First time RH driving in Europe

[G&Ts]

We have a week's holiday in early March and plan to take our Cali for its first trip abroad. We've been thinking of either taking the ferry/eurotunnel to Calais and exploring the Cote d'Opale and Somme area, or otherwise hopping on the Harwich ferry over to Holland and possibly heading to Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Given it'll be our first experience right-hand driving in Europe, I was just wondering if driving in Holland is generally easier than in France, in which case it might be a more stress-free option for our first trip. Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[briwy]

Personally think France is easier first time.
Holland is great but bikes come flying out at from all angles and you really have to aware of them.

 

[Jabberwocky]

First things first - a big welcome. Exciting, first trip in a RHD car in mainland Europe!

Some tips from the rac...
http://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/when-you-get-there/ All good sound advice.

I have driven in both countries many times in a RHD car. Generally speaking road manners are good and the std of driving is better in both countries than the UK especially where lane discipline is concerned. They do tend to drive faster than we do and in rush hour traffic dart for any available "space". You will have to watch for that in the cities - as a first off experience I would try and avoid big cities at these times - Amsterdam, Paris (I know that's a bit south from where you are planning) but just in case and give you a scale perspective. A watch word? Drive defensively.

Bikes are much more common in both countries compared to the UK. In France, should there be contact with a cyclist the law considers it your fault no matter what the circumstances. I am not sure if this is the same in Holland - but there are many more bikes in Holland. Many! Be aware.

In the countryside you should have no issues except older French drivers who still think they have priority from the right (an old law).

There are two big things to get used to IMO. 1: Round-a-bouts. You go round them in a anti-clockwise direction as opposed to a clockwise direction here. Once on the round-a-bout you have priority. So give way to the left on entering one. Don't worry you will get used to it quite quickly. 2: Overtaking. You are on the "wrong" side of the car and cannot see past the vehicle in front. Be prepared to take your time and don't be hassled by other drivers behind you. Go steady and try to avoid being in a hurry.

Remind your front seat passenger that when they get out of your Cali they are potentially getting out into a traffic lane should you stop at the kerb.

Don't forget all the warning triangles, first aid kits, breathalizer kits, hi viz jackets, GB sticker/external vehicle country ID etc. You can find country requirements on the rac web site. Oh, and your dipped beam headlight adjustments. Sat Nav is a must - far less stressful for all!

Hope this helps. Enjoy your Cali experience.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I used to drive a lot on the Continent in RHD vehicles. When you want to overtake it just takes a slightly different, three-step technique:

1. Hanging back a little, move well over to right (nearside) so you can see past the vehicle in front along its right hand side - ideally on a bit of a right hand bend.

2. Come back again to normal position briefly and indicate, so that vehicle to be overtaken sees you in its mirror, and also anyone behind you knows you're preparing to go for it.

3. Dropping back a tad more, pull out to overtake but with road space to nip back in again if necessary.

In practice its really isn't so much of a big deal and with a lot of dual carriageways etc you won't actually have to do much overtaking anyway.

 

[SprintGT]

We have a week's holiday in early March and plan to take our Cali for its first trip abroad. We've been thinking of either taking the ferry/eurotunnel to Calais and exploring the Cote d'Opale and Somme area, or otherwise hopping on the Harwich ferry over to Holland and possibly heading to Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Given it'll be our first experience right-hand driving in Europe, I was just wondering if driving in Holland is generally easier than in France, in which case it might be a more stress-free option for our first trip. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Wecome G&TA. If you are going to use a satnav whilst driving in France don't forget to turn off any app that warns of speed cameras. It is illegal to use such in France and should you be found to be using one you will be fined.
Have a great time and I'm not jealous really, we pick our new Ocean up on 1st March.

 

[mccp]

I drive a lot in France and generally speaking the experience is much more enjoyable than the UK because the roads are comparatively quiet outside big cities.

A few observations:

1. Although it seems like roundabouts might be really hard to adjust to because you go around anti-clockwise, you will probably find that they are quite easy. I think that's because the lane markings put you in the correct position when you arrive at the roundabout and you just naturally follow the road anti-clockwise.

2. If there is no other traffic around when you are turning left or right at a T-junction, it is really easy to end up driving on the wrong side of the road. This happens to me mostly when you are turning from is a little minor road without give way or stop markings. Think twice at T-junctions.

3. In France, you see Stop signs as often as Give Way signs. In small villages, they quite often put Stop signs in odd places as a traffic calming measure. There will be a solid white line across the road at a Stop sign and the Police enforce them as enthusiastically as red lights (90 euro fine). I think that they are cracking down on them at the moment, because I was ticked off for not coming to a complete stop a few months ago, but the kind young man let me off. By the way, French police are just as likely to look as though they are about 14 years old as British police.

4. Motorways in France are well maintained and fairly quiet. Lane discipline is good, but drivers often seem to be impatient because they rush up behind you and seem to be tail-gating until you pull in to a slower lane. Although that might seem aggressive, because we have become used to aggression on British roads, I think that fast drivers just drive closer to you than you expect, and they are usually just patiently waiting until you can pull in.

5. Driving through Paris is difficult and stressful if you aren't used to it. A sat nav is very useful, but junctions are often confusing and you will almost certainly go wrong. Just keep your cool and let the sat nav redirect you.

6. On Paris autoroutes and dual carriageways, motorbikes will use any gap as a legitimate lane. Be very aware of bikes when changing lanes as they can easily be doing 40 mph when everyone else is crawling along. If you are in a queue, cars will often leave a gap between slow and fast lanes for motorbikes. In a RHD GB car, it's easy to sit in that gap because you can see past the cars ahead but you will get a bit of stick from the bike riders if that's what you do.

Mostly, driving in France is easy, so don't over-think it. These days we use the tunnel instead of the ferry because it's quicker and in recent years less prone to strikes and blockades.

 

[B J G]

To pass on my experiences of Continental driving which may help for guidance.

When posted to Germany way back in February 1971 I took my car on the Ferry to Rotterdam, arrived 8 am-ish. In a state of heightened awareness/semi-terror I sat at a set of traffic lights about to turn left (thinking must go to the far dual carriageway not immediate left) lights changed - turned left as planned - why are cyclists waving at me - Oh God! I'm on the cycle way!!! Steep learning curve.
To date I've never had an accident on the Continent (touch wood) and would agree with others that it is generally much safer & easier to drive there than our overcrowded roads.

Most dangerous manoeuvre is exiting a junction to turn left or right as you will instinctively go to the wrong side of the road.
Read up on road priority signs, if no sign before a junction then vehicles can & will come out from your right without looking, I've had a very-very near miss with a milk tanker doing just that in France.
If a sign says stop then stop, if your wheels don't stop turning even slowly you could be fined.
In Germany everything is Law not a Code as in UK.
Observe speed limits.

Use your passenger as they can see what you can't, fitting dual controls would be a step too far.

France has far superior road surfaces than you'll find here & don't underestimate distances between places.

Enjoy, you will be fine.

 

[Bramco]

We've also had some interesting moments. Lived in the Netherlands for many years. We used to joke that hitting a cyclist is a hanging offence - so watch out. Actually everyone is very polite and watchful. There might be many more cyclists in Holland but there are also many more miles of cycle paths, so much so that you'll not often share the road with cyclists. Just watch out though as they have priority.

We've also done the same turning left or right trick onto a dual carriageway and got things totally wrong. Our best though was on our honeymoon driving all the way through a village in the Black Forest one Sunday morning. Fortunately nothing on the roads....

I'd also be more careful if you're tired or had a couple of drinks the night before. You're not as aware and seem to rely more on habit which of course could give you a bum steer - sorry!

Having said all that - millions of us have done it and had no problems at all - so enjoy yourselves wherever you decide to go.

 

[Velma's Dad]

In Germany everything is Law not a Code as in UK.

Yes in Germany everything is forbidden unless it's allowed (in contrast to Britain, where everything is allowed unless it's forbidden... or North Korea, where everything that is not forbidden is compulsory).


I haven't driven in N. Korea, but for a completely surreal experience closer to home, try driving around Naples.

 

[B J G]

Yes in Germany everything is forbidden unless it's allowed (in contrast to Britain, where everything is allowed unless it's forbidden... or North Korea, where everything that is not forbidden is compulsory).


I haven't driven in N. Korea, but for a completely surreal experience closer to home, try driving around Naples.

Been a pedestrian in Turin and Milan, only alive now as an Italian Friend grabbed me as a Tram came out of what I thought was a shop front.
pedestrian crossings were a case of set off across as cars shot between the person in front or behind if there was a mm to spare, don't change pace.

 

[Bramco]

Naples - ah Naples.....

I remember well being there with a team from work. We were having a team meeting on the Amalfi coast - it was cheaper for us to meet there than in London My boss at the time was brilliant for getting away with this kind of thing....

Anyway a colleague driving one of our rental cars managed to hit the same pedestrian twice!! Yes - twice. Nudged him once on one side of a block and then got him again a few minutes later on the other side. Fortunately no serious damage but we still laugh about the kamikaze pedestrians in Naples.

 

[Velma's Dad]

See Naples and Die. If driving, it may well happen. And only two types of pedestrians there: those that make it, those that don't.

 

[jts46]

Also remember in lot of French towns they still have "priority to the right"

 

[G&Ts]

Thanks everyone for your welcomes and advice. We're excited to be planning our first proper trip in the cali, as have only managed to fit in one-nighters so far since we collected it in December. We'll certainly take note of all your tips, and will perhaps avoid big cities this time round and save those for another time.

BJG crossing the road in Turin and Milan reminds me of our experience in Hanoi (only without the pedestrian crossings) - it's a case of start walking and keep a steady pace and just hope for the best as cars and mopeds fly around you in all directions. Pretty terrifiying.

 

[G&Ts]

johntowers46 what does "priority to the right" mean?

 

[jts46]

It means if you are driving along a road vehicles coming from a right hand road have priority over you. You can usually spot these roads as they don't have give way signs or give way lines. We have a house in France, friends in other parts of france and they have this in their towns

 

[Velma's Dad]

It means if you are driving along a road vehicles coming from a right hand road have priority over you. You can usually spot these roads as they don't have give way signs or give way lines. We have a house in France, friends in other parts of france and they have this in their towns

'Priorite a Droite' (priority to the right) used to be the default law on French roads, and a lot of other European countries. When I first started driving in France and Germany in late 1970s, it was still common for someone in a battered 2CV, or a shiny VW Variant, to hurtle out of a minor road on the right, straight across your path. They did indeed have right of way, unless there were specific signs that said otherwise.

 

[sidepod]

Arc du Triumph is still 'ecole vieux'.

 

[Borris]

We have a week's holiday in early March and plan to take our Cali for its first trip abroad. We've been thinking of either taking the ferry/eurotunnel to Calais and exploring the Cote d'Opale and Somme area, or otherwise hopping on the Harwich ferry over to Holland and possibly heading to Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Given it'll be our first experience right-hand driving in Europe, I was just wondering if driving in Holland is generally easier than in France, in which case it might be a more stress-free option for our first trip. Any thoughts/suggestions?

It's no big deal. You'll find that everyone else is doing it too.

 

[525107]

Aye that's right Borris. It was good advice when I first drove on the continent, BAOR 1974 at the tender age of 18, to 'follow the vehicle in front' although as that was usually another the green vehicle, there was a chance they might be going wrong also! Over the last 10 years I've been doing my own thing driving on the continent (mostly chasing the TDF) and have found it useful to wear my watch on the other wrist (right) then always say to myself, at a cross roads or intersection, where there is an increased risk to get get it wrong, 'keep my watch nearest the kerb/roadside'. Believe me it helps/works, worth a try.
Wullie


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Hotel California]

Also remember in lot of French towns they still have "priority to the right"

Same in Belgium.....
All diffrent rules in many countries on the mainland
Welcome in EUROPE!
Only thing we share is the € ....useless situation

 

[sidepod]

It's the times you're least expecting it that will have you over. You will pull out of a car park or petrol station and drive off down the wrong side of the road.

Don't worry, the French are always so accommodating and understanding of British drivers!!

 

[Taff7996]

Some roundabouts in Germany cities are fun, if you're already on a roundabout, you have to give way to traffic joining the roundabout from a priority route

 

[SprintGT]

We have a week's holiday in early March and plan to take our Cali for its first trip abroad. We've been thinking of either taking the ferry/eurotunnel to Calais and exploring the Cote d'Opale and Somme area, or otherwise hopping on the Harwich ferry over to Holland and possibly heading to Hoge Veluwe National Park.

Given it'll be our first experience right-hand driving in Europe, I was just wondering if driving in Holland is generally easier than in France, in which case it might be a more stress-free option for our first trip. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Hi G&Ts you will find all relevant information just by doing a Google search for 'driving in france' or 'driving in holland' or wherever you want to go. Each search brings up a number of websites with a wealth of information relating to motoring law and rules of the road etc for whichever country you select.
Have a great time.

 

[bvddobb]

or otherwise hopping on the Harwich ferry over to Holland and possibly heading to Hoge Veluwe National Park.

The rush hour around Rotterdam and The Hague is something best to avoid if you're unfamiliar with continental traffic and this would be your first exposure to it...
If you arrive in Hook of Holland early in the morning, drive to the sea side there somewhere, have a nice breakfast, and do not start your journey further into The Netherlands until approx. 10:00 am... If you arrive end of the afternoon, do the same for an early dinner and drive on after 19:00 pm.