I do not have much experience driving in the north of the country but I am pretty sure that the further south you go and the closer you get to marseille (and possibly Paris) the more of a challenge it becomes.
I spent my first year in France driving British vehicles, so I did not have to get used to the new layout of the car. I only found it a struggle overtaking, I had previously been driving for 8 years and I found it surprising that changing from one side of the road to the other was pretty simple. Only on quite roads, it can become confusing, trying to remember which side of the road I should be on.
The bigger struggle is arriving back in the UK and getting a bit freaked out when approaching roundabouts, wanting to drive on the right. It is not too much of a problem though and I only get nervous when it is someone else driving. "YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD!"
As an archaeologist, I was mostly driving vans and we thought it would be fun to show the French that, being a white van man, you need to have a copy of the sun on the dashboard.
After the first year the company started renting French vehicles.
My first experience driving a French car, it was a Ford actually, was a little bizarre. Even before setting off I knew I had forgotten something, sat there for a few minutes I realised I needed to take off the handbrake, job done.
Next test, changing gear, easy really but i would occasionally hit the drivers door with my hand, instinctively going for the gear stick and I would usually drive rather close to the pavement, I did clip it a couple of times.
My first journey was about 2 hours, mostly on the autoroute. After that it was just as easy as driving a UK car. switching back was confusing, but after a few switched it became second nature.
I consider myself a good driver. I indicated and try to keep a safe distance from the car in front etc.
Driving in France I have discovered a few things that I get annoyed with when it comes to French drivers:
- No indicating
- Wrong use of the indicators i.e. signaling to early, late, the wrong direction
- The need to drive up your arse and try and overtake at any possible opportunity, even if you are going over the speed limit.
- The shrug, if they cut you up and you decide to use your horn, you will usually get a shrug, "I did nothing wrong" (careful with the beeping though, one overtook me on a dangerous part of the road, crossing a solid white line. I beeped at him, he decided to stop the car and was getting out. I do not like dealing with psychos so I drove on, around the idiot, who was standing in the road. He proceeded to drive up my arse for most of the journey home. He looked a right idiot with his pink, fluffy dice.
- Those terrible little cars that only do 40mph, AIXAM, I think they are. I do not think that you need a license to drive them, very noisy and slow. It is quite funny that they have produced a sporty version
- If it is not the Aixam, then most teens choose to drive a scooter, thats fine, but the noise they make it horrendous, especially when you are sat in the garden and you get a convoy of 3, usually boys, revving their tits off to impress the girl that they have on the back
I will post again on the intricacies of changing over the plats of a British car, turning it into a French licensed one
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