# Avancez Jusqu'au Feu.



## CourtJester (Aug 26, 2009)

My SatNav (Garmin Dezl 560) had let me down. It took me down a near single track road. At the junction Where this road meets the main route, there is a set of traffic lights. 

They were on red. We waited, and waited, and did a bit more waiting but still red. The sign said, "Avancez jusqu'au feu". I knew what it meant but I didn't want to go right up to the lights as the road swings round in a tight U turn in order to join the main route.

Anyway, after more waiting, a young frenchman knocked on my window and said, in perfect english, that I needed to go right up to the lights in order for them to change! 
This I did and just managed to do the turn succesfully.

Has anyone else met these type of traffic lights before? Certainly a new one on me. (As for SatNavs, no use without pre-planning with a map).


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Blame satnav.  
Did you tell it you were in a motorhome . 8) 
Do you have route planning options?

I look on sat nav as an aid. Not a perfect tool.
If the route does not look right , don`t go on it.

Dave p


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## MiketheWelshman (May 1, 2005)

Never seen that one , where was it?


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

I love those words: "It took me down......"  

I haven't come across that sign yet but I did see this a couple of years ago - not seen one in the UK - a good idea I thought.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes, these count down to the green/amber are becoming more frequent around here. A very good idea in my opinion..!!

Ray.


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## CourtJester (Aug 26, 2009)

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Blame satnav.
> Did you tell it you were in a motorhome . 8)
> Do you have route planning options?
> 
> ...


Hello Dave. Yes, well no. I told it I was a 10 tonne Truck with a trailer! Honestly. It was part of the 'Route Planner' trip.
The SatNav is OK for a car, but set it for a motorhome or truck, and it will let you down. As I have said, maps for me from now on.



MiketheWelshman said:


> Never seen that one , where was it?


Hello Mike. It was on a trip between Hermanville to Broglie.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

raynipper said:


> Yes, these count down to the green/amber are becoming more frequent around here. A very good idea in my opinion..!!
> Ray.


In South Africa, and probably other large and less populated countries, they tend to retarmac roads, very long stretches at a time. They use a simple Stop/Go sign but often seen alongside it is another sign along the lines of "Waiting Time Approx 20 Minutes".

Oddly enough, nobody seems to get irritated about the wait.


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

I seem to remember a similar sign in Le Touquet, near the Airport, and possibly in French and English.
The Google image is blurry but I remember having to get very close before the lights would change.


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

The 'countdown' signs beside traffic lights are common in the far east and in London some pedestrian crossings now have them. I do wonder if our boy racer mentality would see them in quite the same light.
Alan


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## Sprinta (Sep 15, 2010)

tonyt said:


> I love those words: "It took me down......"
> 
> I haven't come across that sign yet but I did see this a couple of years ago - not seen one in the UK - a good idea I thought.


I don't go on the G for green

but the G in orange

:lol:


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

They are bloody irritating when the blockage in the road is only about 10 yards long . . . and you can see half a mile of clear road beyond!! :roll: 

Such temporary traffic lights used not to be mandatory in the UK, so you could use a bit of common sense - if you were at the front of the queue.

The law has now changed, and it is an offence to jump the lights, even at 4.00am when you can clearly see the road ahead is deserted for a mile or more!!! :roll: 

Dave


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

We have come across several of these instructions on lights around here and the countdown ones are commonly found at roadworks IMO they work well but I could easily see people using them like F1 if they wanted......

Mind they are still not perfect - at one set (about 200m in length) the traffic was still coming through for a considerable number of seconds even though the lights for us had changed to allow us to proceed if it was clear......

Just a reminder in France they do NOT change to green but to flashing amber - meaning *advance with care,* green does not appear.......

Dave


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

Just an update on the road sign in Le Touquet that directs you to get near to the traffic lights.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

rosalan said:


> The 'countdown' signs beside traffic lights are common in the far east and in London some pedestrian crossings now have them. I do wonder if our boy racer mentality would see them in quite the same light.
> Alan


Yes, why not just have 5 red lights that come on one after another and then suddenly go out? :lol:


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

CourtJester said:


> (As for SatNavs, no use without pre-planning with a map).


Absolute rubbish !!

You are still the driver, how can you blame a piece of equipment for you bad driving.

You are in charge of the vehicle, not the Sat Nav !!


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Those amber lights instead of green in France are known to us as "go if you want to" signs. Bit disconcerting the first few times before you get used to them. 

We have lights near us on a narrow bridge on a trunk road which are activated when you approach. However, they are also just at an entrance to a farm road. Have waited there several minutes until someone overtook me and activated the lights!! (Our roads up here are quite quiet  )

Sue


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

I feel I have to defend sat nav's..

Anybody can get a map out look for a road that goes from A - B and follow it. The good thing about sat nav's is you can turn off the long monotonous A- B road to go down roads you would never think of going down and it opens a whole new world of countryside, history and quaint villages...

Last year I helped a guy who was having trouble with the UV Joints on the drive shaft of his motor home and he needed a Fiat Garage near Toulouse, he said he was a retired long distance lorry driver that used to drive through France a lot, always down the same big road, guess what he was doing driving down the same big road in his motorhome.


I said don't you use a sat nav, he said no I don't trust them and I know where I am going, he then went on to say I have tried to find the Fiat garage but now I am lost, OK lets see where it is, did a google search on the Tom Tom Live and up came the various Fiat garages, he picked the one he wanted and Tom Tom took us straight there, no fuss no bother, he had been riding round in circles most of the morning, yet he was OK on the one main drag he had always gone up and down as a HGV driver..

His parting words along with "have this bottle of wine as thanks".. And hmm I will have to get one of those navigators, they are brilliant".

And they are.

ray.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

steco1958 said:


> CourtJester said:
> 
> 
> > (As for SatNavs, no use without pre-planning with a map).
> ...


So what are you to do if the sat nav tells you to turn into what appears to be a perfectly adequate 2 lane road which after a mile or so suddenly becomes a narrow single track road which then ends at a foot bridge over a railway line.*

1 - Stop before turning in and walk down the road to check it isn't going to suddenly halve in width and then become a footpath?

2 - Refuse to EVER follow the directions given by the sat nav "just in case" they may be wrong?

3 - Expect that as the road data has supposedly been surveyed and compiled by a supposedly competent and professional company it is accurate?

* It later turned out that some helpful so and so had removed the "No through road" sign, however how come the sat nav road database still though it was possible to use a foot bridge?

CJ's prior use of a road map would have shown the error in the database.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Another big vote here for sat navs.

I just laugh when I hear/read of people who say things like "my sat nav took me........."

It's an aid for goodness sake! It doesn't replace maps.

At times I even take advantage of their tendancy to use "surprise routes" - next time you're in rural France and looking for some excitement, try setting it to shortest route to your next destination - I bet you'll discover some hiiden gems.

I know, I know - it's OK for me to say that with my little van


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Stanner said:


> steco1958 said:
> 
> 
> > CourtJester said:
> ...


Hi.

There is nothing wrong with using a map as well as the sat nav if you feel happy with that and nobody should have to justify themselves for wanting to do that..

Likewise folk who just use sat nav's and have tremendous success with them do not not need to defend the use of them. And last of all folk who just use maps respect, but you will be missing out on a lot.

And the reason I use the sat nav is, I can't be arsed using a map and neither can Sandra, well her heads falling off half the time as she snores our way round Europe.. Well she does work hard and has to catch up on her sleep, just wish I could join her, Cough! but some ones got to navigate, Oh! that's the lady in the box.. Sorry. 

ray.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Ray wrote 

"Anybody can get a map out look for a road that goes from A - B and follow it. The good thing about sat nav's is you can turn off the long monotonous A- B road to go down roads you would never think of going down and it opens a whole new world of countryside, history and quaint villages... "

I am in favour of the judicious use of satnavs, but I cannot see how they can be used to find 'countryside, history and quaint villages', which are not POIs in any satnavs I have used. 

For that role I prefer a map, preferably with roads AND topographical features, because then from the info of the hills, water courses, woods, village sizes and layouts I have a pretty good idea what is down any road where I turn off.

I can also spend hours in the evening pouring over a good map or atlas - not a satnav. :roll: 

Geoff


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## CourtJester (Aug 26, 2009)

steco1958 said:


> CourtJester said:
> 
> 
> > (As for SatNavs, no use without pre-planning with a map).
> ...


It is because I am in charge of the vehicle that I will always use a map in future. If you (Steco1958) think it is 'absolute rubbish' to not trust a SatNav and 'absolute rubbish' to not check with a map before hand, then you must be tuppence short of a quid.

If a device directs me down a road that later turns out to be unsuitable, how do you know at the time without pre-planning on a map!!? And how is that bad driving?!!?

I would have thought that a good driver would be as aware as possible as to the route he was choosing to take. Thus pre-planning seems, no is, very sensible.

But then again it takes all sorts ...


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## ThursdaysChild (Aug 2, 2008)

Have to disagree with the "shortest distance " option. Miss Garmin has had me in awful trouble, helpfully taking me into village back streets whose widest traffic has always been the horse.

But I still love her - just to hear her pronounce foreign words.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

ThursdaysChild said:


> .....But I still love her - just to hear her pronounce foreign words.


Like "Site Europe" for that little shopping complex near Calais?


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

nicholsong said:


> I can also spend hours in the evening pouring over a good map or atlas - not a satnav. :roll:
> 
> Geoff


COUUGGHHANAL. Sorry what did you say?.

ray.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

I have come across those signs at traffic lights many times.

They are fine, no problems.

A Sst Nav is fine, very good especially navigating through towns and cities and finding Aires.

But as always treat with respect, we always check the route TT states with a map and generally do our own thing if we don't quite agree with him.


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## CourtJester (Aug 26, 2009)

zulurita said:


> ...especially navigating through towns and cities ...


Agreed,


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## babyrhino (Oct 19, 2006)

I came across one of those traffic light signs only this weekend - never seen one before but I've forgotten where it was already - somewhere in Carcassonne anyway. This one was interesting because there was a pedestrian crossing incorporated into the junction and, of course, you naturally stop just short of this to let people cross but that isn't close enough to change the lights! So maybe an instrcution to advance but to avoid knocking over pedestrians would be in order!


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