Driving in France

[MikeGMT]

Depends on what type of lights you have wether there is a option in the menu.

[Rex65]

Originally Posted by Astraeus

Where is the option to switch headlights for driving in Europe please?

If you have active xenon headlights there is no adjustment required.

[chrisfr]

Originally Posted by husky125

New to this site and find this all interesting as I have just purchased a XC 60
D5 se lux premium and have had misleading informaation from the dealer on the lights. They said that as there was no button on the dash I did not have active lights and to switch sides the lamps had to be removed, but as stated by others mine can be switched from the main menu !
Also if using a ferry and it is a rough crossing you can cancel the motion part of the alarm also on the main menu.This appears to reset to normal full alarm next time you use the car.

I had exactly the same problem with volvo claiming ( volvo customer services and also the dealer said the same) that the active bending headlights on my xc60 had a software solution to change from left hand to right hand traffic. Also they said the beam was flat and complied with european regs anyway.
After i purchased the car and took it back to france, i took it into a french mot station to check the above. This was because on the trip back to france we had fog, and i could clearly see the beam pointing towards the left hand side which meant it blinded the oncoming traffic.
So the mot guy showed me the beam in his headlight testing machine and it was a clear fail. The beam pointed left, and it was upturned to iluminate the lh curb. After further investigations i found out that the european headlight for rh traffic had a different part number and the headlights would have to be replaced at a cost of 1800 euros. These headlights in the same machine pointed right and were upturned on the rh curb and were a pass. The active main beam headlights have a change over to rh traffic via the meanu, but active dipped beam headlights like mine dont. Dont ask me why.
On the subject of gendarmes, there are certain times of day and times of the month you need to be extra careful. Gendarmes are paid a monthly bonus for tickets. If they have not reached bonus by the end of the month you will see a few road blocks at choke points on the last few days of the month. The roads chosen will switch from day to day. The stops will involve breathaliser and car inspections. For tourists it will also be a check your headlights comply( have you got deflectors) and you can argue all you like that you dont need them, but as they cant test them you will still get a ticket if they want to be difficult. Usually they will just flag you on and pull in the french. Make sure you have high viz jackets for all passengers.
On the time of day it will be just after lunch, that you will get road blocks or evening.
There is another silly law in france now about tyres. They have to be the same make on each axle. So a michelin and a Goodyear on the same axle is a no no. I know it does not matter in the uk. Watch out a traffic lights if following a lorry which blocks your veiw of the lights. Even if the lights were green you may get flagged down by a motorcycle cop claiming you went through a red light. The other one is when you come to a stop sign at a junction, count to four before moving off. This is a ninety euro fine. We have cops hiding behind trees counting how long you stop for and then leaping out infront of you if you move before four seconds.
Nobody uses the brethaliser self test kits anymore, so dont bother buying them on the ferry. You cant even buy them over here in france. Remember , any village its 50km even if the approach sign says 70. Other roads are 90. If its raining the speed drops by 10km. Around schools and town halls its usually 30 km. Dont be bullied by the french to speed up. Usually the french will try to overtake you even if they are on a skateboard. Let them.
Watch out for the people who drift over the center line,( usually on corners) hold your line and they will move back. Its a chicken thing they do with tourists. Exception to that is lorries, as they just do what they want to.
Roundabouts, don't mean you have right of way like in the uk. Silly I know but true.Treat it as check twice and then manouver, and you won't go far wrong.
A dash cam is a very good idea. If you have a sat nav which warns about speed cameras disable the function in the menu as that is a hefty fine in France. Gendarmes will look for this if they stop you.
I have driven on french roads for the last ten years and mostly its a good experience, but you can get caught out.

[1monkey600]

Different also depending on year. Check the manual for your car.

For xc60 MY 2014
Quote:
"Headlamps - adjusting headlamp pattern

If the car is equipped with active Xenon head- lamps and has the Active High Beam function then the headlamp pattern must be reset when changing from right to left-hand traffic, and vice versa.
Active Xenon headlamps*
No adjustment of the headlamp pattern is necessary for cars without the Active High Beam* function. The headlamp pattern is designed in such a way that oncoming traffic is not dazzled.
Headlamp pattern adjustment is required for cars with Active High Beam. The car must be stationary with the engine running when the headlamp pattern is shifted between right and left-hand traffic.
The headlamp pattern is changed in the menu system MY CAR, see MY CAR (p. 112).
Halogen headlamps
No adjustment of the headlamp pattern is necessary. The headlamp pattern is designed in such a way that oncoming traffic is not dazzled."

For MY2013 with halogen, though, the manual states you must use stickers and gives drawings of size and position.

Out of interest - on my MY2016 xc70 with ABL xenons I have to physically remove the headlights from the car and pull a little lever to change them from rh to lh pattern. Only takes 2-3 mins per side though.

[chrisfr]

Yep,absolutly right. However volvo dont have a clue which of the instructions apply to your car even if they have the reg and vin number. Incredible but true. I have beaten the subject to death with volvo customer services. It depends on what is fitted to the car, what software you have and if you have a little lever at the back of your headlights.
My dealer was also totally clueless even thought they had the car infront of them. They came up with ,no you cant do it, to yes you can do it and then finally settled on maybe you can/ cant do it!
I already factored the price of changing the headlights into buying the car and shipping it to france.
Another incredible fact is that you cannot change the speedo to kph. You just have a tiny little digital display activated by the function stalk.
Why is it on a car that probably has more electronics on board than a space shuttle and can probably tell if you have broken wind and therefor turn the aircon up a notch, you cannot have a simple change over function to kph. You can get any of the other units in metric but not the speedo. This is basic function you would expect from a premium car.

[Astraeus]

Thanks. I think some helpful members have established that the MY14 I have purchased has halogens so it looks as though there is no adjustment required.

[1monkey600]

Originally Posted by chrisfr

?...........
Another incredible fact is that you cannot change the speedo to kph. You just have a tiny little digital display activated by the function stalk.
Why is it on a car that probably has more electronics on board than a space shuttle and can probably tell if you have broken wind and therefor turn the aircon up a notch, you cannot have a simple change over function to kph. You can get any of the other units in metric but not the speedo. This is basic function you would expect from a premium car.

Totally agree with you. You are able to instantly check what fuel consumption, distance to go on a tank, average speeds, odometer reading and trip metres in miles, kilometers, etc, but can't change the main speedo on the digital dash (you were actually better off with the analogue dash because you could at least get a fairly large digital kph readout in centre dash as a secondary display).

My belgian spec xc70 with digital dash didn't even have the little secondary display you mention, activated when I bought it. It took a couple of months with my local Service Manager talking to volvo BE, volvo Germany and volvo Sweden before we found out that the Belgian importers decided that having the little mph window was a waste of their time even though the handbook, in all three local languages, said it was available. Anyway, in the end we found that it could be switched on within VIDA.

While trying to find a solution to the secondary display issue I was told, and this may be of interest to you chrisfr, that it is easy enough to change the display from 'European' to UK spec, or vice versa with a small software install (paid of course!). In my case 90% of driving is done on the continent though, so left it in 'European' spec with the secondary mph readout now working for trips back to UK.

[NigelDay]

Deleted. Question already answered above.

[The Thong]

Originally Posted by Slickfingers

I was travelling on the Hull - Rotterdam in March this year and over the years have done so many times. For the first time the Police were out in force (approx 15 - 20) and they breathalysed every single driver!! So those that like a little tipple on the overnight ferry, beware - fines in Holland can be extreme. That applies to speeding too. I have known friends caught speeding in Belgium who have been taken to the nearest cash point to pay rather heavy fines!

That happened to me in the 90’s on the same crossing. I was still a bit rough but my curry breath probably put the copper off going anywhere near me but a German fella had already been done who was drinking on the next table to us.


TT

[The Thong]

As mentioned above, my 2007 Civic had a MPH to Kilometres button on the dash, you pressed it and it switched the units over... Simples!! Why haven’t Volvo done this??

TT