolls without stopping. They are transferable - I loan mine to friends and family who just reimburse me when the bill comes through. It doesn't cost any more.


You can always reverse through the tolls, only joking.
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