Apart from just generally having a look around the stalls to see what goodies were on offer we wanted to take a look a good look at the Camping Cheque stand and decide if that was something we wanted to make use of.  I also had this notion that I’d read about the ideal Motorhome layout, a Rapido, and I wanted to have a close look at it to see.

We had a good look at the Camping Cheque and a long chat with the person on the stand and in the end we bought a silver card for £2 and the site book for £1 ( instead of £6 ).  We’re going to give it a go simply because we usually go to France out of season anyway and using the Camping Cheque is the cheapest way to do that and at around £14 per night is a real bargain. The silver card is a new thing that you use instead of the paper cheques and it means you can pay for the cheques electronically and then get them credited to your card when you arrive at the first site.  Easy; I hope.  There are hundreds ( 588 ) sites in Europe to choose from and even a handful in the UK. Have a look at the Camping Cheque site and see for yourselves.

The brand new all singing all dancing Rapido that I thought I’d read about turned out to be a figment of my imagination and doesn’t exist after all.  Never mind, one day.

On the subject of new Motorhomes we did have a look at most of the Manufacturers and Dealers but didn’t see anything that was better than our Autocruise Starseeker thank goodness.

We did the obligatory visit to most of the French site stalls and collected plenty of brochures but of course these have been superceded by the Camping Cheque sites list because we are determined to try as many of these as we can.  We have a 3 week French holiday planned for June and have booked the return ferry but no sites.  I’m a stickler for making site bookings normally but am determined to go on spec this year and see how we get on.  Incidentally we booked the ferry with Norfolkline ( never used them before ) and got a fantastic deal. We booked through the Caravan Club and got the return for the Starseeker plus the two of us for £48 return, going and returning on a Saturday. How good was that!!  Let me know if you’ve got a better deal than that!!

We also bought a couple of items for the house,weirdly, but I guess you do see a lot of innovative stuff at these shows.

We won’t bother going to another show this year but will try this one again next year.

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1. Boat and Caravan Show

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.

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Directions

The Pont du Gard is situated just west of Remoulins off the D981 to Uzes and if you’re travelling down the A9/E15 then leave at junction 23.  It’s very easy to find from there, well signposted and it has 2 very large car parks on the east and west banks of the River Gardon.  Of course, because we’re in France, Motorhomes are very well catered for in the car parks and these open from 7 am to 1 am, no overnight parking I’m afraid though.  Once you’ve parked your Motorhome you collect a ticket from the machine and then you pay on leaving at a pre pay machine. The cost when we were there was 5 euros.

Amenities

The Pont du Gard is featured on the World Heritage list and has given rise to the Site du Pont du Gard where you can spend the best part of a day looking in awe at the Pont, learning all about the history of the place, walking, sitting by the river and being fed and watered.  Some of the facilities on offer include:

• The restaurants serve traditional Mediterranean food at the ‘Les Cuisiniers Vignerons’ on the right bank and a quick service of sandwiches, savoury tarts and salads is available on the left bank

• The left bank is a large pedestrian area with shops, toilets, cafeteria, car park payment machines, ice cream salon etc

• Also on the left bank is a museum, a media library, a Cinemascope film showing the finest views of the Pont du Gard, a children’s discovery area and a Mediterranean landscape walk

• On both banks are viewing points with a guided walk up to them

The whole area is exceptionally interesting and very well organised with lots to do and makes for a full day out.  You can also swim/paddle in the river and canoe if you happen to have one with you.

History

The Pont du Gard is an excellent example of Roman building and technical skills and is quite stunning to look at and admire.  It is the finest and best preserved part of the aqueduct built to convey water from the Fontaines d’Eure spring at Uzes to the major Roman town of Nimes.  The water crosses the River Gardon at a stunning height of 48 metres.  The work was started in AD38 and was completed in AD52 and a thousand men worked on the project using more than 50,000 tonnes of stone.  Apart from the Pont itself most of the route no longer exists but there are some parts that are still visible and you can go and see these at your leisure.

Here are some stunning facts about the aqueduct:

• It is 50 kilometres or 31 miles long

• It is the tallest aqueduct that the Romans ever built

• There is only a 17 metre or 56 feet drop between the spring at Uzes and Nimes which means that the incline of the aqueduct had to average 0.35mm per metre length and it had a gradient of 0.4%

• The Pont itself is 300 metres long

• The aqueduct was capable of carrying 5 million gallons of water daily and this water is carried at the top level of the Pont in a gully that is 6 feet high and 4 feet wide

• The water flowed at a slow and constant rate so that limestone deposits, which would affect the flow, would not build up

• No mortar was used in the construction and each stone weighed up to 6 tonnes and was made to fit precisely on top and against the surrounding stones

• The aqueduct provided the waterflow between Uzes and Nimes for 900 years

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What I have only just realised is that the European Health Insurance Card is not valid indefinitely, it does expire after a few years, so please check the expiry date and make sure that you renew it prior to driving your Motorhome throughout Europe.

The health insurance card is very important because it covers you for medical treatment in all the European Economic Area (EEA) member countries and although Switzerland is not a member of the EEA the card is also valid there as well.  This card replaced the E111 form that we used to use, although this had to be renewed annually.

Below is a list of all the countries that allow use of the card so as you can see it is extremely useful.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (Eire), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,   Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.

The message is clear; if yours is running out then renew it and if you haven’t got one then apply for one immediately.

You can apply for the card by clicking on this link

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It’s very easy to get to from the A7 although if you don’t fancy a roller coaster drive along some very windy roads that seem like you’re driving along a cliff top then take my advice and from the A7 take the N102 to Aubenas.  Then take the D104 signposted to Ales and at Uzer turn right at a roundabout onto the D5 to Largentiere.  Follow the A5 towards Rocher/Valgorge and Les Ranchisses is on the left a mile or so outside of Largentiere.  Word of warning – do not take the D103 to Largentiere, stay on the D104 otherwise you will regret it.

Largentiere itself is quite interesting to walk around and there are a number of local shops.  There is a very good wine shop as you drive in that you will pass and a reasonably sized supermarket although outside of Largentiere towards the D104 is a large hypermarket.

Les Ranchisses is run by Veronique, Philippe and their team and from the outset when you arrive and walk into reception you’ll experience a very relaxed, friendly atmosphere that impresses you from the beginning.  You then go for a tour around the site by golf buggy to be shown all the vacant pitches that you can choose from.

The site has a number of fixed tents and chalets run by tour companies as well as a great many spaces for Motorhomes and Caravans.  The pitches are fully serviced and the shower/toilet blocks are both large and very clean.  There is also a Motorhome service point.  A small river runs along the edge of the site and there are a number of riverside pitches that are available but of course these do get taken straight away.

The amenities on site are fantastic and include :

• A small shop that sells a good selection of meats, cheeses etc, household goods and of course wine from the Les Ranchisses vineyard and lots of other local Ardeche wines.

• A very nice bar where you can get snacks during the day make use of WiFi access.
  

• A Tennis court, crazy golf, table tennis and an all purpose sports field.

• Pizza and take away, a really good restaurant serving great food and an outside brasserie specialising in grilled meats.

• Last but not least is a fantastic pool complex that has a number of pools and an adults only “Wellness Centre” that has sauna, gym and a hydrotherapy pool.

Around and about there some great things to see in the Ardeche ranging from a drive through the Gorges de L’Ardeche that is suitable for your Motorhome with plenty of stop off parking, lots of caves with stunning chambers and rock formations, you can canoe up the Ardeche and of course the one thing you must see is the Pont d’Arc.  There are also a number of walks including a walk into Largentiere.

The site is surrounded by hills and trees and if you are ever there in a thunderstorm then it is a thing of beauty to behold, albeit a little scary.

If you do get a chance to stay at Les Ranchisses then be assured you will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

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If you approach Carcassonne from the east on the A61/E80 autoroute you get a magnificent view of the Cite looking North. Once you get past junction 24 there is an Aires that has a viewing point overlooking the Cite that is well worth visiting.  You need to leave the autoroute at junction 23 to travel into the City and follow the signposts for La Cite.

I approached the Cite through the newer part of Carcassonne and down the Avenue du General Leclerc turning right at Montee Combeleran.  There was a sign for coach parking but I didn’t see anything for Motorhomes.  You drive down Montee Combeleran and come to a mini roundabout and turn right – by now you can see the Cite walls right in front of you – and the Aire de Service is on the right.  You need to have a 10 euro note by the way to operate the automatic barrier.  There is also a water filling and disposal unit in the Aire.  Once you get parked it’s a minutes walk to the main entrance.  The Aire de Service is in a magnificent position and although the parking spaces are laid out next to each other it wasn’t full when we were there so there was plenty of room.

Warning note here : be careful of the trees in the Aire, some of them are in the parking bays and you end up being very close to them.  Whilst you’re busy looking at the trunk to make sure you miss it the top of the branches are liable to scrape along the top of your van; I speak from experience.

Looking at the walls gave me a strange feeling of wonderment to think that this Cite was under siege for so long and eventually taken not by battle but by lack of food.  The historical side of Carcassonne is fascinating and I’ll post another blog on that subject soon.  The inside of the Cite conjures up just as many feelings of wonder and the Cite is in fact double skinned and there are actually two walls around most of the Cite to ensure their defences were unbreachable.  In fact when the Cite was taken the walls were not breached but the siege prevented food from being taken into the Cite and the people were starving and surrendered.  The Cite has 52 towers and 2 rings of town walls making a total of 3km of battlements so it’s no wonder it’s easy to defend.

Inside the walls is a fascinating mix of history and retail.  There are shops galore, some good and some bad, plenty of restaurants and plenty to see.  You can join a guided tour around the walls, there is an amphitheatre, a Cathedral and the Chateau Comtal.  The Chateau Comtal is a defended fortress within a defended fortress and even has it’s own moat and it’s certainly the place to be in times of war.  Inside the Chateau is a museum that is very worth visiting and you can hire the English speaking electronic guide so you don’t miss anything of interest.

The Cite fully lived up to my expectations and I’m so glad I went and I’m looking forward to going back.  When I do go back though I’ll stay over at the Aire and spend two days sightseeing because one day doesn’t do it justice.

In a previous post I give you a link to a great Aire de Service guide book so click here to have a look.

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The first SatNav I had was a Navman that worked really well for around 3 years but because it was not supported by Vista I couldn’t synchronize it with my laptop plus Navman stopped issuing map and software updates for it.  The lack of map updates was the biggest issue and the one that caused me to search for another SatNav; one that I would be able to update, connect to Vista and one that had a great deal of support from the manufacturer.

I’m a bit anal about these things and treat buying something like this as a huge project so I read everything I can about them, produce my SatNav facility wish list, narrow down to my top 3, think again and then decide.  It’s a real big deal for me but it usually means that I get what I want.

So it was that in June 2008 I bought a TomTom GO730 SatNav together with a remote control and I’ve been very happy ever since.

With the season just about to kick off in earnest I thought it would be a good idea to write a post about these mysterious devices that we all call SatNavs in order to help anyone who’s thinking of buying one.

What is a SatNav : It’s a device that will get you from A to B in either the quickest time possible or the shortest distance which isn’t usually the shortest time.

What isn’t a SatNav : It’s not a mind reader nor a visionary nor has it any sense of what a Motorhome is.

Whilst a SatNav can be a real boon it can be a real nightmare as well and I’m sure you’ve all heard of the tales of woe caused by SatNavs directing motorists down dead ends, the wrong way up a one way road, the wrong town with the same name and in the extreme over a cliff – not sure if this last one’s true but I certainly read it somewhere.  My own personal experience of the wrongdoings and rightdoings of a SatNav are plenty and I’ll share a few with you now:

• We were staying at Norcenni Girasole Club in Italy just outside of Florence and had been on a day visit to Sam Gimignano when on the return journey the SatNav directed us down a road through Chianti country that looked fine and I thought would be very pleasant with lots of good views of country life.  It was just that for a while and then the tarmac stopped and the road became a black cindery slippery dusty thing that I thought would change back just as rapidly.  But no, it didn’t, and to make matters infinitely worse suddenly there was a hill and a bend and I didn’t make it to the top.  The front wheels were spinning and the more I tried to get going the more we slipped towards the edge of the road which had a drop of around 4 feet, enough to frighten the life out of me.  I kept having visions of toppling over the edge.  Some very friendly Swiss people stopped to help and rang a farmer to see if he would tow us off with his tractor but he was out in his field – how unfair – but did say that hat he would come along later.  The friendly Swiss family had to go but also said they would be back later.  Hey I thought, I’ve seen this stuff in the movies, just put a carpet under your tyres and you’ll be off in no time; well no, that doesn’t work.  In the end I reversed back down the hill with my wheels teetering on the edge and just hoping that everything held, which it did.  We managed to turn around at the bottom of the hill and went back the way we came.  I then reprogrammed the SatNav to use the motorways and we went the long way back.  We got back just in time to get a table in the site restaurant thank goodness, I needed a drink!

• Another cracker, but not as scary, was on the way to Florence we were driving on the ring road around Milan and whilst going around a roundabout the SatNav told me to take the right hand lane.  Sounds easy but there were three lanes to choose from and for some mysterious reason I took the centre exit and drove down into the centre of Milan and onto a road that looked just like a car park.  The SatNav recalculated a route and directed me along a couple of roads that took an eternity to travel down due to the excess of traffic, not to mention scooters, cars and lorries joining the road from what seemed like everywhere and then back up onto the ring road.  Well done SatNav.  The one piece of advice I would give to anyone driving a Motorhome down one of these Italian nightmare roads is to just move gradually along as traffic allows and not to worry about what anyone else is doing, they will avoid you.

• Another thing to be very wary of is if you miss a turning for some reason.  The SatNav will then want to reroute you back on track but in order to do this it will then send you down the first available road and this may not be suitable for a Motorhome.  Generally the roads we get directed down are fine but when this happens the SatNav seems to lose all reason and becomes obsessed with getting us back on track regardless, so it might be prudent to wait until you know you are being directed down a decent road before you turn off.   This is of course much easier in the UK than in Europe and as I’ve said on a previous post the last 5 miles of any journey is the scary part.  Always follow the site directions when you get to this point.

The SatNav I use is a TomTom GO730 and it’s quite brilliant.  It’s a touch screen device but I use the remote control mostly because I hate fingerprints on screens of any kind.  You have a choice of computer generated voices, male & female UK and US, but I use the UK female, it just seems to sound kinder.  You can also download recorded voices of all kinds, some for free and some you have to pay for and there are thousands of POI’s (points of interest) that are available.  Some of the best ones that I use are location directions of the Camping and Caravanning Club sites, the Caravan Club sites, Camping Car Aires positions and Motorway Services and low bridge locations that give you advance warnings as you approach them.

It’s extremely important to keep your SatNav updated both with the operating software and with maps and TomTom are excellent at providing these.  You do have to purchase the map updates but these are essential if you want to feel secure whilst on route especially as the TomTom GO730 has full mapping for the UK and Europe.  There are also free updates (Map Share) that you can download and these are supplied by other users who might spot a map change whilst driving on a particular route, these come thick and fast and are very useful.  There are also speed camera locations for the UK and Europe but have a look at my Guide to Driving in France for information regarding this.

The beauty of the TomTom GO730 is that you can plan a route say from Leeds to Nice in France and it will calculate one continuous route whereas other SatNavs load maps on a country by country basis.

The TomTom GO730 also gives you the option of connecting an ipod if you use one and playing this through your Motorhome radio speakers.  The actual road directions come through an internal speaker that is very good and you can control the volume of this very easily.  If you’re playing your music at the time when the SatNav wants to give you directions then it cuts this sound off, speaks the direction through the internal speaker and then switches the ipod sound back on; neat.

The choices of SatNav are many as with anything you buy nowadays and it is of course a personal choice.

In January 2009 MMM ran an article on SatNavs and recommended the TomTom or Garmin as the best 2 to choose from with the particular model as a personal choice although the writer of the article recommended the TomTom as the number one choice because of ease of use.

In February 2009 the Caravan Club did a comparison of SatNavs and again recommended the TomTom.

My recommendation would be the TomTom GO730 for ease of use, excellent mapping, great facilities and the fact that it has never got me into trouble whilst driving my Motorhome.

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Channel Tunnel back to full capacity during night of 9-10 February

During the night of 9-10 February 2009, Eurotunnel will reopen Interval 6 of the Channel Tunnel*, the section in which re-equipping works – specifically the installation of the catenary – are currently being completed.

With a series of tests planned for the start of next month**, full Tunnel capacity is about to be restored, barely three and a half months after reconstruction works began*** and significantly ahead of initial forecasts. From this date, Eurotunnel Shuttles and Eurostar trains will be able to travel through the Tunnel at their normal commercial speeds, instead of the current reduced speeds.

Eurotunnel’s reactivity has ensured that reopening of Interval 6 comes before Valentine’s Day and the start of half-term holidays in the UK: a traditionally busy period.

* Booking is now available for the new capacity on the Passenger Shuttles;
* From 10 February, the number of departures for Truck Shuttles will be able to increase to 6 per hour in each direction;
* Eurostar, which must reschedule its trains, will communicate separately on the date of its service change.

Jacques Gounon, Chairman of Eurotunnel, stated: “I congratulate all those involved, from Eurotunnel’s teams and the companies selected by the Group. They have delivered the restoration of interval 6 in record time. This performance means we can restore the speed and ease of Channel crossings that make Eurotunnel a unique product.”

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* The Channel Tunnel consists of three tubes, two of which are used for the circulation of trains and Eurotunnel Shuttles. The two rail tunnels are split into 6 intervals. Since 1 October, and following an incident at the start of the preceding month, 5 of these 6 intervals have remained operational.

** Subject to validation by the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) and the Safety Authority.

*** The works in interval 6 started on 18 October. Up until this date, the Channel Tunnel was under the control of the French judicial authorities, as part of their ongoing inquiry.

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While I was looking on the Channel Tunnel website I had a search around and found a little potted history of the Tunnel conception and build.

1802 – In 1802, French mining engineer, Albert Mathieu put forward the first ever design for a Channel Tunnel, closely followed in 1803 by an English design proposal by Henri Mottray.

1830 – From 1830, the advent of steam trains and the construction of the rail network in Britain led to the first proposals for a rail tunnel. By the mid 19th century, French mining engineer, Thomé de Gamond had spend 30 years working on seven different designs.

1880 – The first attempt at a tunnel excavation began in 1880 when the “Beaumont & English” tunnel boring machine began digging undersea on both sides of the Channel.

1909 – Louis Blériot was the first to fly an aeroplane across the Channel.

1955 – In 1955, the British Defence Minister announced that he no longer opposed a fixed link on military ground.

1957 – On 16 July, a Channel Tunnel Study Group was formed.

1960 – In July 1960, the Group proposed a railway tunnel system comprising a twin-bore rail tunnel with a service tunnel.

1973 – The project was formally launched in 1973 by Edward Heath, British Prime Minister, and by George Pompidou, French President.

1975 – The project was abandoned at the beginning of 1975 due to the fuel crisis.

On 30 November 1984, the British and French Governments announced their intention to seek private promoters for the construction and operation of a fixed link without public funding.

1985 – The invitation to tender was issued in March 1985 and four serious proposals were submitted by 31 October.

Europont – A bridge with 5,000 metre spans suspended by means of Kevlar cables, was soon eliminated on cost grounds and the fact it was based on untried techniques.

Euroroute – Comprising both a drive-through bridge and tunnel system with artificial islands and a bored undersea rail tunnel.

Channel Expressway – A last minute submission consisting of both road and rail tunnels.

Eurotunnel – This bid was based on the 1972-1975 project with twin rail tunnels and a third service tunnel.

1986 – 20th January – Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand announced that the Eurotunnel bid had been selected.

1986-12th February – Foreign Affairs Ministers of both countries signed the Franco-British Treaty in Canterbury.

1986 – 14th March – The Concession Agreement was awarded to the two concessionnaires «The Channel Tunnel Group Ltd / France-Manche SA» for a period of 55 years.

1986 – 13th August – Formation of the Eurotunnel Group. Signature of the construction contract between Eurotunnel and TransManche Link (TML)

1987 – 29th July – Margaret Thatcher and François Mitterrand ratified the Treaty of Canterbury, paving the way for the Channel Tunnel to become a reality.

1987 – 15th December – Boring of the service tunnel starts on the UK side.

1988 – 28th February – Start of service tunnel boring on the French side.

1990 – 1st December – British and French teams achieved the first historic breakthrough under the Channel, in the service tunnel, 22.3 km from the UK and 15.6 km from France.

1991 – 22nd May – Breakthrough in the North rail tunnel.

1991 – 28th June – Breakthrough in the South rail tunnel.

1993 – 10th December – Handover from TML to Eurotunnel.

1993 – 1994 – Equipment installation and testing.

1994 – 6th May – Official opening by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterand.

1994 – 1st June – First international freight train in commercial service through the Channel Tunnel

1994 – 25th July – Start of commercial truck shuttle service.

1994 – 14th November – Start of the commercial Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel.

1994 – 22nd December – Start of the commercial passenger shuttle service for cars.

1995 – 21st March – Opening ceremony of the commercial centre Cité-Europe, next to the Coquelles terminal.

1995 – 26th June – Start of the commercial shuttle services for coaches.

1995 – 29th September – Start of the commercial passenger service for camper vans and caravans.

Source : Official Channel Tunnel Website

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This is always a difficult thing to get right and now a survey has been done on tipping abroad by us Brits; it never ceases to amaze me what they do survey nowadays.  Anyhow, the survey said that less than a quarter of UK holidaymakers know how much to tip when they go abroad and almost half said that they tip the same amount wherever they go.

Even throughout Europe leaving a tip varies from country to country but I usually follow these simple rules:

• In France : whether you are in a bar or a restaurant the bill usually includes a service charge so there is actually no need to tip.  You can leave some small change on the table if you want to but it is not strictly necessary.

• In Italy : tipping varies on where you are, small amounts in small cities and towns and then in a really small cafe it isn’t strictly necessary but again some small change will be fine.  In larger cities the restaurants will apply a service charge to your bill anyway but it is customary to give the waiter/waitress a tip of 5% to 10% depending on how good the service was.

• In Belgium : a service charge is always included in your bill and the same rules apply as in France.

• In Germany : a service charge is included in your bill but it is customary to round up your payment to the nearest Euro and I would give a tip of 5% to your waiter/waitress.

• In Spain : restaurants and bars are not allowed to add a service charge to your bill so I leave around 10% in a restaurant and about 5% in a small bar or again round up to the nearest Euro.

• In Holland : a service charge will always be added to your bill and the same rules apply as in France.

Now I’ve only mentioned the above countries because that’s where I’ve had some experience so if any of you disagree or have some guidelines for other countries then please let me know.

There are of course always variations on the theme but I use this as my guideline and it usually works out well.  The menu may tell you if a service charge has been added but it is not strictly necessary.  The local customs are known by the locals so just because the menu doesn’t say it has been added it doesn’t mean to say it hasn’t.

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The Association of British Insurers has become concerned with the increasing number or road accidents taking place throughout mainland Europe, which it believes is due, in part, to the rise in popularity of touring abroad.  It has released a report with some surprising figures which highlight the potential dangers of driving abroad.  Here are a couple of examples:

• Britons driving in mainland Europe caused over 5000 accidents in 2006

• While cross-border drivers only account for 15% of Switzerland’s total daily traffic, they commit 50% of traffic offences

The insurers association believes that the root of the problem lies in a lack of awareness of the differences in road regulations between countries in Europe.

There is a free leaflet you can obtain from GEM Motoring Assist called “Introduction to Driving in Europe” and this gives information on the road regulations in 16 different countries.  You can get one by either logging on to the GEM Motoring Assist website or by calling 01342 825676.  A couple of snippets from this are:

• In Italy : police can impound your Motorhome if you cannot present the relevant ownership documents when asked for them

• In Finland : if you hit an Elk or Deer you must report the collision to the Police

• Also in Finland : the amount you pay for speeding fines is calculated according to your income

Source : Practical Motorhome April 2008

This is something that I’ve been talking about regularly on this site and because most of us will take our Motorhomes into Europe at some stage it is something that we all need to be very aware of. I’ve already posted some key information about driving in Europe but you can never get enough and as I’ve stressed a number of times it does change regularly so you need to keep yourselves updated on an annual basis.

When I come across more information or see any changes to existing regulations then I will of course publish these.

The other key thing I keep saying is of course to not be put off by any of these regulations, they are usually very sensible and at the end of the day none of us either want to break the law or have an accident.

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