Driving tips when abroad.

[LarmiqGt 49]

So as the title suggest I am going abroad with the car this year. Having never done this again I thought I would ask everyone if they have any helpful hints and tips for anyone going abroad on either a driving holiday or to a destination (e.g. Disneyland Paris).

I will be getting the ferry from Dover, even this first leg of the journey had me worried. I've just fitted tein suspension so the the car is approx 30mm lower. 

Will I struggle to get on to the ferry!?

What happens if i get stuck getting off?!

I know that there is basically a list of things you have to keep in your car if driving in France (i will just be buying a travel kit which should cover this)

Is there anything that you wish someone had told you when you first drove abroad?

Are there specific things to  look out for?

 

[TTR 509]

4 minutes ago, LarmiqGt said:

Are there specific things to  look out for?

 

The French 

[ThatGuyThere 54]

I found it remarkable easy to get used to - fyi some roundabouts in France have a different priority system to ours, but not many. Just to keep you on your toes. Only chance of getting the side of road wrong is when you first pull off in a morning. Leaving the ferry the signs are very clear.

We drove into the very centre of Paris, and wondered what all the fuss was about - it's just like any other city. Busy, but traffic flows fine.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

[ThatGuyThere 54]

Oh, you need a headlight adjuster - they come with the kit you can buy on the ferry - if you drive at night you'll need to stick it on your headlights.

I imagine the kit is far cheaper to buy, when not on the ferry too.

[GT86Bob 61]

Further to Adamd's good advice, unless you know you'll be driving at night don't stick the left to right hand side headlight converters onto your headlights. Nobody will check. Last time I went over I stuck them on but never turned the headlights on. A waste of money and a hassle removing the glue stuff from the headlights when you get home.

Bob.

[ThatGuyThere 54]

5 minutes ago, GT86Bob said:

Further to Adamd's good advice, unless you know you'll be driving at night don't stick the left to right hand side headlight converters onto your headlights. Nobody will check. Last time I went over I stuck them on but never turned the headlights on. A waste of money and a hassle removing the glue stuff from the headlights when you get home.

Bob.

Yeah we never stuck ours on - night time is for swigging wine from the bottle while walking around the locality - when in Rome..!

[Lauren 2259]

Yeah, totally agree about the beam deflectors. If you need to drive at night stick them on then, but don't bother otherwise. There are some rules that you should have a warning triangle and spare bulbs and the like, but it's all old laws and I really don't think they bother applying them. When I got nicked for speeding in France, they didn't even look at the car. Also if someone tells you that you need a breathalyser, the French have given up on that now. 

If you are using a lot of Peage you can get a tag thing that sticks on your windscreen and means you can use the tag lanes. They Peage's are not normally that busy, but if they are it's a bit of an advantage as you can take the quick lane through. 

If I was you, I'd think about heading to the Alps if you can afford it. The Dolomites are spectacular and a route via Strasbourg (highly recommended) and then a cross over to Germany to hit a whole load of de-restricted autobahn and then the crazy passes of Austria will be preferable to Disneyland Paris. 

You can flick your speedo over to km/h, so no worries there. You'll find driving on the other side tiring at first, but you soon get used to it. I've done it so many times now, I just flick into it when I get off the Chunnel. You should be okay on the ferry, but forewarn them if it looks like it will be a problem. They'll probably get planks of wood out. I tend to use the Chunnel and last used the ferry when my car was standard. It was close then. 

Don't go over an indicated 140km/h in France, you'll get nicked. 

[surrey86 352]

Went through the tunnel in the 86 a couple times last week. I've been on the upper deck before without issues (although it is tighter), but these times I was singled out of the queue to go on the lower level without the ramp & close kerbs etc .

A trick you can do to make sure you go to the lower level is book in with 'bike rack on the roof'. It doesn't cost any more and there's less chance of kerbing. I'm standard so it's not a big issue - but if I had expensive 9.5" wide JDM wheels I'd be crapping myself on the upper level!

[Lauren 2259]

He's on the ferry. I grounded out when I was stock on the upper level. The lower level is fine though. I just tell them I can't go on it. Last time I went out there I told them I couldn't get on the upper deck and they put me with all the vans and MPV's where it's one big single deck. But on the way back I didn't worry about it and they put me on the lower deck, which was fine really. 

[DanJ 374]

8 hours ago, Lauren said:

Don't go over an indicated 140km/h in France, you'll get nicked. 

Driving down to Le Mans I saw traffic police with radar guns in sniper ghillie suits hiding in the embankment by several bridges! I know they come out in force for Le Mans (pay day right!) but as Lauren says, don't speed because chances are you will get caught.

[surrey86 352]

Take bank cards from a least two banks to pay for the tolls - so you have a spare if one doesn't work in the machine.

Some don't work at some stations, and if you're at the front of a large queue getting them all to reverse up would be a nightmare. 

In this day and age it shouldn't happen but in my experience on the Peage not all Visas are born equal.

I wouldnt bother with the auto pay setup, I don't think its worth the cost unless you're regularly over there.

[Guest]

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[Squadrone Rosso 82]

Buy a liberte TAG for the tolls. Available from Eurotunnel as PAYG with a deposit.

 

Being low, tolls are nigh on impossible for the passenger.

 

Worst drivers are by far the Belgians.

 

We went through the Tunnel last year. No issues with a standard car!

 

Enjoy

[remal 85]

as posted it's not difficult driving. Take the gear you need. Triangle, spare bulbs etc.. 

I did this in 2015 (France, Switzerland, German, belgium France   in the 86 and will be doing this again in June. this time the Motorail from Dusseldorf to verona . So will be doing, Italy, Switzerland, croatia, Austria, German etc...

 

Don't go over 50KPH over the limit may be a 750euro fine and impounded car. I know people who have had this happen to them when caught. 

 

if you go to Spain the roads are great for enjoying and I was on my Blade in 2011 and did not go below 110 for around 40 miles. nothing to worry about on the quiet open motorways. 

As for light deflectors I never bothered and was never a issue. 

ferry the guys putting the cars on can see where you can park. I've taken my kit car over many times and has a Ground clearance of 2" so much lower than the 86 and never been a issue on the ferry. 

 

BEST TIP!!!

if your going with a mate and they get pulled don't pull over with them. A good mate got pulled for speeding (90 euro fine) as my other mate was with him and pulled over they fined him. Said they would have not bothered as only 1 police car around but as he pulled in they did them both. 
So if a mate gets pulled keep going until the next junction and wait for them their 

[Lauren 2259]

16 hours ago, Squadrone Rosso said:

Worst drivers are by far the Belgians.

Enjoy

The Italians are worse. 

[Guest]

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[Squadrone Rosso 82]

16 hours ago, Squadrone Rosso said: Worst drivers are by far the Belgians.

Enjoy

The Italians are worse. 

 

I'll be do differ after regularly driving in mainland Europe for the last 20 years or so.

 

Italians are predictable. Belgians aren't!

[Andrew Smith 156]

I do like the Italian style of driving, it is wild but engaging. Never a dull moment. It is when you come home that you realise how bad it is over here.

[Mike 458]

3 hours ago, Lauren said:

The Italians are worse. 

For the brief time I was in Italy for the Monaco GP, I saw more damaged cars than I have in my life time in the UK!

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[nerdstrike 186]

You sheltered people... Egypt, now that's where you surrender all hope of arrival intact. Argentina/South America too - no margin for error, no cars are dent free, and they curse you if you put a seatbelt on because you're saying you don't trust the driver...

Italy is much nicer - lively but not too mad, at least if you don't mind a turn of speed. I had to wring every horse from my rental Panda to keep up with traffic.

As for @LarmiqGt's questions, watch out for camouflaged speed cameras, especially in Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland.

In Germany, the "Welcome to $stadt" signs mark the 50 kph zones, and the German police have no scope for leniency.

Throw out the rulebook when you get to the Balkans and bring bribes.

[LarmiqGt 49]

Thanks for all of the tips so far. A lot of food for thought. The last time i went to Italy we did hire a car but i didn't end up driving it, from what i remember though it was pretty crazy.

The only thing i've been really worried about is the ferry but if they are switched on and I can grab one of them and tell them all should be well. I might email them before hand, see if that helps.

You have some good suggestions there @Lauren. The reason I'm driving is it worked out around £400 cheaper and Nikki wants to go to Disneyland for her birthday.

I also thought it would be a good experience but I'm keeping those in mind for another trip across Europe hopefully later in the year!

 

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[STEVO9000 54]

To be honest, I did the ferry year before last and will be again in July.

I had no clearance issues on the upper level and I'm on 18's all round with coilovers wound down in the region of 35-40mm I think. No scraping, just took it slow and was fine! 

Albeit it I have no splitter or anything on the front end at the moment, nor did I at the time I went.

I found driving out there was quite easy and relaxing, mostly motorway and rural areas, no busy cities. Though I'm going on my own this time, so I may invest in one of those TAG set ups as those tolls will be a nightmare with no passenger!