Do the French deserve their reputation of being aggressive drivers? • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] france is famous for its beautiful sights and its delicious food but it's also infamous for its aggressive drivers well the french are the first to admit that it can be a bit wild on the roads out there especially here in paris speeding road rage drivers who tailgate you insult you give you the finger it can be terrifying and on top of all that some of the road rules are downright confusing and getting your license is an obstacle course in this french connections plus we'll buckle up and merge into french driving room [Music] part of the reason french drivers get such a bad rap is because driving here in paris is so tricky especially if you're from out of town now to put it simply driving in the capital is a nightmare there's no clear logic to which way the streets are going you've got motorcycles and scooters and pedestrians jumping out at you often people will honk at you insults will be flying and then parking is just a figment of the imagination you'd be forgiven for thinking there's no real rules of the road here in france and i'd even say that people in paris take a certain amount of pride in their aggressive driving [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Applause] my [Music] foreign french drivers are the first to admit they have issues with road rage and that's probably because there is some truth to the matter well studies suggest that french drivers are amongst the most aggressive in europe let's just say that when it comes to road etiquette the french leave a lot to be desired and can be quite reckless behind the wheel french drivers say they do take risks so whether it's in regard to fatigue speeding distractions with their devices in fact 20 percent of french drivers say they become another person behind the wheel well i admit i do i drive like a grandmother but an aggressive grandmother now what's interesting though is despite the incivilities and the breaking of the rules the number of road deaths in france has been dropping over the years road deaths reached a peak 50 years ago when some 18 thousand people were killed in one year by 2021 that number had dropped to 1400. things have been getting better thanks to public policy better cars raised awareness and tighter rules if you hit the road in france you'll want to be familiar with some basic regulation to drive a car you have to be at least 18 years old with a valid license and you'd better buckle up as seat belts are compulsory for all occupants of a vehicle front and back how fast you can go varies depending on what kind of road you're on and weather conditions the speed limit is 50 kilometers an hour in urban areas 80 outside of built up areas and 130 on highways limited to 110 kilometers an hour when it's raining in some big cities like paris the speed limit is 30 kilometers an hour so don't push the pedal to the metal for a country that worships wine there are very strict rules when it comes to drinking and driving the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.5 grams a liter which is more or less the equivalent of about two glasses of alcohol meanwhile france the country with the most distinct varieties of cheeses is also the country with the most roundabouts in the world estimates put the number of between 20 and 65 000 and some 500 new ones are built a year be sure to look out for the creative and often absurd art installations in the middle but remember to keep your eyes on the road the french do love their roundabouts and we're here at one of the most famous ones this is the home pandey chandelier racing around the active film in my opinion it's one of the scariest and most confusing places to drive in france and that's because unlike in other roundabouts where the person in the circle gets the right-of-way here a different rule applies it's called le priority at what and it's the rule that applies at most intersections in france priority on the right that means any driver who's coming from your right-hand side gets the right-of-way and you have to stop and let them in now this is a rule that exists already in a few other european countries like ireland or malta but it can be a real surprise for new drivers to france and same goes for when two cars are turning left at an intersection now in countries like in the united states the cars will turn in front of each other like this whereas here in france unless it's indicated otherwise you have to go around the other car like this and those are just some of the rules you'll have to learn if you try and get a french driver's license which is truly a feat unto itself [Music] rumor has it it's really hard to get your driver's license in france it certainly felt that way when i passed mine a couple of years ago so i decided to go back to driver's ed to see what it's like today darian thank you so much for being with us on french connections you have a family-owned driving school what are the basic requirements to getting your driver's license here in order to get the french license people have to prepare for the theoretical test and then the practical driving exam so there are two options or you are a complete beginner and the prefecture requires a minimum of 20 hours of driving practice with a manual or automatic care or you are already a holder of a foreign license and then there is no minimum driving classes required and we advise to have eight hours minimum so the driving test is in french and the theoretical test is a multiple choice question right exactly so there is a 40 question and people can do only 5 mistakes out of 40. so 35 is good 34 you need to come back and uh and how much does it cost on average to get your license here in france in fact the average is between 1500 and 2000 more or less according to the the personal situation you know effectively people say it's expensive but you know here in france there are lots of charges a lot of taxes and one hour for example one hour of driving practice is 55 euros so you add if you need 20 hours it goes very quickly so that's why it looks expensive but it's a lot of work and preparation would you say it's harder to get your license here in france than in other countries i think in all europe it's the same the inspector very strict now some people say it's stressful to drive in france is there a secret to having a relaxing driving experience here when you go to take the french license you have to forget home habits and after it goes easy so excel you're going to give me a driving lesson so i can hopefully have a relaxing experience behind the wheel let's go [Music] do you have any fears on driving your parish well it can be quite scary to drive in paris i must admit especially the the priority of the priority on the right how does that work generally you must see if there is any signs on the right and online okay if there is no sign no line generally you must make sure that you check on the right okay see if there is a car coming so i have the priority here compared to him right so before we're taking this track you must check anterior mirror so in this situation you can slow down a bit i think i'm nervous okay so we have a stop sign okay so make sure that you stop at the solid lane okay for three seconds so three seconds i forgot that yeah if you just break and go for the exam you fail oh no yeah so how do you feel now better better better but it feels like going back to school [Music] many of you have clearly experienced the joys of driving in france because this actually got a lot of reaction online now to be fair some of the comments were positive but most of them were negative for example this one from the fro whisperer who said i'm glad it's difficult to get a license in france because many people should not be driving the french drive like new yorkers i also love this comment by david soder who said why does everyone tailgate in france i understand when someone wants to pass a slower moving car but they kiss my rear bumper even when passing is not an option even old ladies do it and i couldn't agree more david now some of you did have questions like surya who wanted to know what's the penalty system for bad driving french driving licenses are issued with 12 points and points are deducted for bad driving for instance if you're caught speeding you'll be fined 135 euros and you'll lose between one and three points depending on how much over the speed limit you were a full six points can be lost for the most serious cases like drinking and driving and in the most severe instances you can have your license completely revoked now as scary as it is driving in france can also be a lot of fun and it's a great way to see all the wonderful sights that france has to offer but just remember to buckle up and drive safely that's all the time we have for today's show thanks so much for watching keep tweeting your questions at phil villamano and we'll see you soon for a new french connections plus come on genie let's hit the road okay [Music] i'm gulliver craig france 24th correspondent in kiev i'm forever criss-crossing ukraine poland and other countries in the region to keep you up to date with all the news from central and eastern europe join me on live from paris and in all france 24's news and magazine programmes gulliver craig one of the 200 france-24 correspondents around the world [Music] you

Channel: FRANCE 24 English

Views: 8,277

Keywords: cars, culture, driving, france, license, paris, priorite a droite, road rage, roads, roundabout, rules

Id: Lal5aeVoqg8

Length: 12min 16sec (736 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 23 2022