ASFA, the professional association of autoroute operators, has issued a six point breakdown procedure.
i. Switch on your emergency warning lights and park carefully on the hard shoulder. Keep as far as possible to the right, out of the traffic lane, while leaving sufficient room to open the front passenger door.
ii. Put on your safety vest before leaving the vehicle.
iii. Leave the vehicle via the right-hand passenger door. Make sure all passengers leave from the right-hand side.
iv. Get all passengers to safety, behind the safety barrier. Go to the nearest emergency phone, walking behind the safety barrier. If you are unable to ring from the orange coloured emergency phone, then dial 112 from your mobile.
v. Alert the emergency services. Pressing the button on the emergency phone puts you through directly to the motorway surveillance team which will identify your location and call out the emergency services immediately. This call is free.
vi. Go back to your vehicle and wait for the emergency services. All vehicle occupants should remain together behind the safety barrier.
Interestingly, their advice is specifically not to use the mandatory red warning triangle to avert other roads users, because it necessitates walking on the hard shoulder to do so.
This is despite the legal requirement for drivers to display such a triangle 30 metres to the rear of the vehicle in the event of breakdown.
In order to support their case the association has drawn on a clause in the law which gives drivers some grace not to use it where it would otherwise be dangerous to do so : 'L'obligation de mise en place du triangle ne s'applique pas lorsque cette action constitue une mise en danger manifeste de la vie du conducteur.'
Despite the legal muddle, the French Minister of Transport has stated that the advice from ASFA 'makes good sense'.
The French police estimate that, in the absence of flashing warning lights, your life expectancy if you remain in your vehicle on the hard shoulder is 20 minutes!
i. Switch on your emergency warning lights and park carefully on the hard shoulder. Keep as far as possible to the right, out of the traffic lane, while leaving sufficient room to open the front passenger door.
ii. Put on your safety vest before leaving the vehicle.
iii. Leave the vehicle via the right-hand passenger door. Make sure all passengers leave from the right-hand side.
iv. Get all passengers to safety, behind the safety barrier. Go to the nearest emergency phone, walking behind the safety barrier. If you are unable to ring from the orange coloured emergency phone, then dial 112 from your mobile.
v. Alert the emergency services. Pressing the button on the emergency phone puts you through directly to the motorway surveillance team which will identify your location and call out the emergency services immediately. This call is free.
vi. Go back to your vehicle and wait for the emergency services. All vehicle occupants should remain together behind the safety barrier.
Interestingly, their advice is specifically not to use the mandatory red warning triangle to avert other roads users, because it necessitates walking on the hard shoulder to do so.
This is despite the legal requirement for drivers to display such a triangle 30 metres to the rear of the vehicle in the event of breakdown.
In order to support their case the association has drawn on a clause in the law which gives drivers some grace not to use it where it would otherwise be dangerous to do so : 'L'obligation de mise en place du triangle ne s'applique pas lorsque cette action constitue une mise en danger manifeste de la vie du conducteur.'
Despite the legal muddle, the French Minister of Transport has stated that the advice from ASFA 'makes good sense'.
The French police estimate that, in the absence of flashing warning lights, your life expectancy if you remain in your vehicle on the hard shoulder is 20 minutes!
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