The Caravan Club have just published a very interesting article about new speed limits in France that will have an affect on quite a few of us Motorhome owners, so I thought I’d publish it here so that you’ll all be forewarned.

These rules have been  interpreted in two different ways by two different organisations in France, the FFCC (Federation Francais de Camping et de Caravanning) and the FIA(Federation Internationale de L’Automobile)

The laws that have changed apply to the weight of your Motorhome and the corresponding speed that you will be allowed to drive it because of this weight.  It’s still a bit unclear exactly how to interpret the law so I’ll keep an eye out for any explanations that come up but the rules seem to be as follows;

FFCC

If your Motorhome maximum gross weight is quoted as over 3.5 tonnes, irrespective of the actual weight of your Motorhome at the time, then your speed limits will be reduced to the following:

• Motorways and dual carriageways with a central reservation 90kph
• Other roads outside of built up areas 80kph
• Minor roads I’m not sure about

FIA

If your Motorhome by itself or a combination of your Motorhome plus any vehicle you are towing together have a maximum gross weight over 3.5 tonnes then the above applies.

If you fall into either of these categories then you will need to display two stickers on your Motorhome, one for 80kph and one for 90kph.  However, these stickers can only be bought from HGV suppliers in France.

It all sounds a bit bonkers but to be safe the advice is to drive at the lower limits if you do exceed the 3.5 tonnes gross weight.