Many expats will have stories of nearly getting run over at red lights or at zebra crossings in Paris or nearly being killed when being overtaken on a bend on a quiet French country road.
But while the number of deaths on French roads are at an all-time low, this week’s guest blogger, author Geoff Dupuy-Holder would argue these figures, although welcome, have nothing to do with French motorists taking more care on the roads.
Dupuy-Holder, who lives in the Gers department of south-western France appears to have had more near-misses with French drivers than most and here he gives his take on what he thinks are the real rules of the road in France - and they have have no correlation to any Highway Code. (CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW)
Is he being too harsh or does his code strike a chord with you? Let us know in the comments section below.
Driving mad: The real rules of la route in France
Explaining his motives for putting together the gallery Dupuy Holder told The Local: "I wanted to get it off my chest precisely because I'm not a driver."
"My wife drives, but I don't, and, despite being French, she agrees with me about the daily hazards of driving, especially on the country roads around here, and especially when it's foggy or low light.
"I'm an inveterate pedestrian and I take the dog for a walk three times a day, and it's during these peregrinations that I tend to witness most of the activities.
"I think the last straw came when I was almost run down on a zebra crossing by someone going well over the speed limit, who then dared to beep me because I was in his way. Or was it the time I was almost forced into a ditch?
"Or that moment when a white van overtook us on a 90-degree bend? Or when a mobile phone-using driver nearly hit my wife when she crossing the road in her wheelchair? Ah, so many warm memories..."
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