How to drive on French A routes
Discussion
This could apply to UK roads but they tend to be so busy that the issue doesn’t really come up.
I drive a couple of thousand miles in France every year and quite a few of them are on the autoroutes where I (and I suspect most of the other cars) are using cruise control), most of the time it’s fine and the standard of driving is generally very good so it’s not really a big deal but occasionally I’ll be, for example, slowly gaining on the car in front whilst they’re slowly gaining on a lorry ahead of them. Both cars behind the lorry will not be able to overtake it unless one of them changes their speed.
What’s the correct way to deal with this? Temporarily speed up to overtake the car ahead so it doesn’t have to slow down as you overtake? Slow down to allow the car to pull out in front of you to overtake the lorry first or just maintain your speed and overtake the car meaning it has to slow down behind the lorry?
I would usually just overtake the car but it seems that in France people are quite happy to pull out in front of you causing you to brake a little, no dramas but just annoying as it feels like they should wait to pull and slow down rather than causing somebody else to slow down. If I come up behind a slower moving vehicle and there’s something in the outside lane I wouldn’t pull out unless I could overtake without slowing down the car already in the outside lane.
I drive a couple of thousand miles in France every year and quite a few of them are on the autoroutes where I (and I suspect most of the other cars) are using cruise control), most of the time it’s fine and the standard of driving is generally very good so it’s not really a big deal but occasionally I’ll be, for example, slowly gaining on the car in front whilst they’re slowly gaining on a lorry ahead of them. Both cars behind the lorry will not be able to overtake it unless one of them changes their speed.
What’s the correct way to deal with this? Temporarily speed up to overtake the car ahead so it doesn’t have to slow down as you overtake? Slow down to allow the car to pull out in front of you to overtake the lorry first or just maintain your speed and overtake the car meaning it has to slow down behind the lorry?
I would usually just overtake the car but it seems that in France people are quite happy to pull out in front of you causing you to brake a little, no dramas but just annoying as it feels like they should wait to pull and slow down rather than causing somebody else to slow down. If I come up behind a slower moving vehicle and there’s something in the outside lane I wouldn’t pull out unless I could overtake without slowing down the car already in the outside lane.
Happens here all the time. You’re about to pass someone, but the d1ckhead behind them just pulls in front of you. Either they haven’t checked their mirrors or just have a ‘f**k you’ attitude. I struggle not to be a little abusive in these situations, especially when they make no effort to match your speed, as they crawl past the vehicle on their left. Often they then pull back into that lane…..& immediately accelerate to your speed. I’d love to know what’s going through their mind at that time. Before killing them slowly.
If you're the one behind the car behind the lorry then you're the one with the best visibility of the whole situation. If the car in front of you is going to catch the lorry before you're able to overtake both at your current speed, then good manners dictate that you either accelerate to pass the car and the lorry before you trap the car and force it to brake, or you slow a little to allow the car in front to pass the lorry before you pass both. You should never block someone in even if by your inaction. Remember, you're not a passenger in your car. You're the driver and you have control over what's going to happen.
I find driving in France fairly straightforward, the one thing they have is extreme lane discipline, so you can be on an empty autoroute, be overtaken by someone and they'll instantly cut in a couple of feet in front of you. Kinda refreshing in some ways given our habits over here but takes a little getting used to
whimsical ninja said:
I find driving in France fairly straightforward, the one thing they have is extreme lane discipline, so you can be on an empty autoroute, be overtaken by someone and they'll instantly cut in a couple of feet in front of you. Kinda refreshing in some ways given our habits over here but takes a little getting used to
This. First time in France I was a little shocked when I saw a Renault screaming up in my rearview, cutting out then cutting back so suddenly, but as you say it's refreshing that they actually know how to overtake. I found driving in France much easier than I expected especially the way the signage works. Unlike here now, or the US for the last however many decades. At lease in the US their highways are massive and it doesn't make such a difference but over there the lanes seem more of a "suggestion".
C5_Steve said:
whimsical ninja said:
I find driving in France fairly straightforward, the one thing they have is extreme lane discipline, so you can be on an empty autoroute, be overtaken by someone and they'll instantly cut in a couple of feet in front of you. Kinda refreshing in some ways given our habits over here but takes a little getting used to
This. First time in France I was a little shocked when I saw a Renault screaming up in my rearview, cutting out then cutting back so suddenly, but as you say it's refreshing that they actually know how to overtake. I found driving in France much easier than I expected especially the way the signage works. Unlike here now, or the US for the last however many decades. At lease in the US their highways are massive and it doesn't make such a difference but over there the lanes seem more of a "suggestion".
In answer to the OP I erred on the side of speeding up.
DeuceDeuce said:
This could apply to UK roads but they tend to be so busy that the issue doesn’t really come up.
I drive a couple of thousand miles in France every year and quite a few of them are on the autoroutes where I (and I suspect most of the other cars) are using cruise control), most of the time it’s fine and the standard of driving is generally very good so it’s not really a big deal but occasionally I’ll be, for example, slowly gaining on the car in front whilst they’re slowly gaining on a lorry ahead of them. Both cars behind the lorry will not be able to overtake it unless one of them changes their speed.
What’s the correct way to deal with this? Temporarily speed up to overtake the car ahead so it doesn’t have to slow down as you overtake? Slow down to allow the car to pull out in front of you to overtake the lorry first or just maintain your speed and overtake the car meaning it has to slow down behind the lorry?
I would usually just overtake the car but it seems that in France people are quite happy to pull out in front of you causing you to brake a little, no dramas but just annoying as it feels like they should wait to pull and slow down rather than causing somebody else to slow down. If I come up behind a slower moving vehicle and there’s something in the outside lane I wouldn’t pull out unless I could overtake without slowing down the car already in the outside lane.
Easy.I drive a couple of thousand miles in France every year and quite a few of them are on the autoroutes where I (and I suspect most of the other cars) are using cruise control), most of the time it’s fine and the standard of driving is generally very good so it’s not really a big deal but occasionally I’ll be, for example, slowly gaining on the car in front whilst they’re slowly gaining on a lorry ahead of them. Both cars behind the lorry will not be able to overtake it unless one of them changes their speed.
What’s the correct way to deal with this? Temporarily speed up to overtake the car ahead so it doesn’t have to slow down as you overtake? Slow down to allow the car to pull out in front of you to overtake the lorry first or just maintain your speed and overtake the car meaning it has to slow down behind the lorry?
I would usually just overtake the car but it seems that in France people are quite happy to pull out in front of you causing you to brake a little, no dramas but just annoying as it feels like they should wait to pull and slow down rather than causing somebody else to slow down. If I come up behind a slower moving vehicle and there’s something in the outside lane I wouldn’t pull out unless I could overtake without slowing down the car already in the outside lane.
Either the car in front of you is paying attention and has clocked said scenario and pulls out early to make the decision for you or they're oblivious in which case you give them a few seconds extra courtesy before pulling out to overtake, they'll have to brake or lift off but that's their fault for not paying attention.
As an aside that thing French motorists do where they leave their indicator on for the whole overtake and the move right by cancelling said indicator is moronic.
Just indicate in the direction you want to move when you want to move, it's literally what they were designed for and works very well.
Mini rant over.
_Neal_ said:
C5_Steve said:
whimsical ninja said:
I find driving in France fairly straightforward, the one thing they have is extreme lane discipline, so you can be on an empty autoroute, be overtaken by someone and they'll instantly cut in a couple of feet in front of you. Kinda refreshing in some ways given our habits over here but takes a little getting used to
This. First time in France I was a little shocked when I saw a Renault screaming up in my rearview, cutting out then cutting back so suddenly, but as you say it's refreshing that they actually know how to overtake. I found driving in France much easier than I expected especially the way the signage works. Unlike here now, or the US for the last however many decades. At lease in the US their highways are massive and it doesn't make such a difference but over there the lanes seem more of a "suggestion".
In answer to the OP I erred on the side of speeding up.
Was following a car a couple of days ago, both in the outside lane of a two lane autoroute. We were overtaking lots of cars and lorries that all happened to be about 5-10 car lengths apart. Car in front was darting in and out between every car. Maybe 3-5seconds worth of lane 1 travel. I stayed in lane 2 until we'd passed all the cars and the overtake was done. Car in front just looked like they were watching the end of their bonnet.
ChocolateFrog said:
As an aside that thing French motorists do where they leave their indicator on for the whole overtake and the move right by cancelling said indicator is moronic.
I may be wrong but from what I could see at least some left their indicator on to show they were not planning on moving to the right after just one car i.e. they were still overtaking. As such it made sense to me, as it may keep faster following cars from getting too impatient. _Neal_ said:
ChocolateFrog said:
As an aside that thing French motorists do where they leave their indicator on for the whole overtake and the move right by cancelling said indicator is moronic.
I may be wrong but from what I could see at least some left their indicator on to show they were not planning on moving to the right after just one car i.e. they were still overtaking. As such it made sense to me, as it may keep faster following cars from getting too impatient. DeuceDeuce said:
Slow down to allow the car to pull out in front of you to overtake the lorry first or just maintain your speed and overtake the car meaning it has to slow down behind the lorry?
Option 2, but it doesn't necessarily mean the other car has to slow down if you give them enough notice of your intentions. Maintain your speed, pull out in good time with an indicator, and keep a close eye on what the other car does. Driving is in large part negotiation and co-operation - you're effectively making your desire to overtake clear, and the other driver, if they're vaguely competent, will realise it's their choice. They can either indicate to overtake or slow down and let you pass first. You're prepared for this and will adjust your speed if they indicate to move out, maybe with a headlight flash, or keep the overtake going if they slow down behind the lorry.If you're doing the speed limit I wouldn't speed up and break the law just to facilitate this kind of pass. Conversely, if you slow down and don't overtake them you don't know what the other car is going to do, they may choose to slow down as well and then you're all stuck behind the truck. Best to make a decisive move and get in front of the rolling roadblock when possible.
Of course you could get unlucky and the driver behind the truck is oblivious to your presence and the fact that there is a large slow moving vehicle in front of them, in which case they will do nothing until they're an inch away from the truck, do the "brake-indicate-move-lanes-at-the-same-time" manoeuvre at the last minute, forcing you to avoidance brake. C'est la vie as they say en France!
modellista said:
driver behind the truck is oblivious to your presence and the fact that there is a large slow moving vehicle in front of them, in which case they will do nothing until they're an inch away from the truck, do the "brake-indicate-move-lanes-at-the-same-time" manoeuvre at the last minute, forcing you to avoidance brake. C'est la vie as they say en France!
quite common. uk tourists often mistake the undoubtedly better autoroute lane discipline for better driving, it's not. they pull out and back in quickly but the overall standard of awareness, consideration and planning is little different. the biggest variable is between rural and urban, across Europe._Neal_ said:
ChocolateFrog said:
As an aside that thing French motorists do where they leave their indicator on for the whole overtake and the move right by cancelling said indicator is moronic.
I may be wrong but from what I could see at least some left their indicator on to show they were not planning on moving to the right after just one car i.e. they were still overtaking. As such it made sense to me, as it may keep faster following cars from getting too impatient. 
) of overtaking might prompt the middle lane (and lane three of four 
) morons to actually move back in when they are not overtaking anything (for miles and miles...).RSTurboPaul said:
_Neal_ said:
ChocolateFrog said:
As an aside that thing French motorists do where they leave their indicator on for the whole overtake and the move right by cancelling said indicator is moronic.
I may be wrong but from what I could see at least some left their indicator on to show they were not planning on moving to the right after just one car i.e. they were still overtaking. As such it made sense to me, as it may keep faster following cars from getting too impatient. ) of overtaking might prompt the middle lane (and lane three of four ) morons to actually move back in when they are not overtaking anything (for miles and miles...).I find it rather surprising that folk feel that they are safer on the roads in France over the UK, and that their driving is safer.
They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
Majorslow said:
I find it rather surprising that folk feel that they are safer on the roads in France over the UK, and that their driving is safer.
They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
Double the deaths, but how many accidents in total? What is their population? Do they get to go every faster? Or does their government force them to go everywhere at 50? You might think the aim of the game is to reduce deaths to zero. But I would rather live in a world where I can choose to do things that involve risk and potentially death. Most of the fun things in life involve danger and at the extreme end, death. Even just being alive has a 100% risk of death. If you don't agree, then I suppose you want to ban skiing, diving, motorcycles, flying, being a couch potato, getting old, and just using motorways speedily and efficiently.They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
Not everything should be avoided because there is a risk of death. It could be argued that there are far too many humans on the planet already, and anything which increases our death rate and counters our ever growing population is a good thing. A VERY good thing.
LunarOne said:
But I would rather live in a world where I can choose to do things that involve risk and potentially death.
Agreed. Except where other people are playing your game they don't even know they're involved in. By all means take up sports where all participants know the risks, but if you drive then accept others may not have the same risk appetite as you.LunarOne said:
Majorslow said:
I find it rather surprising that folk feel that they are safer on the roads in France over the UK, and that their driving is safer.
They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
Double the deaths, but how many accidents in total? What is their population? Do they get to go every faster? Or does their government force them to go everywhere at 50? You might think the aim of the game is to reduce deaths to zero. But I would rather live in a world where I can choose to do things that involve risk and potentially death. Most of the fun things in life involve danger and at the extreme end, death. Even just being alive has a 100% risk of death. If you don't agree, then I suppose you want to ban skiing, diving, motorcycles, flying, being a couch potato, getting old, and just using motorways speedily and efficiently.They have near on double the deaths on the roads than we do, in a country much bigger, with more space on the roads
The UK is up in the top 3 of safest roads to drive on in the world, only beaten by Sweden and Norway where they have far fewer people per road, and both countries have training for "winter" driving.
I am not sure we should be taking lessons on how the French drive to improve our driving.
Our skills on the motorway will improve as more people are taught properly how to use them now that learners can now be taught how to use motorways prior to taking a driving test.
I myself hate driving through Belgium as they are truly awful. However at night on their motorways it is nice (or was prior to covid) as they are lit up
Not everything should be avoided because there is a risk of death. It could be argued that there are far too many humans on the planet already, and anything which increases our death rate and counters our ever growing population is a good thing. A VERY good thing.
t killing other people make it acceptable?Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff