I’ve not done this for about 5 years - I hear tales of Breathalysers, high viz, etc these days.
Anyone care to clarify please what I’m supposed to do/have in the car with regards to my family and I taking a motoring trip to France/Belgium/Netherlands?
What am I likely to get a fine/ticket for out of ignorance basically… 
Also, do belgium cash machines cost less to use than french ones? (ie drawing out Euros on a debit card account)
You can buy a pack from halfords that has everything but the spare headlight kit (don’t buy from halfords £££££) and the breathalyser (might have one in now, bought mine a couple
Years ago)
Cost about £20 and saves shopping around and just lives in the boot
Here yer go…
Winseer:
I’ve not done this for about 5 years - I hear tales of Breathalysers, high viz, etc these days.Anyone care to clarify please what I’m supposed to do/have in the car with regards to my family and I taking a motoring trip to France/Belgium/Netherlands?
What am I likely to get a fine/ticket for out of ignorance basically…
Also, do belgium cash machines cost less to use than french ones? (ie drawing out Euros on a debit card account)
Hi viz vests kept in the car, 2 minimum if you have a passenger. Warning Triangle. Some suggest a bulb kit, common sense really. Breathalyser kit would be wise if you see one for sale.
Cash machines are difficult to find in Belgium and are freely available in France or Holland. you get the exchange rate of the day at bank rates, cheaper than using travelex etc.
carry your v5, licence and an international accident form.
speeding fines are expensive and easy to get, and they can carry points now
So far, I’ve got one high viz per car occupant (Does the colour matter?) along with fire extinguisher, triangle thingy, first aid kit, and spare bulbs.
Headlamp converter - Eh? I have a kit that contains some yellow filter sticker things, but WTF can that do apart from dim your headlamps down? I’ve been told I’ve got to re-direct the beam out of the oncoming drivers eyes FFS!
I don’t have a breathalyser kit (never seen one on sale!) and I didn’t know about “international accident forms” - from the post office or call DVLA?
I’m looking to drive upto Middlekerk area for the cash machine, and hopefully a shopping center that is open doing a full day’s work. I hear they don’t open much beyond mornings and late afternoons monday-friday as it is! - Damned siestas! 
I also hear that finding a european on more than a 35 hour week is like finding rocking horse crap, especially on sundays! 
I don’t recall it being bad to these extremes a mere five years back?! 
Winseer:
So far, I’ve got one high viz per car occupant (Does the colour matter?) along with fire extinguisher, triangle thingy, first aid kit, and spare bulbs.
Headlamp converter - Eh? I have a kit that contains some yellow filter sticker things, but WTF can that do apart from dim your headlamps down? I’ve been told I’ve got to re-direct the beam out of the oncoming drivers eyes FFS!I don’t have a breathalyser kit (never seen one on sale!) and I didn’t know about “international accident forms” - from the post office or call DVLA?
I’m looking to drive upto Middlekerk area for the cash machine, and hopefully a shopping center that is open doing a full day’s work. I hear they don’t open much beyond mornings and late afternoons monday-friday as it is! - Damned siestas!
I also hear that finding a european on more than a 35 hour week is like finding rocking horse crap, especially on sundays!
I don’t recall it being bad to these extremes a mere five years back?!
I used to do a lot of touring in France with both bike and car.
Not anymore, the regulations are too much and the Police (all agencies) have now become a pain, they no longer show any understanding and will confiscate your motor if you try and argue with them. They are the law.
Driving standards are also far worse than only 2 years ago, it is just like being in Britain now So no point in going for me.
Winseer:
I don’t have a breathalyser kit (never seen one on sale!) and I didn’t know about “international accident forms” - from the post office or call DVLA?
Ring your insurance company and tell them you are going abroad. If they charge you extra, change insurers, ask them for a couple of accident statement form.
These are basically a standard form that allows you to fill in a claim in a different language to the person who T boned you or vice versa. You both agree about the accident, both sign it and both keep a copy of each others form. That way no one can add or remove any details afterwards.
Wheel Nut:
speeding fines are expensive and easy to get, and they can carry points now
There’s seems to be a lot of misinformation flying around concerning how easy it is to get nicked on continetal roads for being a bit over the limit and British licences being endorsed for continental speeding offences.I’ve heard stories of Brits being chased by the Swiss authorities for speed camera offences and of licences having points put on them for going over the ridiculous French 130 kmh autoroute limit.
So far I’ve only been done recently on a run home from Le Mans at 180 kmh in a 130 kmh limit on the A 28 after years of doing similar throughout France without so much as a sign of any ‘Flics’.It resulted in a £60 fine and a laugh with the law about who’s idea it was to put and enforce the 130 kmh limit in traffic conditions and on a road designed for a lot more and the fact that it would have been a lot more than that here.Which probably compensates for having to pay expensive tolls for the privilege of getting nicked. 
But the important bit was absolutely no suggestion of any points on a British licence although they did take it to check it.However I have heard an explanation that the old green paper licence,which I’ve still got,isn’t possible to be processed for foreign endorsements while the new photocard type is 
. 
I’ve also seen just about every camera in Switzerland between the German and Italian borders flash as I’ve gone through them and heard absolutely nothing although that just might have been a co incidence in that it ‘could’ have been other cars setting them off not mine. 
Having still got the receipt for the Eurostar, 2 nights in a Chartres hotel and a €400 fine I disagree.
OK, so there were no points in this case, but what they did do was relieve the driver of his driving licence for one month, so we had to find a friend to go out to Chartres on the train to recover him, his disabled wife and the car.
Wheel Nut:
Having still got the receipt for the Eurostar, 2 nights in a Chartres hotel and a €400 fine I disagree.OK, so there were no points in this case, but what they did do was relieve the driver of his driving licence for one month, so we had to find a friend to go out to Chartres on the train to recover him, his disabled wife and the car.
Blimey that sounds more like he got caught at 250 kmh not 180. 
I think I’ve still got my receipt for that example too.
OK confession time, 142kmh in a 120kmh limit, northern Germany, 93.50 Euro fine and £18.50 for the hire company to tell them my address. Moral of the story, don’t speed!
Hi vis jackets needed everywhere, I haven’t “adjusted” my lights and I’ve been in Germany since February, spare bulbs in France, triangle, no idea, I had one in the boot so didn’t worry.
Have fun
Paul
You can buy the breathalysers on the ferry.
The high viz vests must be in the car - not the boot.
If you wear specs then take a spare pair.
Give your front seat passenger the job of spotting speed limits as well as navigating. Then you can blame her if you get lost or done for speeding.
If any of your party are on medication then take a copy of the prescription with you.
Thousands do it every year without any problems - have fun.
Thanks everyone.
Some other bits that spring to mind are if its cheaper to buy spirits in Belgium or France these days, now that they all use Euros.
Is it still possible to drive from Calais to Middlekerk without using any toll roads? (It was last time I went)
Is there a hypermarket in the Middlekerk area? I recall the promenade having some ordinary shops on it, but I dunno about parking availability or cost.
I’m not going to be buying the breathalyser, as I understand they are not a legal requirement until November this year. All the other stuff I already have from my last trip. My high viz for the whole family are all yellow of course.
I’m intending to be leaving Calais for Belgium around 8am local, and returning there to catch a twilight ferry in the late evening to return.
ON the ferry, do I get to use the commercial drivers restaurant, bearing in mind I’m off-duty, and have my family with me? I don’t really fancy queuing and paying top dollar for the ferry cafe’ that’s for sure!
You could walk to Middlekerk. 
Seriously, we did France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Belgium last year. Relax! 
Not sure about using the drivers area with family, i’m going over in a few weeks and it’ll be a packed lunch made up with stuff from the hypermarket to save on the pennies.
don’t know about cash machines being plentiful in Middlekerke but there are several in Adinkerke along tobacco alley.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to take euros from uk rather than pay charges for atm withdrawals and foreign currency exchange charges from your bank
I’ve just come back from a month in Fance, Belgium and Holland, and had no problems with any of the OPs questions. Just go, and enjoy it, and stop worrying. The only minor problem we found was that some Dutch ATMs don’t accept Visa cards, only Maestro. You can use Visa at Rabobank, and ING. All petrol stations take Visa.
I didn’t notice that booze is cheap, but tobacco is less than half UK price in Belgium.
Winseer:
I’ve not done this for about 5 years - I hear tales of Breathalysers, high viz, etc these days.Anyone care to clarify please what I’m supposed to do/have in the car with regards to my family and I taking a motoring trip to France/Belgium/Netherlands?
What am I likely to get a fine/ticket for out of ignorance basically…
Also, do belgium cash machines cost less to use than french ones? (ie drawing out Euros on a debit card account)
The breathalyser law does not take effect until July the 12th & you must buy the French approved items (will be sold on the Ferries/Euro Tunnel & most service stations)
EHIC is an absolute minimum & travel insurance to be safe.
Other points have been covered.
del949:
don’t know about cash machines being plentiful in Middlekerke but there are several in Adinkerke along tobacco alley.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to take euros from uk rather than pay charges for atm withdrawals and foreign currency exchange charges from your bank
I won’t be paying charges to get the Euros out of the cash machine, plus the rate over there (via interbank) has always been better than any rate given out over here. Commission free isn’t any good if you don’t get the interbank rate I’ve always found. 
Interbank rate for today is 1.2515 for example. I bet most exchange offices are only offering around 1.22-1.24 at best!
I’m not buying baccy, as I gave up a few years back. It’s only plonk & spirits I’m interested in on the alcohol front.
I’m not even sure if Middelkerke is worth going to, now I’ve looked at it with street view. Doesn’t seem a lot to do there, as all I found was a bunch of bistros and a casino! The way things are going at the moment, I’d settle for Cite Europe in Cocquells and any decent kids playground to keep my 8 year old happy!
(It won’t be much of a grand day out if I just drag her around some shops all day long will it!?) 
The best kids playground (free) that I know at present are Kensington Gardens (near Queensway Tube) the one in Greenwich Park near the maritime museum, and the one in Tamworth Gardens, near the castle. 
I used to have Brockwell park (herne hill) on the list, but its been demolished! It had a slide rail, witches hat, and all the old fashioned stuff from the 70’s and all!
A real loss to the community that going I think! 
Winseer:
ON the ferry, do I get to use the commercial drivers restaurant, bearing in mind I’m off-duty, and have my family with me? I don’t really fancy queuing and paying top dollar for the ferry cafe’ that’s for sure!
You will not be able to access the drivers restaurant on the new P&O ships as you need a pass scanned to gain entry to the commercial drivers area.