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Home - City Guide - Avignon - Road | ||
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Road Motorways bear the prefix 'A' and national roads 'N'. Minor roads are classed as 'D' roads. Traffic drives on the right and drivers must give way to the right, unless the route is marked with Passage ProtÉgÉ signs (a broad arrow, a yellow diamond or an 'X' on a triangular background) or if the driver is at a roundabout indicating vous n'avez pas la prioritÉ. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by a central reservation, 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Seat belts must be worn by all front- and rear-seat passengers. Under-tens may not travel in the front seat. A national driving licence, the car's registration document and a red warning triangle must be carried at all times. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving by use of beam deflectors or by tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%. EU nationals taking their own cars to France are strongly advised to obtain a Green Card, without which insurance cover is limited to the minimum legal cover in France. The Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the car owner's domestic policy. Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF) (tel: (08) 36 68 31 12) is responsible for the southern France motorway network and produces free maps with information in English (available at Avignon Tourist Office). Tolls (pÉages) are enforced. The motorway network number (tel: (04) 91 78 78 78) provides information on traffic conditions and driving regulations in southeastern France. Traffic conditions are broadcast on RadioTrafic 107.7FM. Emergency telephones linked up to the police are located every two kilometres (0.6 miles) on each side of the motorway. Emergency breakdown service: Garage CATTO (04) 90 82 16 11 Routes to the city: The motorways A7 (direction: Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Nice and Italy) and A9 (direction: Paris and Spain) are located seven and ten kilometres (four and six miles) from central Avignon (north and southwest respectively). Driving times to Avignon: from Marseilles - 1 hour 10 minutes; Barcelona - 4 hours 30 minutes; Paris - 7 hours 10 minutes. Coach services: The coach station, gare routière, boulevard St-Roch (tel: (04) 90 82 07 35) serves the Vaucluse department (including Aix, l'Isle/Sorgue, Nîmes, Carpentras and Cavaillon). International services to Brussels, Morocco, London, Prague, Italy and Spain also depart from here. The Tourist Office provides information on the independent companies operating from the coach station; tickets are purchased from the driver. |