Autoroutes and roads
Autoroutes are the same as a freeway or motorway. In France, many of the main Autoroutes have a toll to pay ("Péage"). The autoroutes use a numbering system with the letter a at the beginning such as the famous A6 ("l'autoroute du soleil").
The different autoroutes are owned by various companies, so you will
generally pay more than one toll to get across France. The price depends
on your vehicle and the distance driven. You can pay by cash or credit
card. Traffic can be very dense at certain times of the year, so prepare
your dates and avoid traveling on the same days as the French holiday
calendar. There is also a very good radios station which broadcasts
information 24/7 on FM 107.7 on all motorways in France, providing
up to date details of traffic conditions, alerts and deviations.
The speed limit on all French motoways is 130 kmh on dry roads, 110
kmh on wet roads. Normally when there is "fog" the limit
is 50 kmh, but nobody seems to respect this. On a national road the
limit is 90 kmh whlst in urban areas there is a 50 kmh restriction.
During the last few years there has been a huge amount of automatic
radars installed all over France on the autoroutes and also minor
roads. This is an attempt to reduce the number of accidents and deaths
on the roads. The project is successful as there has been a dramatic
reduction in the number of killed.
The official web site
grouping all the autoroutes together, there is a map, estimation of
toll costs, web cams, traffic situation.
Just as a note, if you breakdown on the Autoroute, you will have to pay to be towed off and it you may be fined for running out of petrol.
Roads
The other road categories are National roads (N1), Departemental
(D15) and then Communal (C15). The highwaycode rule of Priority
to the right
still exists on the smaller roads and in urban areas,
so beware and if you are not sure Giveway to traffic coming from
the right.
Planning your route
Mappy provides a complete itineraries for most towns in France with toll costs, distances and journey times.
Michelin,
the famous hotel, restaurant guide also provides excellent maps and route plans for any journey across France.
How the radar work
The automatic radar
has been installed along many roads and autoroutes. They are set to take
a photograph of the number plate on the offending vehicle, if it is
5 kmh above the limit for maximum speed allowed in the zone. The
radar will send the photograph to a central office, the address of
the owner of the vehicle matching the number plate will be found,
the owner will have an automatic fine and a reduction in points from
his driving license.
The police also use mobile radars, onboard unmarked cars or set along side the road to trap offenders and can fine
or impound foreign registered vehicles on the spot.
Information