French autoroutes move towards 68mph speed limit

A snowHead

The days of Brit registered 4x4s loaded with ski gear and cheap beer racing across France at breakneck speeds, doing Calais to Courchevel run in under 8 hours, may soon be over if the French government has its way.

Two regions, the Alsace and Alpes Maritimes, have introduced 110km/h speed limits on all their region's autoroutes. Toulouse also has a 110km/h which drops to 90km/ on the so called "voie rapide".

The introduction is being watched with interest elsewhere in France but there is a strong likelihood that it will be extended across the sector starting with areas where their is already an alternation between 110km/h and 130km/h limits.

Police have been out in force issuing spot fines to motorists who have, perhaps due to a moments inattention, missed the new limits.

A snowHead

not looking forward to this at all..

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Oh dear, I don't think I want to add to my tally of three, on-the-spot French fines (albeit over about a 12 year period, and none in the recent past)! Embarassed

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davidof, hmm it would help better if they learned to drive.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I don't like the sound of this, I thought that was the idea of the autoroutes to travel large distances quickly? I always look forward to the autoroutes after the horrors of the M6, M1, M25, etc.

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David Murdoch, I felt that French drivers had been keeping to the speed limits the last couple of years.

If they want to reduce speeding then they could give automatic tickets at the border to anyone with Belgian plates.

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Ahh yes, the old "lets do something visible instead of fixing the difficult stuff". I've been driving in France a lot over the last 15 years, and these days the problem is not the French speeding on the autoroutes...its getting them interested in whats going on outside the windows.

Im not sure my car has ever been as slow as 68. Maybe it is an optional extra?

After all it is free

Well I drive a fair bit on French autoroutes and tend to find their lane discipline streets ahead of what you see in the UK.

I'm driving to Calais today but as it's pouring with rain (it's 4 degrees on our terrace at 1550m and if we could see them the surrounding mountains would be covered in snow) it'd be 68 mph anyway. Attitude of mind. Put a good CD on and think of all the fuel you're saving. Better for your arteries than fretting about it.

Peace, man. Little Angel

Does anyone know the stats? Is speed of 80 rather than 68 on autoroutes really a cause of accidents? Surely speed on minor roads is more likely to cause serious accidents?

Personally I think 70 in the UK on motorways (when it's not busy) is too low, I would never dream of breaking the speed limit in a 30 zone however.

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I think David Murdoch, summed it up. Better driver training is better than lower speeds.

I'm not too concerned with a speed limit drop however. Last season I did around 25k miles around France, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Cz Rep, Poland and Slovakia. On most journeys I dropped my speed to 65mph and turned the AC off and it saved around a tank of deisel per 1000 miles.

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I am sure that statistically the motorways are the safest roads, which makes sense since everyone is heading in the same direction at similar speeds...in all seriousness, I agree with pam that autoroutes are as safe a place to be re driving safety as uk, however Normandy at 2 pm after lunch around St Lo can be very...er...interesting for reasons that can be only guessed at. Better than it used to be 5-10 years ago though.

I would be interested to hear if people agree with this (gross generalisation) though: British drivers are often more aggressive drivers, whereas in France they are prone to inattention.

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Agree with pam w about the lane discipline in France, generally heaps better than here even though it's mostly two lanes on the alpine route.

We've slowed down more over last few trips keeping max to about 80mph for several reasons - now use roofbox, no doubt that there have been more speed checks on autoroutes, and fuel consumption. Very tempting though when conditions are good and you have an empty road.

Colonel Faceplant, can't really say have made any massive observations about French drivers on autoroutes (can see where this thread will go rolling eyes

)

Belgian registered cars perhaps enjoy speed the most.

beanie1,

You know it makes sense.

Colonel Faceplant, The majority of accidents I have seen on the French Autoroutes have invilved caravans, perhaps they should be subject to similar limlts to those in the UK. The downside would be the congestion you see on the M3 around peak holiday weekends.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Boredsurfing, good point. I've thought drivers in France pretty good (damn site better than kiwis anyway and also lane hoggers you get in the UK) but I've had cars towing trailers pass me like I've been standing still.

A snowHead

kiwi1 has it right, this will be a part environmental move, and rightly so.

A snowHead

rjs, pam w, before I comment further, a little background. In previous lives I was a sales rep for about 10 years driving a little more than 40,000 miles a year, mostly on motorways. We now live in Geneva and quite regularly partake in the wacky race that is the exit from Geneva towards the Haute Savoie on the A40 on a Friday night.

While French lane discipline is, indeed, "better" than in the UK, that is partly due IMHO to the relatively lower density of traffic. Why hog the outside lane when you're the only car in 20 miles?

However, there is much to be praised for the use of mirrors and indicators. They are fitted to the car for good reason. It's a pity the French haven't noticed.

I also found it enlightening to read several opinions on the French driving test that although there is a EU compliant structure, you are expected to drive "as though you were in Paris". What's that all about then?

It is also interesting that the French driving associations recommend that you don't drive on the weekend of the start of the summer holidays. There are more deaths that weekend than in the rest of the entire year.

None of this fills me with confidence. The French are, generally, unfeasibly crap drivers.

But don't get me started on Italians with Audis.

Just to be clear, I am not being culturist. The Swiss are just as bad.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

As I understand it the French did have an unacceptably high death rate on all roads about 4/5 years ago, highest compared to all other EU countries... so they decided to do something about it..... reportedly halved the death rate in the last 3 years, so all good to them.

80 -> 68mph imo will reverse these efforts as I think most drivers will think it's a stupid idea and therefore ignore it.... much like the UK does with a 70mph... i think the reason why people more or less stick to the 80 is because they see it as a fair speed..........

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> The Swiss are just as bad.

Not to mention the Swiss plated Savoyards.

The Lliane is already at 110km/h as it a lot of the autoroute between Geneva and Bourge en Bresse. The section from St Julien to Annemasse has recently dropped to 110km/h also. I imagine that the whole area north of Annecy will be reduced to 110km/h on "pollution and safety" grounds.

I get the impression that no-one who lives north of Chambery can take to the road in the morning without downing a couple of glasses of Génépi

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

marcellus, Yes, they did. I don't think it requires any particular praise however.

They decided that drinking and driving was not such a good idea.

Seriously.

They moved from a policy of almost not enforcing it unless they really had to to trying to cut down on that old "Calva for the road". Made an enormous difference.

I recall a tale from some years ago in a village not too far from where I am now, about the locals complaining that the authorities had deprived the local postie of his driving licence after a DUI incident (excuse the Americanese please).

Yep, he'd only been stopped, unable to walk, having driven at 70 kph down a pedestrian precinct and having taken out two gendarme's cars, a couple of bollards and ended up with the Postal Service van nicely dressing a shop window.

Nothing wrong with a wee tipple before work is there?

davidof, I know exactly what you mean.

To be honest though, these days, isn't it better, more relaxing, cheaper and faster in France to hop on a TGV? There's even a bar...

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Lou, there are few who can match my singular ability to make mass sweeping, and often wildly inaccuarate, generalisations about pretty much anything. That said, most of the posters on this thread seem to hold continental drivers in fairly low regard...Mrs Colonel is French, and (reluctantly) agrees that driving in France is somewhat fraught at times.

Any foreign-type peoples with an opinion on driving in Britland?

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Colonel Faceplant, yup see my post above

After all it is free

kiwi1, Totally agree...

David Murdoch,

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davidof, In the A-M it is only for the summer ( it started this week) , they actually did it last year as well, and over the las 15 years has been introduced a number of times when it is very hot and pollution levels rise.. The reason ( given) is pollution and and given that the Autoroute runs through/close to the major towns/cities of Nice/Cannes etc ., its hardly surprising . I know you will know all of that, just pointing out for others that the correlation with the end of 130 km/hr is a tad tenuous.

However I wouldnt blame the French of they put speed traps every 500m between Calais and Rheims , Vingtemiglia and Cannes and wherever the equivalent is around Barcelona as the speeding by us foreigners is so bad in those areas.

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Last time we drove down tried a little experiment, Forester and roofbox at approx 65mph all the way down and back, took 2.5 hours longer each way, but cost overall £45 in fuel less, and was less tired at the end of it as much less stressful on the inside lane (very very bored however, so next time those talking book cd's)

So from now on reducing the speed limit is not going to make much difference to us

2 things would make driving on autoroutes in france safer, put some more air in tyres and not getting so close to the car in front

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Colonel Faceplant, the standard of driving gets worse the further south you go. Have you ever driven through Naples?

You know it makes sense.

davidof, Mmhh .. I suppose it could be ! However a few things point towards it being temporary.

- It was announced about March (??) for this year - and was Nice-Matin fodder with calls by local Mairies for it to be made permanent...because of congestion but nothing seemed to happen
- This year ( and for the first time iirc) there were temporary advance warning signs .. (I haven't looked at them recently but they did have dates on)
- The overhead warning signs are saying 110 km/h but the permanent signs haven't been changed afaics although I havent been on the A8 since Wednesday so they could have been.

As you know the A8 between Monaco and Mandelieu ( Cote d'Azur for others) is pretty much a permanent traffic jam in July and August, and the area between Nice and cannes has major accidents almost daily. What you may not have seen is that much of the A-M A8 has been reduced to 110km/h over the last few years anyway. Going East from Cannes to Nice Est is now permanently 110 km/h ( with 90 km-h stretches) ... not surpising given the levels of traffic, it is effectively an urban motorway. Westbound there are/were still stretches between Nice Est - Promenade des Anglais and (parts of ) Villeneuve - Loubet and Mandelieu which are/were 130 km/h but there also 90 and 110 km/h stretches for the other bits ( and I have yet another s-fine to prove it -- I am an idiot)

There has always been a 'perceived' issue with foreigners ( Italians in particular) speeding on this part of the A8 and given the heavy traffic loads it would be a sensible idea ... and it is, as you know, very much an urban motorway in the A-M as well as being a major artery for HGVs across / thru Europe. However the reasons given for the temporary reductions have always been pollution..... as opposed to common-sense.

It may well have been made permanent ( its just that I havent seen that anywhere!), but the A-M A8 has little in common with road conditions anywhere else on the French autoroutes.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

if the French Autoroutes aren't seen as a quick and direct way of travelling then we might just as well amble down on non-toll roads....
or avoid the French resorts and head east. It wouldn't take us much to avoid driving on French A-routes and x-over the Rhine so would save us some money as well.

Hole foot, methinks..

And the French are poor drivers IME ... but they have gotten noticably better on Autoroutes these last few years, I think..

A snowHead

Can we stop this stupidity with "We Brits are obviously better drivers than the French cause we're British! PHWOAR!". You have your good and bad drivers everywhere you go.

As for the possible speed change.. its 68mph. Your speed limit is 70mph. Is it really a big issue for Brits? Or is it just because its summer and most of us can't bear the wait any longer that has us in this silly debate about France maybe introducing a lower speed limit?

A snowHead

clouds have cleared enough that I have broken off from my stripping to poke my camera out of the window and take a photo of the new snow

winter's coming I tells ya!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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davidof, do you use a pole for your stripping?

(Oh, no I so dont want to go there)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

David Murdoch, I would agree with your view about driving in Naples, far and away the worst driving in Europe.

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David Murdoch, I would agree with your view about driving in Naples, far and away the worst driving in Europe.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Round Grenoble they have temporary pollution speed limits which seem to work well. On the whole, and possibly due to fewer vehicles, I feel much happier and safer driving in France than in the UK. Dover to M25/M3/A303 once I get to the UK is terrifying. No lane discipline at all, and if I pull in I can't get back out, too many cars, much too close to each other - you try leaving a proper distance between the car in front and yourself ... it's filled immediately. Sad

Nightmare.

After all it is free

And yet - despite absolutely huge improvements in the last 10 years - still more deaths on French roads than UK ones. I think you are right. We have motorways that are over twice as busy as the French ones.

I really have no idea why the Italians fit indicators to their cars...

easiski, you have a point. Driving in Southern England demands a degree of aggression not required in France. It's not pleasant. At least the massively lower density of traffic makes it more pleasant over here. Generally...I do hate the last few ultra competitive kms into Genoa though. Totally scary.

stoatsbrother, my favourite Italian road sign is the one behind the bar at the service stations. You may not have noticed it as it's usually blocked by groups of traffic police enjoying a convivial bottle of chianti, or two.

Anyway, it reads, "in the interests of road safety, hard spirits will not be served between the hours of 22h00 and 06h00".

That's a relief, isn't it?

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Timmaah, Do you have much experience of driving on the continent..?
when was the last time you did so..?

stoatsbrother, it's that italian man thing.... Laughing

My take of the French driving is that I don't seem to see the ridiculous accidents on the Autoroutes in the last few years that we used to..
I can recall carnage on the Lyon to Grenoble route..... a car on its roof in a field on a straight piece of motorway..?????? and a multiple pile-up n the same stretch a few more kms down the road..
It used to be typical that we would see one really bad ( death..) accident pretty moch per trip but that has lessened now..happily, and the guy we pulled out of a ditch was the most drunk person I have ever seen still standing, let alone driving... if we had known now bad he was, we would have left his car there...as he shot off in the car straight afterwards... Shocked

Help!!

French autoroutes move towards 68mph speed limit

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