Riding in France - licence requirements?

[BradW314]

Hi everyone, just a quick question, my friends and I are all 17 and have passed our full bike tests in the past 4 months. We are trying to book a holiday in the South of France for next summer when we will all be 18. What are the riding requirements for riding in France license wise as i have heard mixed things. Thanks very much

[Mikey10]

I rode over to Germany on a restricted license on my sv650 a couple of years back and everything was fine.
Do tell your insurer and make sure your covered for abroad and break down cover and all the bits of legal crap.

[Spank86]

Make sure you get an EHIC

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ehic&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

Plus actual health insurance would be handy, lot of European cover isn't quite at the standard of the NHS.

[BradW314]

Thanks for the help guys. Really appreciate it :)

[Serdna]

There are two important things to do;

Organise your insurance for Europe, vehicle including cover to bring ur bike home if needed and also health insurance.

And CALL YOUR BANK and let them know you will be riding all over Europe using ur debit card for fuel/food whatever. 2 days from the end of a 14 day trip last summer they blocked my account. By blocked i mean there was no way to unblock it from abroad!!!

Apart from that don't worry to much. Sort out your bikes, take enough money and let all the rest fall into place!

[DanSp]

One of the best pieces of travelling I ever heard is "lay out all your clothes and all your money, now pack half the clothes and take twice the money!!" :)


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[SVMAT]

+1 For international recovery. On a ride out to the Nurburgring last year I encountered a barrier on my 5th lap. Back wheel was prety much snapped in half and a the engine casing was badly cracked. Ended up renting a van for 650 Euro's to get my bike back lol. Was good fun but hurt my wallet quite substantially.

Most importantly make sure you hit the absynth and have a good time.

[Runako]

Most importantly make sure you hit the absynth and have a good time.

Lol +1

[Spank86]

I've heard stories about international recovery where they simply write off the bike due to the cost of shipping it, not sure how true that is but if you've got a low value bike you may want to check.

[Runako]

If the recovery is linked to your insurance then yes, they'll treat it like any other claim and assess the transport cost back before deciding whether to write it off. Separate recovery will not do this (e.g. RAC / AA etc).

Make sure you have all parts of your license (with the correct address). Carry some cash as an "endorsement buffer" (think In Betweeners). Do not drink and ride or ride hungover there. The limits are different and the very last thing you want is a French Gendarme smelling last nights drink!

As an added precaution, I also photocopied all documents and stored them in a separate place to the originals, just in case the worst happened and one set were lost or stolen. You'll love it though. Good luck.

[Spank86]

Oh yeah, in france only the police can recover you from the motorway and they do charge which you'll have to claim back from your insurance, you have been warned.

[BradW314]

Thanks for all the info guys, really helpful stuff :) I just feel sorry for my mate going on a '92 CBR400RR. Does sound the bo*****s though :D

[Bordtea]

What's the law ref restrictions in France? I presume if you're restricted to 33bhp in the UK then the same applies in the EU, as we hold EU driving licenses?

[BradW314]

That's a good point, does anyone know anything about that. Would be nice to ride un-restricted in the EU :)

[-Ralph-]

Separate recovery will not do this (e.g. RAC / AA etc)

Barrrp. No, I'm so sorry, thats not the right answer, lets take a look at what you could have won! ;-)

Read your individual policy documents carefully.


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[Luckypants]

What's the law ref restrictions in France? I presume if you're restricted to 33bhp in the UK then the same applies in the EU, as we hold EU driving licenses?

That's a good point, does anyone know anything about that. Would be nice to ride un-restricted in the EU :)You have to drive / ride in accordance with your licence. So if you have a power limit on your licence then stick to it. Riding / driving outside your licence entitlements also have insurance implications should the worst happen.

On the subject of insurance, if you have comprehensive cover make sure it extends to Europe as comprehensive, some will only give 3rd party abroad.

[Runako]

Barrrp. No, I'm so sorry, thats not the right answer, lets take a look at what you could have won! ;-)

Read your individual policy documents carefully.


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Mr Ralph, they do recover your vehicle. Yes there are conditions. Why didn't you take the opportunity to point this out?

If the bike is worth £500 but it'll cost £1000 to get back to the UK then they may not transport it. But this needs further explanation.

RAC European Cover requires you to notify your insurer of a claim. They will then assess the loss and decide if repairs should be done abroad or if it should be repatriated. Otherwise (for TPFT) its at the company's discretion, assuming this provision is in the T&C's.

Other policies specifically cover repatriation. But it goes without saying read the terms and conditions carefully.

[-Ralph-]

If the recovery is linked to your insurance then yes, they'll treat it like any other claim and assess the transport cost back before deciding whether to write it off. Separate recovery will not do this (e.g. RAC / AA etc).

Mr Runako, your post is incorrect and misleading. Many 'Separate recovery' companies will put conditions around the value of the vehicle, and many if the value is less than the cost of recovery will not repatriate it.

Incorrect, end of, nothing to discuss, nothing else to point out. Goodnight.

[Runako]

Mr Runako, your post is incorrect and misleading. Many 'Separate recovery' companies will put conditions around the value of the vehicle, and many if the value is less than the cost of recovery will not repatriate it.

Incorrect, end of, nothing to discuss, nothing else to point out. Goodnight.

Well, i did expand on this point. But again, you could offer the OP the benefit of your knowledge on this. Tell him what to expect if it helps.

By the way, I speak from experience. I arranged specifically to have repatriation coverage whilst travelling around France last year & I read my policy. It covered a specific amount far in excess of my SV's value. It was not linked to my insurance. Again, I was specific in my request for this as it was my first European trip. So in my case it wasn't wrong.

I hope this helps the OP.

[-Ralph-]

You read your policy on your first European trip. The one policy you have read and used covered you. That is not speaking from experience and doesn't give you the knowledge you need to catagorically state that 'separate recovery' policies cover you.

My wife is French and I've travelled to and fro on a regular basis for 12 years now.

I have been in a situation where my car was stuck in France for 3 months awaiting repair and even the manufacturer couldn't get it repatriated and had to pay me to go back and get it once fixed.

You complain that I haven't given any advice. Well even if that were true let me tell you that no advice is loads better than incorrect advice! Its not true of course as the best advice I can give, I gave in my first post, which is read the T&C's of your policy very carefully.

Neither do I feel the need to answer the OP's original question on licensing as it has already been quite correctly answered by others in the thread. As soon as the OP has a question where I can make a helpful and accurate contribution, I'll be the first to pipe up.

Now stop trying to be smart, accept that what you posted was totally wrong and unless you know what your talking about you should keep the trap shut, and move on. I even made light of my correction, making it a friendly jest, with a game show phrase and a winking smiley, and you still got your knickers in a twist!

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[Runako]

Now stop trying to be smart, accept that what you posted was totally wrong and unless you know what your talking about you should keep the trap shut, and move on. I even made light of my correction, making it a friendly jest, with a game show phrase and a winking smiley, and you still got your knickers in a twist!


Whoah there, don't stress out. I don't think the OP wants me to get out the big guns (that is, my policy document which states exactly what I said in my post) as its possibly the most boring read for a 17 year old or anyone on a forum. I would even say "lets agree to disagree" but you'd rather just be you so well done, you win.

[Spank86]

One policy includes recovery no matter the bike value, that's not the same as they all sod. Which is the point Ralph and I were trying to make.

He may not need to read your policy since what it says is irrelevant to him but he certainly needs to check his before he buys it, no point getting that sort of recovery on a bike that is worth less than the repatriation cost.

[Runako]

One policy includes recovery no matter the bike value, that's not the same as they all sod. Which is the point Ralph and I were trying to make.

He may not need to read your policy since what it says is irrelevant to him but he certainly needs to check his before he buys it, no point getting that sort of recovery on a bike that is worth less than the repatriation cost.

Hey, no problem. That's fine. My point was equally straightforward. Some European Recovery policies do include repatriation. Its equally untrue that none do. I specifically requested this and this is what I got. Reading the t&c's is always good advice but giving a true example is also ok. And to be clear, this policy did not have a limit connected to the insured value of the bike. There was a limit which exceeded this value.

[Spank86]

Have you mentioned anywhere who you went with?

[Runako]

Do I need to?

Before this goes any further, I'm trying to be civil. Perhaps this isn't the thread for settling pointless discussions. I'll say that I'm happy to recommend this type of cover and the provider if anyone is interested.

[Spank86]

Well it might help if the guy (or someone else) is looking for a company that will provide the service with that level of cover.

The link to bike value with the policies i scouted were the reason I never went with it the last time I travelled.