Hi Trucknet,
I am entering France via Calais saturday evening and as there is a saturday ban 07:00 to 19:00, I can drive between 19:00 and 24:00.
I would like to make the best of the time available and thought I would aim for the 15:30 ferry which gets in at 18:00 (inc the hour ahead), does anyone know if I can legally get to the first services on route and wait for 19:00, or equally is there anywhere I can park when off the boat until ban lifted?
Many thanks in advance for advice.
David
You could go to F all 4 trucks at transmarc http://www.all4trucks.com/ or at the services/Parking area at the euro tunnel freight terminal Google Maps
Out you could go for a later ferry. Parking up in Calais is becoming more trouble than its worth again, especially if on UK plates. Where are you going?
Yes, where are you going? If it’s Benelux, Germany etc you can legally drive through France to the Belgian border via “the corridor” and then keep going through Belgium, Holland etc.
switchlogic:
Out you could go for a later ferry. Parking up in Calais is becoming more trouble than its worth again, especially if on UK plates. Where are you going?
All 4 trucks is safe and is free for the 1st hour, i have never had issues at the Eurotunnel parking either, parked their overnight many times
The OP is referring to the truck ban in France on Summer holidays in July and August only.
Any other time , the ban is Saturday 22.00 to Sunday 22.00.
You can drive in July/August until Midnight Saturday, so you have about five hours after arriving in Calais.
Which means a long way if using the toll motorway, a good 250 miles.
If it was me, I would get off the ferry, and park up in Boulogne sur Mer, head for ferry signs and the port, lots of parking by the fish market firms, then walk to town.
Or park up in Rouen, by the big river, lots of places on the quay, town not far, a few discos that shut at 06.00 am Sunday.
Or get as far away from Calais on the toll road to have Sunday off in the MSA.
Once in the MSA, look for the staff car park gate, leave there for a walk to villages nearby.
To be fair parking in Boulogne and going for a leisurely stroll isn’t really an option when he’s just looking to park up for an hour. By time he got parked up there he’d be able to go again!
Good point there Luke,
Back to the OP, you are not allowed to drive any road in France until the ban has ended.
The Gendarmarie lurk around the Peages and float around the Route Nationals.
You can drive with an exemption permit from the French ministry of transport or if your load is perishable, milk, livestock or rock and roll concert haulage.
Adr goods have shorter time restrictions, and some roads where Adr is not permitted,some tunnels have Adr time restrictions.
Don’t forget, when you get off the ferry in Calais, every man and his dog will be trying to park their truck until the ban ends, many EE lorries.
When coming off the ferry, there is no parking inside the port, once outside, it is very dangerous, drivers have been attacked and had the cab vandalized.
Thank you for repsonses and advice, am heading for Milan
DM88:
Thank you for repsonses and advice, am heading for Milan
You`ll be lucky to do that before midnight Saturday!
As said the parking areas all around the port will be rammed full. Approaching 19hr00 some will venture out a little early. . .then the trickle will grow to a torrent. . . at 19hr00 the world and his wife will be out there giving it “the big one”. Many will chance their arm and go far beyond 24hr. The roads will be well busy, and a small number of the trucks will have drivers who have been parked up, had a few too many bevvies, and too short a kip. Keep alert and expect to see a couple laid down on the hard shoulder.
Franglais is right, don’t forget a lot of drivers are not coming off the ferries and have been parked up all day today, Saturday, for the duration of the ban, and more than likely had a few bevies , and a bbq , and set out the table and chairs by the trailer, for a good time with fellow drivers EE style .
So after the ban, the roads will be like ■■■■ Dasterly in the Wacky Races cartoons .
I can not tell you what to do, or advice you what to do, but if it was me, I would risk the hour of driving before the ban ends, and get in line behind a convoy of EE trucks, and just go for it your route is in France before 19.00.
The worst case scenario, if you get a tug, is they park you up until 19.00, if they are in a bad mood, they could park you up until midnight Saturday or even until Sunday night, then the issue of paying the fine .
I have driven on truck bans in Spain, and driven past police checkpoints and not get stopped or fined, the police would pull over the trucks when the tourist traffic got too busy, I have been waved off the road, and in to a hotel or service area until the ban ended .
The trick is to get past the Peage, in France, where the Gendarmarie are waiting, if they are not there, and gone home early, you have cracked it, the chances of being pulled over , once you are moving on the toll road are lower, compared to being stopped at the Peage, where they can check you out .
Then there is the Douanes , the French customs work 24/7 and can be anywhere, but cant fine for ban day driving.
If there are lots of trucks coming off your ferry, many will ignore the ban, and go for it .
Use the hours and you could be down as far as Reims/Chalon-en-Champagne/St Dizier area. Far enough away from Calais. Tuesday arrival in milan aint that bad though!
toby1234abc:
Franglais is right, don’t forget a lot of drivers are not coming off the ferries and have been parked up all day today, Saturday, for the duration of the ban, and more than likely had a few bevies , and a bbq , and set out the table and chairs by the trailer, for a good time with fellow drivers EE style .
So after the ban, the roads will be like ■■■■ Dasterly in the Wacky Races cartoons .
I can not tell you what to do, or advice you what to do, but if it was me, I would risk the hour of driving before the ban ends, and get in line behind a convoy of EE trucks, and just go for it your route is in France before 19.00.
The worst case scenario, if you get a tug, is they park you up until 19.00, if they are in a bad mood, they could park you up until midnight Saturday or even until Sunday night, then the issue of paying the fine .I have driven on truck bans in Spain, and driven past police checkpoints and not get stopped or fined, the police would pull over the trucks when the tourist traffic got too busy, I have been waved off the road, and in to a hotel or service area until the ban ended .
The trick is to get past the Peage, in France, where the Gendarmarie are waiting, if they are not there, and gone home early, you have cracked it, the chances of being pulled over , once you are moving on the toll road are lower, compared to being stopped at the Peage, where they can check you out .
Then there is the Douanes , the French customs work 24/7 and can be anywhere, but cant fine for ban day driving.
If there are lots of trucks coming off your ferry, many will ignore the ban, and go for it .
The Douane are appointed as agents of the Government, some have been trained in road law. I have myself been fined for running during a ban by a Douanier. Admittedly that was a few years ago, but it did happen. I was fined on a Thursday for running on a movement starting before 22hr00 on a Sunday.
I was told (yeah I know) that Douane can only act within a certain radius of ports of entry into France. But since a helicopter can land most anywhere, yes, they`re everywhere.
I got a tug from two Gendarme motorbikers, i was running on Sunday in France, on a ban day, they came from nowhere, they must have been waiting on a bridge on the toll motorway, then used a slip road or emergency entrance /exit in order to get on the motorway.
I had a full load of onions from Villabona near Valencia, the packing house gave me a permit for perishables .
The cops smelt the onions and let me go, no tacho check, no nothing .
I wonder how far the OP will get ?
I used to have a laugh and joke with the Douanes, they have a wicked sense of humour, mention UK and French political leaders and see what happens .
dm88 out of calais when ban lifted one hit about 4 and quater hrs iust passed reims area sommesous shell station , when you at reims if you are tight on your 4 and half theres a service area 10 mins passed reims . then monday gd days drive will put you on doorstep for milan tues gd luck 
I’m sure I used to do sommesous in 3.45…[emoji848][emoji848] my plan would be off the boat and crack on…[emoji106][emoji106]
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
oh go on then whats ur longest one hit
you need to be careful as well,in the paper today 5 /8 17 a gang is targeting truckers in Calais by gassing them,breaking into the truck and helping themselves to whatever the truck driver has in the cab,one who was the victim woke up feeling groggy with a massive headache and found his wallet and so on gone.
truckman020:
you need to be careful as well,in the paper today 5 /8 17 a gang is targeting truckers in Calais by gassing them,breaking into the truck and helping themselves to whatever the truck driver has in the cab,one who was the victim woke up feeling groggy with a massive headache and found his wallet and so on gone.
To be fair from Calais down towards Italy its never that busy. I’m fact I’m on that very road this evening and I’ve seen 3 trucks going the same way as me