French Road Trip - A micro car for all...?

We're not used to seeing micro cars in this country, but in France there are many on the roads from several different manufacturers.

They are very common and seem very popular especially in the countryside.

I suppose the nation that gave us the 2CV and Renault 4 WOULD favour little cars for use in the towns and country.

All seem to have common elements... 4 wheels... 2 doors... 2 seats... a small boot... and most seem to be powered by 250cc motorcycle engines driving some form of clutchless gear system.

So, very low energy, take up little space, only carry 1 or 2 people for small distances... It all seems very laudable in these environmentally aware days...

These VSP, 'voiture sans permis', mini cars exist due to a quirk of French law and can be acquired and driven by teenagers and the elderly. Equally, both groups either unable to begin driving due to age or unable to carry on driving due to advancing age and perhaps a degree of infirmity.

But, there is also a darker side to these cars existence and seeming popularity.

France has long had a serious drink driving problem which it is making strenuous efforts to overcome.

I understand that if you are banned from driving - which can be 12 months or more - then this same quirk of law allows you buy a micro car and start driving again within hours of your full licence being taken away. It would certainly explain some of the popularity of them.

Perhaps WE should adopt these little cars in our towns and cities, but certainly not with virtually unrestricted use as in France.

The UK has regained some control over drink driving in the last decades. The numbers are certainly well down, and it's no longer socially acceptable to drink and drive.

However, with fewer police patrols, it seems to still happen in the countryside. It certainly does around where I live. All of the pub car parks fill up and then empty again late at night... and, judging by some of the appalling driving and accidents I have seen in recent years, not all of the drivers are drinking orange juice.

Graham Benge

French Road Trip - Sticking to the rules

More French observations...

There have been many scare stories recently of how the new traffic laws are allowing French police to target British motorists. A Post-Brexit scare perhaps?

In 1250 miles we saw probably only 4 or 5 police cars, all en route to, or at, accidents.

In the many villages there are lots of Speed warning signs, sometimes backed up by cameras but many fewer cameras than in the UK.

However, unlike most here, the French cameras are generally unmarked, although there are always prior warning signs.

Some of the cameras look like leftovers from the Maginot Line, low, grey, squat and would stop a tank!!

Keep near the limits, ensure you have the legal requirements on board, don't drink and drive and 'les flics' won't trouble you.

Graham Benge

French Road Trip - A Traffic Light Innovation

More jottings from our French road trip...

We all find it frustrating waiting at temporary traffic lights while uncontrolled utilities dig yet more holes in our pepper pot roads.

We have no idea how long we will need to wait while these heroes dig frenziedly .... or more likely sit in their vans until overtime starts.

We were therefore impressed by the French temporary traffic lights...

No pointless and ignored amber, but, in its place, a timer showing exactly how long you have to wait before they change to green. The information certainly should help keep the amount of time you are waiting into perspective!

Ok, probably only the first half dozen cars can see it clearly but I rarely saw more than that in any queue.

No more badly aimed, slow to change lights, with too many fools rushing through red lights as though they had something really important to get to...?

Graham Benge

French Road Trip - Where are the potholes??

A driving holiday in France... Pounding down a near perfect traffic free motorway? 

No, not this time...

We set out on a road trip, travelling the length of France but using only N and D roads, the equivalent of mostly single carriageway B roads with just a few dual carriageway A roads.

We managed a 1250 mile journey in 11 leisurely days, staying a few days with friends who live in an idyllic farmhouse in the south of France.

So why am I telling you this? (To make everyone left back in the office jealous? - Ed)

Like the old exam 'compare and contrast' question, I was intrigued by the many differences in the quality of the French roads and our roads.

Our B roads are full of potholes... Poorly maintained by incompetent and unsupervised contractors.

The French have a deserved reputation for the high quality of their motorways/autoroutes, albeit many are toll roads.

BUT, the French N and D roads are paid for out of taxation, the same as ours.

The difference is there are NO potholes!! All of the roads we travelled on were in excellent condition, well maintained, and pothole free!

Perhaps French taxes are used more directly for the purpose they are raised, unlike in the UK where the billions you and I pay in road fund license, vat, fuel duties, etc, just disappear into the Chancellor's lucky dip bag.

We motorists are (at the very least treated like) the scourge of the nation, but in reality the economy would collapse without us.

Graham Benge