1. THE SPEED LIMIT IS 130KLM/H OR 80.77 MPH ON AN AUTOROUTE
2. 110KLM/H OR 68.35 MPH IN THE RAIN
3. ON A NATIONAL ROAD IT’S 90 KLM/H OR 55.92 MPH.
4. IN TOWN IT’S 5O KLM/H OR 31 MPH
5. PRIORITY IS ALWAYS TO THE RIGHT UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED WITH A YIELD OR STOP SIGN.
6. THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LIMIT FOR DRUNK DRIVING IS 0.5
7. THE DRIVING AGE IS 18
8. YOU MUST GO TO AN AUTO SCHOOL FOR DRIVING LESSONS AND THE COST IS BETWEEN 1000 TO 2000euros DEPENDING ON HOW MANY LESSONS YOU NEED AND HOW MANY TIMES YOU FAIL THE WRITTEN OR DRIVING TEST.
9. A FOREIGNER CAN DRIVE UP TO 1 YEAR WITH THEIR LICENSE, BUT AFTER THAT YOU NEED A FRENCH ONE.
10. ONCE YOU GET YOUR LICENSE IT IS GOOD FOR LIFE.
11. WHEN YOU GET YOUR LICENSE YOU ARE ON PROBATION FOR 3 YRS AND YOU MUST HAVE A BIG RED “A” ON THE REAR TO INDICATE YOU ARE A NEW DRIVER.
12. ONCE A FRENCHMAN/WOMAN GETS THE LICENSE THEY GENERALLY DON’T OBEY THE LAW. SO ALWAYS BE EXTRA CAREFULL.
13. YOU WON’T SEE COPS BUT THERE ARE RADAR CAMERAS THAT FLASH YOUR PHOTO WITH THE PLATE NUMBER AND YOU GET A FINE IN THE MAIL 3 DAYS LATER.
14. WHEN YOU ARE 14 YOU CAN USE A SCOOTER OR MOTOBIKE UNDER 150CC WITHOUT A LICENSE AND THEY ARE CRAZIER THAN THE NORMAL FRENCH DRIVER.
15. THERE IS NO EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE U.S. DRIVER LICENSE AND THE FRENCH ONE SO YOU MUST TAKE LESSONS.
16. WHEN I CAME HERE I HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR OVER 30 YEARS BUT I EVENTUALLY WOUND UP PAYING ABOUT $800 FOR MY LICENSE. I FAILED THE WRITTEN TEST IN FRENCH 4 TIMES…NOT ENOUGH TIME BETWEEN QUESTIONS FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND AND ANSWER.
1 comment:
I had to pay to get my license too, after having had an American license for almost 15 years. I worked out a deal with the driving school, though, and only paid maybe 500€ for it. At the time there were only 6 states that had an agreement with France for a license equivalency, and mine wasn't one of them. Now it is, go figure. Oh well, at least I learned how to second guess what the French drivers are going to do.
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