Wing mirrors in France for a 4x4?

[slewis1972]

Hi

I drive a Pajero 4x4 and I am off to France soon. I can see down both sides of the van and hence have not purchased any caravan wing mirrors for the UK. Do I though need them by law for france.

Thanks

Scott

 

[Icemaker]

interesting one this, i can also see down both sides of my van with the standard mirrors fitted to my alhambra but i was "adviced" that it was law in this country to have extended mirrors fitted but only legally required for them to be fitted to the drivers side, having purchased a set i tend to use both though. on the subject of france we are going on our first trip four weeks today and i have spent a good bit of time looking in to what i need to stay safe and within the law, the first thing i bought was a kit from the club that gave me everything that i need to make my car legal abroad, bulbs triangles high viz vest etc. our tickets came last week and enclosed with them was a booklet that gives some very usefull information and lo and behold in the vehicle section it does state that extended mirrors are compulsory although it does not make it clear whether this is law all over europe or in certain countries. it seems to me thats its sensible to use them at all times even though like me you have a car that does not really need them.

 

[mistralse]

I bet you cant see behind your van without extended mirrors,that is why the law says you must have at least one mirror extention on the o/s ,so in France you must have one on the o/s ie n/s to us.So you need two mirrors to comply.

 

[Lutz]

The French have no more stringent requirements than the UK.

 

[jacky3]

i agree with above,there a only a handful of cars that you can see COMPLETELY down both sides of the van,i can see down both sides of my van with terrano,with a very narrow view,but i cant see completely with a wide view as the law requires,so beware

 

[Vicky_5078445]

Hi all,

We tow with a 4x4 and can see without extenders, so don't use them. We also have a see through van, so could see if there was a car or motorbike behind us that may be obscured from our side view... so is it a legal requirement that we still use extenders?!

Vicky

 

[jacky3]

what 4x4 do you have????

 

[jacky3]

without mirror extensions you can see down the side of the van,but its a limited view,you can only see a passing car when its right at the back of the van,to late if you want to overtake yourself.with extensions you can see the back of the van plus a wide view of the road behind you

 

[Vicky_5078445]

We tow with a Jeep Grand Cherokee

 

[jacky3]

they are a wide car,possible to see all the way down both sides with a wide view of the road,probably.

 

[Denise_5041461]

A couple of years ago friends of mine had stopped for lunch in an Aire and they both had 4x4s with medium sized vans. As they went to drive off they were stopped by a Gendarme who asked where their towing mirrors were. One of my friends happened to carry a set in the back of the car but the other friend did not have any on him. He was fined by the Gendarme, made to leave his caravan at the Aire while he went off to buy a set of towing mirrors from a nearby accessory shop. He was not allowed to drive off until they were fitted.

 

[clivea]

Hi,

you will find it difficult to see overtaking vehicles. I have a Sorento and use a Milenco convex mirror on the LHS and when in France earlier this month it was very useful when my co-pilot fell asleep I could still see to overtake on the autoroutes. The Milenco is rock steady even without the elastic strap which Milenco say is'nt normally required. The cars own electric mirrors can still be moved by remote. Peace of mind for around

 

[sparkes]

With the Discovery I can see down the side of the van but I still use extended mirrors. I set the car ones to look at the wheels of the van and the extenders to look above this. In all, I get a very wide field of view and they cost about

 

[clivea]

Hi,

just to follow up, you will find that French drivers will come into the 'slow' lane on motorways and tuck right in behind you. This means that you may see cars in the outside lane, then see that is is clear for you to overtake atruck and 'wang' out pops a car from right up behind you. Extension mirrors will help in this respect and they also pick up shadows of vehicles tucked in close too.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

If the extended mirrors will go through a gap then the caravan will if driven in a straight line.

The only way to see behind the caravan is by camera if you have no see through.

The mirrors help to removes blind spots and we need all the help we can get when on the "wrong" side ot the road