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French Road Signs |
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Mike Fishwick
Forum Member Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 2742 |
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Posted: 04 Apr 2015 at 9:31am |
A recent discussion on Zroadster.net prompted me to make the following
reply, which may be of interest to those new to driving in France - it took me a few trips to realise it!
Les Francais use town names for signposts,
not the road numbers we are used to in the UK. This is a good thing,
because they tend to downgrade old 'N' roads to 'D' status with a new
first digit added on, which changes as the 'D' road it passes into different departments. It is very logical, as - hopefully
- we know where we are going, but may not know the road number used to
get there.
This makes it far easier to navigate than the signs we have when joining the M25 from the M3, for example, where it only gives you a choice of airports - Heathrow or Gatwick - with no hint of 'Dover,' 'Birmingham, 'North,'or 'South.' Those without a grasp of airport locations are not catered for - and there are plenty of those around! In a similar way, I always wonder what foreign drivers make of the 'Low Emission Zone' signs on M25 for the roads into London - I do not understand it either! The same comment also applies to the Dartford Crossing, which seems designed to confuse and provide reasons to prosecute European visitors. On the subject of French road signs, remember also that a sign pointing left - if on the right hand side of a road - means 'Straight on!' A sign pointing left sited on the left of a road means 'Left!' It took me ages to realise this . . . Edited by Mike Fishwick - 04 Apr 2015 at 9:39am |
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safe1
Club Member BMWCC Club President Joined: 09 Aug 2006 Status: Offline Points: 1426 |
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Hi Mike--Would We not do a little research firstly?--and logon to "Via Michelin" which is an example of how to advise a "Newbie" at European driving routes---without a nightmare
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Gofastsafe
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Mike Fishwick
Forum Member Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 2742 |
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I am amazed at how many people do NOT do any research, John - hence the problems with road direction signs and Priorite a Droit! Neither of these are really spelt out, particularly Priorite, people making the reasonable assumption that all roadsigns are international.
The UK still has a few of the old 'X' signs for railway crossings, which are the same as the French sign for a priorite a droit junction Via Michelin etc give routes, but it all depends on what people want to see - to follow a website route is rather like following a satnav route - talking of which I know several peole who no longer carry a map, regarding them as 'old fashioned,' and have heard of a few who have neither, just relying on the driver in front to lead them. It is of course possible to reach Istambul by following a few city names, but I would not reccommend it! |
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