# Toll roads



## 95409 (Jun 11, 2005)

Hi all,we will be heading to france next month to Bordeaux area and am going to use the toll roads however can someone tell me how you physically use them? e.g. payments,tickets etc
cheers
n


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## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

Most tolls are undertaken as follows.... Go through a barrier and take a ticket from the machine. There are several ticket slots for different height vehicles and if you are RHD, the missus will have to do the donkey work. At your chosen departure point, you hand in the ticket and either pay in euros or by credit card. Make sure you go through the right barrier on the big tolls because some are reserved for special passes and some are self serve which may be a bit daunting. Sometimes there is a little logo light of a man which means a human interface. Green crosses denote access while red denots that lane is shut.

FOr more info and prices and a lot more go to

http://www.autoroutes.fr/voyage/itineraires.php?lng=2

but as an afterthought perhaps the home page here first

http://www.autoroutes.fr/index.php?lng=2


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## 94639 (May 1, 2005)

Hi braddos

You might want to take notice of this warning which has been posted on other websites.

Be careful of the latest nasty way of obtaining money by on the spot fine in France & Spain.
Do not move your vehicle AT ALL when collecting or paying at toll booths until you ALL have your seat belt fastened,
Two of my friends were caught by the passenger undoing her belt to reach for the ticket and the driver pulling away before she had it back on, They did not move more than one wheel rotation when out stepped the cop, The fine £68. no argument.

Better safe than sorry, have a great trip and a safe journey


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Ooo - that's nasty. Thanks for the warning, Brian.

G


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## 95409 (Jun 11, 2005)

great help many thanks


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi Braddos,

Another thing worth mentioning is you will never get asked for a signature when paying by card, you will just be given back your card along with the receipt.

If you do pay by card then its standard for several small toll amounts to be added together and charged as one total payment to your bill when you return.

Some toll booths close to the Ports have a UK friendly ticket collection point on the Right hand side for convenience for RHD vehicles.

Have a great holiday,

pete.


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## 97662 (Feb 11, 2006)

il be heading down the same routh on sunday,how do you work out the price for motorways?there is no motorhomes,do i select,car,truck,or mini bus,mines a 7 berth merc superbrig,i tried minibus and it came back as 110euro  think il chance staying off them at that price,or am i wrong?i was looking to cover big miles as the ferry leaves ireland at 9am,gave myself 9 hours to get to folkstown,then only stoping for diesel in france ontill i get to bordeaux 8O drinking five hundred cups of coffee on routh 8O


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## smokingdragon (Apr 27, 2006)

Hi 

With regards to moving without a seat belt at the peage, I've now seen this at first hand. There was a copper on the front of each toll booth waiting for movement!! So we took our time.

Cheers

Simon 8)


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## desertsong (Mar 8, 2006)

Hello Braddos,

I have been using this road, (the A10) since 1988 as we have a house just outside Bordeaux. In my experience there are times to use the motorway and times to avoid it. It depends what you are trying to acheive. In August it is hell. I would take the Route National or Bis on the sign post. 

If you are travelling from Devon, you would probably go from Plymouth - Roscoff, very straightforward, or Portsmouth - Cherbourg, just as good. Both roads take you to Rennes, then Nantes, Niort and down to Bordeaux.

The advice above from other members is all good advice, stop at the péage, toll booth, the ticket will appear and off you go. It is calculated on the distance you have travelled when you get off. 

In all that time, although I have seen gendarmerie standing at the péage, I have never personally seen nor heard of anyone getting a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. I have had advice from the gendarmerie in the past with regard to my speed being in miles rather than kilometres and a defective light bulb, which they seemed quite heated about. This, despite the gendarmerie is sixty yards from the house and they know the car and us.

If you need to use to services, use the motorway, if you don't, I'd use the RN road everytime, not just because of the charges, but because of the variation and seeing the places you are going through. Also, if you want to eat, there are plenty of places to stop. If you see loads of trucks and a Les Routier sign, that's a good deal. Or just stock up at a supermarket like Leclerc, Super U or Intermarché.

Anyway, whatever you do, wherever you go, enjoy it. If you want to ask anything specific about Bordeaux or the area, send me a pm and if I know the answer, I will tell you.

Willie


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## 95409 (Jun 11, 2005)

thanks for the great advice however we are going dover calais due to the cost factor involving brittany ferries.was going to use toll roads as think maybe the other roads might be bit hard going in our 1.9td


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

One thing that seems to have been overlooked it all the good advice above is don't be tempted to exceed speed limits on the autoroutes,(unlikely in a motorhome and halts). Your toll ticket is also used to calculate your average speed of the journey and if you have exceeded the speed limits expect the police to be called.

peedee


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## devonidiot (Mar 10, 2006)

In May we went to the Loire valley via Brittany Ferries Plymouth/Roscoff and had to pay the extortionate price of £400. I thought it would be better as we wanted to spend as much of the trip as possible touring the area, not spending a lot of time driving.

It does seem odd having to pay a premium for a m/home under 6 metres on ferries which were half empty. But when I calculated the cost of travelling to Dover then the travel from Calais, possibe tolls then the strain and time constraints involved, being the only driver, it became more of a necessity.

We don't like to travel more than a couple of hundred miles per day with a day off in between, therefore a long trip means having plenty of time for any trip.


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