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Driving Question Print
Written by David Lloyd   

Sent by David Lloyd, by email

I have just read the comments made by Mike Walsh in your April/May edition and found them offensive, especially about women drivers (but also tank drivers as well).

I have driven in a lot of places around the world and I think that the driving here is the worst in Europe. A few years ago the annual death rate on French roads was 8000 (twice as much as in Britain). Now they have got it down but it’s still high. I ride a bike every day here and know from experience that the car that gets dangerously close to me is usually a 06 number plate driven by a man. Women are far more considerate (and cautious – not a bad thing here).

I find that you cannot second-guess the drivers and you have to drive very defensively. My brother is a taxi driver in London. When he was down he asked if we have the same classification here as in Britain, where you know from the number plate the age of the vehicle. I replied that we do have a way: if it the car hasn’t a scratch on it, it’s a week old and if it hasn’t a bump on it, it’s a month old.


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written by starrynight , 22 June 2008
Whereas I think it's true that one needs to drive more defensively when seeing cars with 06 and 75 number plates, I also find that many local drivers now seem to be a lot more cautious ever since speed cameras were installed everywhere. Where often they once did 70kmh in a 50 zone, they now seem to go as slowly as 40... I now find this quite amusing, given that in Britain many people do 35mph in a 30 zone. Tail gating, cutting corners on bends, and contending with roundabouts where they don't give way when they should is still a hazard here though!

As for London cabbies, hmmm, well, they do sometimes have a bit of a reputation for cutting up other cars in traffic.
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written by Iain , 05 August 2008
To be honest....If you think French drivers are bad, go to Italy and you'll begin to see them in a better light.

If that dosent convince you - go to South America...where the object of driving is to get infront of the car ahead...nomatter where you are going.

French drivers are tame.
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written by Walgren , 05 August 2008
I knew the Italians (especially around Naples) were worse than the French but until I read your comment they seemed to be as bad as drivers could possibly get. But South Americans are even worse? Wow.

Is that everywhere in South America or only some countries?
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written by Iain , 07 August 2008
I can only really comment on Brasil and Colombia.....but really, I don't imagine its any better elsewhere.
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written by Burty1 , 14 August 2008
I have lived in Los Angeles for the past 2 years. Every bad driver in the world would feel very much at home in LA.
Mobile phones on the ear, no indicating when changing lanes, dogs in laps.
LA is a Mecca for bad drivers.
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written by delboy , 24 August 2008
French driving has always been a bit of a lottery, but better than some other Europeans - Italian lane discipline when taking bends on motorways is something to behold!!
My main criticism of the French, however, is their (fairly) recent love affair with roundabouts. Useful in keeping the traffic flowing, but how about actually learning how to use them?!?
How often have you seen anyone using indicators?
How often have you seen them use the outside lane to go all the way round?
Why, oh why, are there often single lane roads widening to two lanes at the roundabout entry, but only having one exit lane again?
If they could only practise a bit of sense, things would be a lot safer.
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written by Mike Meade , 02 September 2008
In general French drivers are not in the habit of always indicating so your observation, delboy, is pretty accurate. But there is change in the air. A new "proposition de loi" will mean that not indicating could result in 3 points off your licence.

As for using the outside lane (or not) to go all the way around, here on the Riviera there just isn't enough courtesy to allow easy lane changing in the larger roundabouts. If you're in a lane, it's easy to remain stuck in it because nobody lets you in. So people get in the lane they're most likely to navigate out of.

The two-lane in, one lane out, situation exists in many countries including England, to reduce tailbacks ("jams" if you're American). In a way, it's logical when the 2 lanes feed into a roundabout with several exits as the exiting traffic will be divided amongst them.
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written by Mike P , 02 September 2008
I dread roundabouts here, simply because the behaviour of other drivers is utterly unpredictable, and it's not just restricted to lane cutting. I've seen people reversing on roundabouts and I never imagined I'd see anyone do anything stupider than that until one day I saw someone do a three-point turn and go back to his missed exit. In fairness I have to say that the car was not French registered.
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written by Karen , 17 September 2008
Oh gosh! Try driving in Barcelona and you will find the French driving as good as their best wine! I was relieved to see how much nicer it is to drive in france than in Spain. In France I can actually enjoy driving...
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