Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last 
couple of days.

Mobile phones:

If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very 
large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.

Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with 
a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally 
taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his 
eyes.

Gendarmes:
Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is 
halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.

Roundabouts:
Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even 
by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.





-- 
Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't 
looking good either. - Scott Adams

"Conor"  wrote in message 
news:6hoaseFmub6lU2@mid.individual.net...
> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last
> couple of days.
>
> Mobile phones:
>
> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very
> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
>
> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with
> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally
> taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his
> eyes.
>
> Gendarmes:
> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is
> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
>
> Roundabouts:
> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even
> by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.
>

Yea I found all that earlier this year and would add "whilst smoking" to 
everything, for every single member of the French public.  But that appeared 
to go for every activity - not just driving.

-- 
Dan B
Clio R27

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:59:22 +0100, Conor wrote
(in article ):

> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last 
> couple of days.
> 
> Mobile phones:
> 
> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very 
> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
> 
> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with 
> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally 
> taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his 
> eyes.
> 
> Gendarmes:
> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is 
> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
> 
> Roundabouts:
> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even 
> by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.


Try Teheran, or even Napoli.

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Conor  typed:
> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last
> couple of days.
>
> Mobile phones:
>
> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very
> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
>
> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with
> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and
> occassionally taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the
> flies out of his eyes.
>
> Gendarmes:
> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is
> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
>
> Roundabouts:
> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line,
> even by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way
> round.

I'd add that they can't seem to handle 'traffic' on motorways.  When it's 
empty they're fine, zooming up disconcertingly close, then sweeping out past 
and pulling in within a few feet of your bonnet.  When the motorways have 
traffic on them they get stumped ...... completely!

Car/caravan with car following in rh lane, one car coming up in outside lane 
passing another car in rh lane.  As they reached the first car it indicated, 
so the car in outside lane slammed brakes on and waited for it to pull out 
to pass the caravan.  Meanwhile rh lane car also catches up and tries to 
also pull out in front of the now 'overtaking' car ... all cars put brakes 
on and all slow down, no-one actually passes caravan and all pull in to rh 
lane, then start to go past in single file.  Would be bloody comical if it 
weren't so close

-- 
Daul P.

http://www.glass-uk.org/
"You would probably do better not to bother with renewable
energy"  Doug, UK.Transport 29/04/2008 08:53.

In article <egPtk.75537$6p1.48150@newsfe19.ams2>, Daul P. says...

> I'd add that they can't seem to handle 'traffic' on motorways.  When it's 
> empty they're fine, zooming up disconcertingly close, then sweeping out past 
> and pulling in within a few feet of your bonnet.  When the motorways have 
> traffic on them they get stumped ...... completely!
> 
What's traffic? 

We're in Loire valley inbetween Blois and Tours. Went A16 (part toll), 
A28, N154 then down D roads - only tolls on A16 south of Boulogne. Next 
to sod all traffic. Was expecting it to get a bit busy on the D roads. 
It wass a bit around Rouen but more what I'd call light town traffic.

They know what speed limits are too so they did 90KPH in the 90KPH 
limits and not 40-45MPH as they would in UK.

Bastard credit card company did my head in though. Fuelled up at 
supermarket and it's automated so it debits your card with the maximum 
amount you're allowed, which works out at £114, and refunds later (I 
figured out how they manage to be 20 cents cheaper than the normal 
services).The barclaycard fraud thing had a fit and stopped my card 
even though I told them I was going to France and it was a chip'n'pin 
authorisation. So that was £2.50 on calls to CS to get the thing turned 
back on again.

Oh, I need to take French lessons again. Two years at school 24 years 
ago and a quick few hours refresher with Rosetta Stone CD a couple of 
days before I travelled is not enough. Saying that, went to the zoo 
with the kids yesterday, bought a load of food and got what I'd ordered 
so must be doing something right.

 
-- 
Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't 
looking good either. - Scott Adams

"Conor"  wrote in message 
news:6hq86eFnivvmU6@mid.individual.net...
In article <egPtk.75537$6p1.48150@newsfe19.ams2>, Daul P. says...

> Oh, I need to take French lessons again. Two years at school 24 years
> ago and a quick few hours refresher with Rosetta Stone CD a couple of
> days before I travelled is not enough. Saying that, went to the zoo
> with the kids yesterday, bought a load of food and got what I'd ordered
> so must be doing something right.

Just point, raise your voice and speak slowly ... works for any language 
;o)

On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:25:44 +0100, Conor wrote
(in article ):

> In article <egPtk.75537$6p1.48150@newsfe19.ams2>, Daul P. says...
> 
>> I'd add that they can't seem to handle 'traffic' on motorways.  When it's 
>> empty they're fine, zooming up disconcertingly close, then sweeping out 
>> past 
>> and pulling in within a few feet of your bonnet.  When the motorways have 
>> traffic on them they get stumped ...... completely!
>> 
> What's traffic? 
> 
> We're in Loire valley inbetween Blois and Tours. Went A16 (part toll), 
> A28, N154 then down D roads - only tolls on A16 south of Boulogne. Next 
> to sod all traffic. Was expecting it to get a bit busy on the D roads. 
> It wass a bit around Rouen but more what I'd call light town traffic.
> 
> They know what speed limits are too so they did 90KPH in the 90KPH 
> limits and not 40-45MPH as they would in UK.
> 
> Bastard credit card company did my head in though. Fuelled up at 
> supermarket and it's automated so it debits your card with the maximum 
> amount you're allowed, which works out at £114, and refunds later (I 
> figured out how they manage to be 20 cents cheaper than the normal 
> services).The barclaycard fraud thing had a fit and stopped my card 
> even though I told them I was going to France and it was a chip'n'pin 
> authorisation. So that was £2.50 on calls to CS to get the thing turned 
> back on again.



I had the same with Halifax, won 500 pounds in the county court on return. 
took a year and had to threaten them with the Daily Wail before they paid up.

Interestingly it took only 30 minutes after the threat of the journalist 
accompanying me later that day for me to have my account credited (oversight 
according to them). 


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:00:22 +0100, "Gizmo."
 wrote:

>
>"Conor"  wrote in message 
>news:6hq86eFnivvmU6@mid.individual.net...
>In article <egPtk.75537$6p1.48150@newsfe19.ams2>, Daul P. says...
>
>> Oh, I need to take French lessons again. Two years at school 24 years
>> ago and a quick few hours refresher with Rosetta Stone CD a couple of
>> days before I travelled is not enough. Saying that, went to the zoo
>> with the kids yesterday, bought a load of food and got what I'd ordered
>> so must be doing something right.
>
>Just point, raise your voice and speak slowly ... works for any language 
>;o) 

"When travelling to foreign shores, address the natives in an
imperious tone.  Shout if necessary.  God is your authority."
- George V (1865 - 1936)

"Conor"  wrote in message 
news:6hoaseFmub6lU2@mid.individual.net...
> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last
> couple of days.
>
> Mobile phones:
>
> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very
> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
>
> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with
> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally
> taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his
> eyes.
>
> Gendarmes:
> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is
> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
>
> Roundabouts:
> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even
> by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.


French roundabouts are very much the opposite of UK ones in other ways too. 
Governments local and national spend millions on high friction surfaces so 
that we can hoon around at breakneck speed without falling off the road.

In France, I'm sure they polish them, meaning people slow down...

-- 
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

"nik.morgan"  wrote in message 
news:0001HW.C4DD64AE00CA0E54F02845B0@free.teranews.com...
> On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:59:22 +0100, Conor wrote
> (in article ):
>
>> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last
>> couple of days.
>>
>> Mobile phones:
>>
>> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very
>> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
>>
>> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with
>> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally
>> taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his
>> eyes.
>>
>> Gendarmes:
>> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is
>> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
>>
>> Roundabouts:
>> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even
>> by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.
>
>
> Try Teheran, or even Napoli.

I'll trump that.
Try driving in or around Cairo. Frightening is the only word to describe the 
experience.
Anyone using indicators is a foreigner in a rental car. Anyone stopping for 
a red traffic light is in serious danger of being rear ended     :o/

In article <48b93604$0$2524$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk>, DervMan says...

> French roundabouts are very much the opposite of UK ones in other ways too. 
> Governments local and national spend millions on high friction surfaces so 
> that we can hoon around at breakneck speed without falling off the road.
> 
> In France, I'm sure they polish them, meaning people slow down...
> 
I know what you mean. The number of ones on ring roads with a warning 
sign which basically says "knackered road" is unbelievable. 

-- 
Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't 
looking good either. - Scott Adams

"Conor"  wrote in message 
news:6ht1auFnq12eU2@mid.individual.net...
> In article <48b93604$0$2524$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk>, DervMan says...
>
>> French roundabouts are very much the opposite of UK ones in other ways 
>> too.
>> Governments local and national spend millions on high friction surfaces 
>> so
>> that we can hoon around at breakneck speed without falling off the road.
>>
>> In France, I'm sure they polish them, meaning people slow down...
>>
> I know what you mean. The number of ones on ring roads with a warning
> sign which basically says "knackered road" is unbelievable.


Did you see many of the "people died here" black signs?

-- 
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

In article <48b96b85$0$26090$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk>, DervMan says...
> "Conor"  wrote in message 
> news:6ht1auFnq12eU2@mid.individual.net...
> > In article <48b93604$0$2524$da0feed9@news.zen.co.uk>, DervMan says...
> >
> >> French roundabouts are very much the opposite of UK ones in other ways 
> >> too.
> >> Governments local and national spend millions on high friction surfaces 
> >> so
> >> that we can hoon around at breakneck speed without falling off the road.
> >>
> >> In France, I'm sure they polish them, meaning people slow down...
> >>
> > I know what you mean. The number of ones on ring roads with a warning
> > sign which basically says "knackered road" is unbelievable.
> 
> 
> Did you see many of the "people died here" black signs?
> 
> 
LOL, yeah. Figured out the X on them means they're dead and the / means 
seriously injured but there were a few with a half / on and I wonder if 
that meant "Grazed knee, needed a sticky plaster." However the first 
lot I saw were cunningly placed just after a gendarme parking ramp bit 
and it looked as if it were a ramp set up enticing the locals to see 
how many they could knock over in a Dukes of Hazzard stylee.

-- 
Conor

I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't 
looking good either. - Scott Adams

On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:59:22 +0100, Conor  wrote:

> Interesting observations about the French style of driving the last
> couple of days.
>
> Mobile phones:
>
> If your mobile phone rings, you must answer it no matter what. A very
> large percentage of people I've seen have been using their phones.
>
> Worst I saw was a guy on a motorbike. He was riding down the road with
> a fullface helmet half taken off talking on his phone and occassionally
> taking the other hand off the bars as well to wipe the flies out of his
> eyes.
>
> Gendarmes:
> Apparently a good place to run a checkpoint to pull people in is
> halfway round a roundabout. Oh, and reversing up sliproads too.
>
> Roundabouts:
> Nobody signals. Ever. Lots of panic stopping at the give way line, even
> by the French. And it don't half feel wierd going the wrong way round.

Odd, I've been there three times on a 3 week holiday, driving most of the time.  I've found them all to be courteous and saw no lane hoggers or slow drivers at all.

-- 
http://www.petersparrots.com    http://www.insanevideoclips.com    http://www.petersphotos.com

Bill Clinton thinks "harass" is two words.