Wildefalcon
Well-Known Member
Very interesting news to me, thank you.
My pleasure!
Wildefalcon
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping to travel extensively in EU next few years, so very curious as to how it works.
How are you looking at the visa situation? To spend just under 6 months in our place over there we have to get long term visas.It is enough of a pain if you already own a house over there.
I take it you have got your GHIC card?
Also not many countries will give you insurance and/or recovery for longer than 90 days. Which is why we are with SAGA who give more or less as long as you want out of the country for both, on both cars.
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As far as we are concerned re the Crit'air thing, we will just avoid the inner parts of the big towns where it exists. Or go in the other car. I think the plods have to actually stop you and look for it before anything can be done about the legality of the situation or not. They cost peanuts.
Funnily my next door neighbour over there wanted to by Shipper's fc101 but the seller originally wanted too much money for it. The price then dropped to "spares or repair" but my neighbour is no longer interested.
Pre a certain year it won't matter,
"All eligible vehicles need to display a Crit’Air vignette on their windscreen to be able to drive and park in restricted traffic zones, such as permanent low-emissions zones and emergency low-emissions zones.
Not all vehicles are eligible for the vignettes. Cars registered before January 1997 and motorbikes and scooters registered before June 2000 are ineligible, and cannot be driven at all where restrictions apply.
Restrictions are also in place for trucks and buses registered before 2001."
This from theRAC website which is good.
So sadly it is simple, you just cannot or should not drive in them with a fc101.
TBH it is so distinctive that if any speed cops see you they may well pull you over, in a clean air zone, cos they'll know the vehicel is basically ancient and cannot comply. They'll also be curious about it. This used to happen to us a bit when I took convoys of kit cars over there. They are mostly friendly, provided you are polite, and usually car or bike nuts.
Wildefalcon
Well-Known Member
I've EU citizenship, so no problem.
Aha! didn't know that little gem!
In that case, if you have the fc101 registered over there I think the same applies unless you have it as a vehicule de collection or whatever is the equivalent in whichever country you live in.
Thanks. I'll look into the "Vehicule de Collection".I am amazed that so many seem not to be aware of the French "Vehicule de Collection" classification. This allows people to drive their classic, vintage or veteran cars on the road in France. You have a special "carte grise" which is their equivalent of a V5c. you can drive these anywhere. But this will not be of interest to non-residents.
I have recently acquired "Crit'air" stickers for both my TD5 and my wife's Citroen Pluriel. So I will be driving legally in France. There are maps you can get which show you where you can and cannot drive without a relatively low emissions vehicle and there seriously are not many where you can only drive with one.
We drive from Ouistreham or Cherbourg all the way down to just north of Carcassonne very regularly. It isn't a problem.
As far as I know you can drive on a motorway more or less anywhere without a problem.
All explained here.
Crit'Air clean air stickers - need to know for driving in France | RAC Drive
With the law change in France we explain what the 'Crit'Air' clean air stickers are, where they're used, how to get one and what happens if you don'twww.rac.co.uk
Not sure what it has to do with the French LEZs though.
From your link...
Do I need a Crit’Air vignette?
All eligible vehicles need to display a Crit’Air vignette on their windscreen to be able to drive and park in restricted traffic zones, such as permanent low-emissions zones and emergency low-emissions zones.Not all vehicles are eligible for the vignettes. Cars registered before January 1997 and motorbikes and scooters registered before June 2000 are ineligible, and cannot be driven at all where restrictions apply.
Are you saying that if you have a "carte grise" you can enter LEZs?
OK.
I've answered my own question. I googled "does a "Vehicule de Collection" classification enable you to drive in a french lez?"
and found this:
Who does it apply to? Are there any exemptions?
Essentially all vehicles driving through a ZFE will need one, including residents of the area, residents living elsewhere in France passing through, and even tourists – there is a dedicated space on the website for drivers outside of France to order their vignette.Even if you do not intend to stop and only wish to drive through a ZFE zone, your vehicle will still need a Crit’Air sticker.
The rule applies for both four-wheeled vehicles and motorbikes.
The only exception, currently, is if a car is classed as ‘classic’ – over 30 years old and in possession of a carte grise ‘véhicule de collection’ for older vehicles – it does not require a Crit’Air sticker.
Isn't it funny that without "Vehicule de Collection" in the search this little exception is not mentioned...
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With regards to driving in a French LEZ, what's that got to do with the price of Les onions?
Wildefalcon
Well-Known Member
Stanley steamer was concerned about my intention to tour in the EU for an extended period of time. And wondered how I was intending to avoid the Shenghen 90 day rule.With regards to driving in a French LEZ, what's that got to do with the price of Les onions?
Wildefalcon
Well-Known Member
So, how would a DVLA registered historic vehicle obtain a care grise véhicule de collection? That's the bit I've yet to understand.
You could only do it if you imported it straight onto a "vehicule de collection" immatriculation.
I looked into it quite deeply once for a French friend who wanted to import a Brit kit car.
At the time restrictions on the use of "véhicules de collection" were draconian making it not really worth it for him.
I think they have since changed.
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Sorry, i must have missed that comment. I thought you meant being an EU member means you can drive anything anywhere.
I find myself having to open up a "Google fr" screen then to search in French. The French equivalent of Gov.uk is actually quite good.
But obviously it helps if you speak a language other than English.
So, are you saying that if the vehicle is over 30 years old, which is how the French classify a classic vehicle to get a care grise véhicule de collection form, that you don't need to display a Crit’Air vignette (because you can't apply for one) and can then drive into LEZs? Or you can't and will be shot on sight?Aha! didn't know that little gem!
In that case, if you have the fc101 registered over there I think the same applies unless you have it as a vehicule de collection or whatever is the equivalent in whichever country you live in.
If it's the former, then any 101 would be in the clear as they would all be at least 40 years old and assuming the owner has applied DVLA for historic vehicle status.
101 PTO's were also intended to drive the wheels on either 'Scottorn' (?) or Ruberry-owens powered trailers making the unit a 6x6. I'm unsure though of how acceptable it would be to run power through it backwards. Yup, place the transfer lever in neutral & all gears are still available from the PTO.
This post is very mixed up.
But the short answer is, unless you have registered it with the French govt to get a "Carte Grise" for a "Véhicule de collection",
which you DON'T get automatically, (you have to apply for it, and you have to have a property over there to register it to), you cannot legally drive it into a French ULEZ or a LEZ.
Totally sod all to do with the DVLA and historical vehicle status.
I'm fluent in English and bollocks. My French was passable when i was 16 after just passing at CSE grade 1, but rarely used it in the 42 years since.
Well, it was only mildly mixed up until somebody brought up the subject of getting a carte gris...
Google translate, TBH, isnt that bad. So you could formulate a question in GT and try searching with that. But even if you search using the Google fr, most pooters will rapidly revert to normal google. A bit of a pain but not too annoying.
CSE level one was the equivalent of O level, and that was all I had before starting my degree. My degree was a modular degree so I could take catch up classes and eventually came out with a 2.1 in French, so don't knock your achievement! In those days average attainment was 4 grade 4 CSEs so you were well above that!
