The use of the blinker used te be mandatory in France when you want to stay in de overtake lane, it hasn’t been mandatory for years but especially the older drivers are still used to do it
@@Kerleem What's next? Here's a challenge for you: Take the eurotunnel to England and drive on the wrong side of the road! It don't even has te be in Londen ;-)
Just came back from France (again).. Couple of things: - driving in Paris is both annoying and fun. When you want to challenge yourself it can be really awarding. - although it's getting less, the leave indicator on during overtaking, is still used a lot. On a two lane road it's okayish, but on a multi lane I don't like it a all because it's confusing. - majority of Frenchies don't use their indicator when about to exit a roundabout: total and utter shit behavior! - many Frenchies are unaware of the right lane on a multi lane road: total and utter shit behavior! The amount of times I undertook cars because it was queueing on the left and middle lane, but empty on the right is astounding!!! - a lot of Frenchies are afraid to turn on their lights in a tunnel: total and utter shit behavior! - especially in Paris: be aware of two-wheelers everywhere! Watch your mirrors and leave room on the side of the car. Quite often you will get passes, pretty much in your lane, by doing double the speed. Concluding; French is great, but their drivers need to become better.
Yeah I’ve been wanting to do a video in the UK for a long time but it keeps getting delayed. I’m going there next month but I don’t know if I’ll have time for a video 🧐 we’ll see!
The blinker thing can mean two things: If there is a car in front it means: Get the fuck to the right I want to take you over. If there is a car behind: Sorry, I have seen you but I want to take over an other car. (it kind of implies he will go to the right after the take over manoeuvre.)
In France there are thousands of kilometers "route national" roads which have in most cases 2 lanes (1 per direction). By leaving the blinker on when overtaking you make it more clear to oncoming traffic that you are on the left lane. I guess it's a habbit they picked up and also use on the freeway. By the way, I have seen this been doing also in Spain and Italy.
@@Kerleem When you want to cross a street and you see a car coming. You hesitate to go forward and you see the driver blink the turn signal you know that he is going to stop so you can proceed. It is quite nice gesture.
Funny thing in Paris : most (if not all) insurance companies have a disclosure specifically for the massive roundabouts in Paris : if you have an accident there, it's 50/50 for each driver, no matter what, even with a dashcam, or clear distracted driving, etc...
Sure is a challenge to drive in Paris! Occasionally I could see how it would be satisfying, but there is a reason a lot of Parisians chose to not have a car. Thanks for the video and insights, it’s interesting to see the opinion of someone who comes from a country with a very different driving culture.
When i learned to drive 12 years ago, it was mandatory to use your blinker on highways whenever you would pass someone or go back to the right lane. I believe it is to overtake more safely, if there is another car behind you ready to pass you, you basically tell them "be careful i'm gonna pass so wait for your turn to pass me". Maybe it could be seen as some sort of road courtesy
@@therealdutchidiot this is where it gets annoying, when you have peopel overtaking in the middle lane with their left blinker constantly on and ur not sure if they want to move over or if u can go past
Normally I don't subscribe to car/car enthusiasts channels because of the smug, hostility & entitlement mentality that comes out of it. I'm also *NOT* a car enthusiast. But Kerleem you're the *exception.* I really appreciate the genuine honesty that comes out of you. I really appreciate the fact that you don't have nor display any kind of smug or entitlement mentality when talking about driving in cities or driving in general. Car/car enthusiasts channels can be quite alienating, but there's none of that in your channel which maximizes the joyfulness of your videos & this channel for a lot more people especially for those who aren't into cars. Because of this, it makes watching your videos easy to enjoy along with it being *insightful & informative.* Anyways thanks a lot. And hello again from San Francisco!😀👍💯🌁
In Germany keeping the left turn signal on on a road that is one way is considered a disturbance and police may fine you. When you overtake on 2 way roads though you are supposed to keep the turn signal on till you switch back in your original lane 🤔
@@Kerleem well to be a actual disturbance they would have to tailgate the front vehicle until the front vehicle moves out the lane. If that is taken to the police the tailgating driver can be fined.
Driving in Cairo at rush hour can't be that hard. You're just standing still. You do get to practice your hornblowing skills. But for some reason, blowing the horn doesn't help to get the traffic moving.
I'm originally from Toronto, Canada but have been living in Paris for the last 20 years. I generally travel back to the US/Canada every few months, but I'm so used to Paris driving that every time I go back it just feels weird driving there! That said, I think in Paris everybody understands when you cut ppl off or get cut off - it's just about making the best use of road space at a given moment and therefore ppl don't take things personally as much as they do in the US or Canada. There is a traffic code, but sometimes you need to liberally use your judgment! But this is the same for all Paris Road users and this in itself is a sort of code I guess!
The " blinker thing" is very common in France. Even the cops do it! 😂 This is the explanation: DO YOU HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR INDICATOR WHEN OVERTAKING ANOTHER CAR? Whatever road you are driving on, you must signal that you are about to overtake another vehicle by triggering the left indicator. If you intend to stay in the left lane for a while, so you can outpace the flow of cars on the right, turn off the turn signal. On the other hand, if you intend to move into the right-hand lane after overtaking the vehicle, keep the left turn signal on throughout the overtaking period, then, when you decide to move into the right-hand lane, trigger the right turn signal. After changing lanes, remember to turn off the turn signal. ( Thx Google) And no, you're not crazy for taking your car to Paris. Even if it can be intimidating at first, once you're in the flow, and you drive with the flow, it's ok. ps: Stay away from Brussel City Center! ( LEZ, 30 km/h, cars banned from the city center, no parking, ...) Bonne route from Herne, Belgium! ( Paul Navez, retired, 62, former CS Engineer with over 1M Km on the counter after 35 years on the road)
We keep the left signal on on the left lane if the car in front of us is still slow on that lane telling him to be on the right lane if he gon be slow on the left lane lol
1:10 a 2 door Land Cruiser wished they sold this in America or at least still made it. I remember seeing a whole bunch of these in my Bahrain/Saudi/UAE trip a few years ago
I've been to France, but I never driven on the streets in cities or driven on the autoroutes. Went to Le Havre in northern France. I watched something on France 24 English about how the French drive. They are wild drivers and the streets (rue is French for street) look confusing. Driving in and around a city centre is crazy. If I was in France, I will be scared to death. I got to live there and get used to driving in a European country like France. The Arc de Triomphe is a challenge, but I got to get used to that. Plus, if you park your car on the side of a street, people in cars will squeeze between your car and someone else's car. And people will push your car out of a parking space and park their car there in a parking garage. They will do it, if you don't put the parking break on. And people can park their cars on the sidewalk in some cities and villages. And as for driving on the autoroutes in France, I know about the French drivers driving in the overtaking lane and slow lane with blinkers on. That is a bad habit. Maybe they are doing it on purpose. I don't know. In Le Havre, someone whizzed pass me on a bicycle while walking on a sidewalk through a part of the city. Went through that in the Flemish Region in northern Belgium. Someone told me not to move to France because it is a mess. Well, I thought about it, Kerleem. Countries have their problems and America has its problems. I am not going to let wild French drivers drive me away from France. France is a beautiful country. It is a waste if I learn French, learn the metric system, learn about driving through roundabouts and on the autoroutes for nothing. Give Way to traffic at the roundabout Cedez Le Passage (Yield or Give Way) No Overtaking peage (toll) Just learning, Kerleem. vive la france vive la republique francaise 110 km/h [RAPPEL] - on the autoroute
4:58 They do this cuz that’s supposed to be the rule in France. U’re supposed to keep ur left turn signal on till u’re finished passing. But I think this rule was created when highways had fewer lanes than now and traffic volume was lower and they probably never updated that rule. Most ppl don’t follow it anymore as it can lead to confusion when the highway has more than 2 lanes (or even when they r just 2 lanes u could think that someone wants to overtake u just to find out they left their signal on).
French here. I agree that in Paris you need both aggressiveness and calm, which is a bit confusing. Basically you will get through some places much better if you can make a quick acceleration, and let others avoid you (not saying be dangerous), than going too slowly and blocking everyone. On the other hand sometimes, either because you screwed up or because there is too much traffic, you will go slow, maybe block others, then patience is king, and not getting upset if others honk at you. In theory it's illegal to stop in the middle of intersections so if a green light will probably turn red with you in the middle, you should stop at the green. Many locals won't do this and instead block the intersection...
Would you recommend renting a car at the Charles de Gaulle airport and driving to Mont St. Michel or taking a train to Caen and renting a car from there? Is it hard for an American to drive out and into Paris?
If you pick up a car at the airport and immediately drive away from the center of Paris, I think it’s doable. The Paris airport is far enough outside of the city and close to major highways. Driving within the city of Paris is chaotic and not for the faint of heart.
You should really go to Italy, I have been at 3 lane traffic lights, cars just squeeze in-between other car so you are 7 cars wide at a 3 lane road. When it is green everyone is just flooring it because at the other end of intersection is still just a 3 lane road. You better have one of the three fastest cars otherwise you have to back out. And streets can be truly small, it always looks like your car don't fit but it for some reason always does.
Some weird thing I noticed in France is that when they see someone approaching in the left lane and they’re in the right lane. They’ll just throw their car in the left lane to pass another car. They don’t even wait for the faster car in the left lane to pass. This is so annoying.
I once caught myself in the city centre of Paris, re-directed by roadworks, in a 25 year old Volvo with a 30 year old Volvo on a trailer behind it. It was not a fun experience, but somehow me and the cars got through there undamaged. Paris certainly isn't for the faint of heart!
@@Kerleem still not sure how, but I did. And so did the cars. The one on the trailer came from Spain and is now happily on yellow plates as my daily driver
For sure, I drive in Naples and the winding roads in the mountains going to the Amalfi coast where it is very narrow and the edge of the cliff is right there. I’m Italian-Canadian BTW.
@@Kerleem I was taught that a roundabout is indicated by the roundabout sign. This sign tells you that traffic on the roundabout has right of way. A traffic circle is effectively a regular one way street that happens to be circular. At least this is what they taught me in the Netherlands when I was taking driving lessons.
Am I crazy for driving in these city centers? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
The use of the blinker used te be mandatory in France when you want to stay in de overtake lane, it hasn’t been mandatory for years but especially the older drivers are still used to do it
Ah I see
@@Kerleem What's next? Here's a challenge for you: Take the eurotunnel to England and drive on the wrong side of the road! It don't even has te be in Londen ;-)
Just came back from France (again)..
Couple of things:
- driving in Paris is both annoying and fun. When you want to challenge yourself it can be really awarding.
- although it's getting less, the leave indicator on during overtaking, is still used a lot. On a two lane road it's okayish, but on a multi lane I don't like it a all because it's confusing.
- majority of Frenchies don't use their indicator when about to exit a roundabout: total and utter shit behavior!
- many Frenchies are unaware of the right lane on a multi lane road: total and utter shit behavior! The amount of times I undertook cars because it was queueing on the left and middle lane, but empty on the right is astounding!!!
- a lot of Frenchies are afraid to turn on their lights in a tunnel: total and utter shit behavior!
- especially in Paris: be aware of two-wheelers everywhere! Watch your mirrors and leave room on the side of the car. Quite often you will get passes, pretty much in your lane, by doing double the speed.
Concluding; French is great, but their drivers need to become better.
Haha you’re spot on!!
Did you drive the GMC there??
@@Kerleem nope, took the company car.
Truck's not yet ready for a 3K+ two weeks round-trip.
can you do uk next ?
Yeah I’ve been wanting to do a video in the UK for a long time but it keeps getting delayed. I’m going there next month but I don’t know if I’ll have time for a video 🧐
we’ll see!
The blinker thing can mean two things:
If there is a car in front it means: Get the fuck to the right I want to take you over.
If there is a car behind: Sorry, I have seen you but I want to take over an other car. (it kind of implies he will go to the right after the take over manoeuvre.)
Haha either way, nowhere else does this from what I’ve seen. Germans flash their headlights to say “GTFO my way!”
Where I live no one knows how correctly drive in roundabouts. As a punishment they should be sent to Paris.
Haha they wouldn’t survive!!
Where is that and how can you not know how to use a roundabout?
In France there are thousands of kilometers "route national" roads which have in most cases 2 lanes (1 per direction). By leaving the blinker on when overtaking you make it more clear to oncoming traffic that you are on the left lane. I guess it's a habbit they picked up and also use on the freeway.
By the way, I have seen this been doing also in Spain and Italy.
Interesting. Yes I can see this being useful on smaller single lane roads when passing
Here in Spain they use turn signal to tell the pedestrian to gross the road. I never noticed that elsewhere.
@@verttikoo2052 what?? How does that even work?
@@Kerleem When you want to cross a street and you see a car coming. You hesitate to go forward and you see the driver blink the turn signal you know that he is going to stop so you can proceed. It is quite nice gesture.
Funny thing in Paris : most (if not all) insurance companies have a disclosure specifically for the massive roundabouts in Paris : if you have an accident there, it's 50/50 for each driver, no matter what, even with a dashcam, or clear distracted driving, etc...
Yeah I’ve heard about this! It’s automatic no-fault 🤣
Sure is a challenge to drive in Paris! Occasionally I could see how it would be satisfying, but there is a reason a lot of Parisians chose to not have a car. Thanks for the video and insights, it’s interesting to see the opinion of someone who comes from a country with a very different driving culture.
Yeah if I lived there I wouldn’t do it regularly for sure.
When i learned to drive 12 years ago, it was mandatory to use your blinker on highways whenever you would pass someone or go back to the right lane. I believe it is to overtake more safely, if there is another car behind you ready to pass you, you basically tell them "be careful i'm gonna pass so wait for your turn to pass me". Maybe it could be seen as some sort of road courtesy
I get that but it’s strange. No where else does this.
@@Kerleem It seems so counterintuitive, and it wouldn't work on roads with more than two lanes per direction.
@@therealdutchidiot this is where it gets annoying, when you have peopel overtaking in the middle lane with their left blinker constantly on and ur not sure if they want to move over or if u can go past
Normally I don't subscribe to car/car enthusiasts channels because of the smug, hostility & entitlement mentality that comes out of it. I'm also *NOT* a car enthusiast.
But Kerleem you're the *exception.* I really appreciate the genuine honesty that comes out of you. I really appreciate the fact that you don't have nor display any kind of smug or entitlement mentality when talking about driving in cities or driving in general.
Car/car enthusiasts channels can be quite alienating, but there's none of that in your channel which maximizes the joyfulness of your videos & this channel for a lot more people especially for those who aren't into cars.
Because of this, it makes watching your videos easy to enjoy along with it being *insightful & informative.*
Anyways thanks a lot. And hello again from San Francisco!😀👍💯🌁
Wow great feedback! Thank you!
In Germany keeping the left turn signal on on a road that is one way is considered a disturbance and police may fine you. When you overtake on 2 way roads though you are supposed to keep the turn signal on till you switch back in your original lane 🤔
Yes that scenario makes sense. I Hope the French drivers don’t drive on the autobahns with their left turn signal on 😂
@@Kerleem well to be a actual disturbance they would have to tailgate the front vehicle until the front vehicle moves out the lane. If that is taken to the police the tailgating driver can be fined.
If you're up for an even bigger challange:
Fly to Cairo, rent a car, drive during rush hour, don't die.
Good luck 😃
Oh boy 😅
I have to work my way up to that one I’m sure!!
Driving in Cairo at rush hour can't be that hard. You're just standing still. You do get to practice your hornblowing skills. But for some reason, blowing the horn doesn't help to get the traffic moving.
I'm originally from Toronto, Canada but have been living in Paris for the last 20 years. I generally travel back to the US/Canada every few months, but I'm so used to Paris driving that every time I go back it just feels weird driving there! That said, I think in Paris everybody understands when you cut ppl off or get cut off - it's just about making the best use of road space at a given moment and therefore ppl don't take things personally as much as they do in the US or Canada. There is a traffic code, but sometimes you need to liberally use your judgment! But this is the same for all Paris Road users and this in itself is a sort of code I guess!
I agree!
Good point about not taking things personally, I do feel this is a problem in North America. Everyone thinks they own the road
The " blinker thing" is very common in France. Even the cops do it! 😂 This is the explanation:
DO YOU HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR INDICATOR WHEN OVERTAKING ANOTHER CAR?
Whatever road you are driving on, you must signal that you are about to overtake another vehicle by triggering the left indicator.
If you intend to stay in the left lane for a while, so you can outpace the flow of cars on the right, turn off the turn signal.
On the other hand, if you intend to move into the right-hand lane after overtaking the vehicle, keep the left turn signal on throughout the overtaking period, then, when you decide to move into the right-hand lane, trigger the right turn signal.
After changing lanes, remember to turn off the turn signal. ( Thx Google)
And no, you're not crazy for taking your car to Paris. Even if it can be intimidating at first, once you're in the flow, and you drive with the flow, it's ok.
ps: Stay away from Brussel City Center! ( LEZ, 30 km/h, cars banned from the city center, no parking, ...)
Bonne route from Herne, Belgium!
( Paul Navez, retired, 62, former CS Engineer with over 1M Km on the counter after 35 years on the road)
Thanks Paul that’s interesting!!
Parisians manage to drive there too. So why shouldn't you. 😂
Hahah exactly!
Done it several times: just stay calm, use blinkers and take your place on the road. Besides: not all streets are terribly busy.
Indeed!
Is this hard driving? Try to drive in Bogotá, Colombia at any time of the day and you will know what real reckless driving is.
Lol yeah I bet!
I’d love to try one day!
No I would be pissed if someone damaged my vehicle
Don’t park it in Paris then!
We keep the left signal on on the left lane if the car in front of us is still slow on that lane telling him to be on the right lane if he gon be slow on the left lane lol
lol I’ve seen this in Germany but I don’t think that’s how it was used when I saw it in France 😆
@@Kerleem Yeah it is haha
1:10 a 2 door Land Cruiser
wished they sold this in America or at least still made it. I remember seeing a whole bunch of these in my Bahrain/Saudi/UAE trip a few years ago
Yeah! Because they wouldn’t appeal to the mass market in America to justify sales 😔😔
Thank you very much for the video and the very useful information. Something I wanted to ask if there are tolls on the Amsterdam Paris route?
Thanks for watching. Yes there are tolls in France. Many highways (autoroutes) in France have tolls. You can pay easily with a credit card.
@@Kerleem Thanks for the info and the quick reply.☺️. one more thing please, do I need a special document to drive my car in the center of Paris?
@@tomix2013 not that I’m aware of
@@Kerleem thanks
Bro!!! have you driven in India? You will reevaluate everything.
I haven’t!
@@Kerleem Its everything you described in Paris... but no body follows the rules!
I've been to France, but I never driven on the streets in cities or driven on the autoroutes. Went to Le Havre in northern France. I watched something on France 24 English about how the French drive. They are wild drivers and the streets (rue is French for street) look confusing. Driving in and around a city centre is crazy. If I was in France, I will be scared to death. I got to live there and get used to driving in a European country like France. The Arc de Triomphe is a challenge, but I got to get used to that. Plus, if you park your car on the side of a street, people in cars will squeeze between your car and someone else's car. And people will push your car out of a parking space and park their car there in a parking garage. They will do it, if you don't put the parking break on. And people can park their cars on the sidewalk in some cities and villages. And as for driving on the autoroutes in France, I know about the French drivers driving in the overtaking lane and slow lane with blinkers on. That is a bad habit. Maybe they are doing it on purpose. I don't know. In Le Havre, someone whizzed pass me on a bicycle while walking on a sidewalk through a part of the city. Went through that in the Flemish Region in northern Belgium. Someone told me not to move to France because it is a mess. Well, I thought about it, Kerleem. Countries have their problems and America has its problems. I am not going to let wild French drivers drive me away from France. France is a beautiful country. It is a waste if I learn French, learn the metric system, learn about driving through roundabouts and on the autoroutes for nothing.
Give Way to traffic at the roundabout
Cedez Le Passage (Yield or Give Way)
No Overtaking
peage (toll)
Just learning, Kerleem.
vive la france
vive la republique francaise
110 km/h [RAPPEL] - on the autoroute
Thanks for watching!
I live in USA
Thanks for watching! What do you find most different or interesting about driving in Europe, as an American?
4:58 They do this cuz that’s supposed to be the rule in France. U’re supposed to keep ur left turn signal on till u’re finished passing. But I think this rule was created when highways had fewer lanes than now and traffic volume was lower and they probably never updated that rule. Most ppl don’t follow it anymore as it can lead to confusion when the highway has more than 2 lanes (or even when they r just 2 lanes u could think that someone wants to overtake u just to find out they left their signal on).
Yeah it’s a dumb rule honestly
French here. I agree that in Paris you need both aggressiveness and calm, which is a bit confusing. Basically you will get through some places much better if you can make a quick acceleration, and let others avoid you (not saying be dangerous), than going too slowly and blocking everyone. On the other hand sometimes, either because you screwed up or because there is too much traffic, you will go slow, maybe block others, then patience is king, and not getting upset if others honk at you. In theory it's illegal to stop in the middle of intersections so if a green light will probably turn red with you in the middle, you should stop at the green. Many locals won't do this and instead block the intersection...
Exactly!!
Would you recommend renting a car at the Charles de Gaulle airport and driving to Mont St. Michel or taking a train to Caen and renting a car from there? Is it hard for an American to drive out and into Paris?
If you pick up a car at the airport and immediately drive away from the center of Paris, I think it’s doable. The Paris airport is far enough outside of the city and close to major highways.
Driving within the city of Paris is chaotic and not for the faint of heart.
Letting our left blinkers is actually to tell people crusing in the middle line to get out of the way
Hahah you should try flashing high beams instead 😂
@@Kerleem not sure they would understand sadly
You should really go to Italy, I have been at 3 lane traffic lights, cars just squeeze in-between other car so you are 7 cars wide at a 3 lane road.
When it is green everyone is just flooring it because at the other end of intersection is still just a 3 lane road. You better have one of the three fastest cars otherwise you have to back out.
And streets can be truly small, it always looks like your car don't fit but it for some reason always does.
Yeah I drove a bit in Rome last week (didn’t film). It was crazy! And yeah they just make lanes!
Great summary, I’d also add, most people drive manual and you rarely ever see any accidents even with all that chaos.
Indeed! I did a video on manuals. Check it out on my channel
Some weird thing I noticed in France is that when they see someone approaching in the left lane and they’re in the right lane. They’ll just throw their car in the left lane to pass another car. They don’t even wait for the faster car in the left lane to pass. This is so annoying.
🤣 yeah I have seen that from time to time.
After driving in many crazy cities in Africa, I will conquer Paris soon.
Good for you!
Very beautiful Paris🇫🇷
Definitely!
I once caught myself in the city centre of Paris, re-directed by roadworks, in a 25 year old Volvo with a 30 year old Volvo on a trailer behind it. It was not a fun experience, but somehow me and the cars got through there undamaged. Paris certainly isn't for the faint of heart!
Wow! And you lived to tell about it! 🤣
@@Kerleem still not sure how, but I did. And so did the cars. The one on the trailer came from Spain and is now happily on yellow plates as my daily driver
What’s your opinion on driving in Rome?
It was unique. I wish I did a video on it (will have to go back) but it was crazier than Paris for sure.
For sure, I drive in Naples and the winding roads in the mountains going to the Amalfi coast where it is very narrow and the edge of the cliff is right there. I’m Italian-Canadian BTW.
Your reason is why i am going to try driving in asia in a few months
Good luck!
Next try driving in athens greece :D
haha I can't wait to experience that!
Congrats on 1 million views 😊
You are a bit early he is at 26 views
@@buddy1155 The total number of views from all of the videos on the channel is over 1 million.
Let’s get this video to 1M views! 😂
French drivers are agressive too
Lol yeah true
Technically Place Etoile is not a roundabout. Cars driving around Arc de Triomphe have to give way to oncoming traffic.
Yeah but it’s effectively a roundabout right? Just the right of way is reversed.
@@Kerleem I was taught that a roundabout is indicated by the roundabout sign. This sign tells you that traffic on the roundabout has right of way. A traffic circle is effectively a regular one way street that happens to be circular. At least this is what they taught me in the Netherlands when I was taking driving lessons.
@@Bloemplantstuifmeel true
What’s the song in the beginning?
Some UA-cam studio generic song. I don’t remember which one
@@Kerleem awesome thanks