Survival Guide - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 789

Other important driving rules:
• » Blood-alcohol limit is 0.05% (0.5g per litre of blood) - the equivalent of two
glasses of wine for a 75kg adult. Police often conduct random breathalyser tests
and penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
• » All passengers, including those in the back seat, must wear seat belts.
Child-seat rules
• » Children under 10 are not permitted to ride in the front seat (unless the back is
already occupied by other children under 10).
• » A child under 13kg must travel in a backward-facing child seat (permitted in the
front seat only for babies under 9kg and if the airbag is deactivated).
• » Up to age 10, children must use a size-appropriate type of front-facing child seat
or booster.
All vehicles driven in France must carry a high-visibility reflective safety vest (stored
inside the vehicle, not in the trunk/boot), and a reflective triangle. The fine for not
carrying one/both is €90/135.
LOCAL TRANSPORT
France's cities and larger towns have world-class public-transport systems. There
are métros (underground subway systems) in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille and
Toulouse and ultramodern light-rail lines (tramways) in cities such as Bordeaux,
Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Reims, Rouen and Strasbourg, as well
as parts of greater Paris.
TAXI
All medium and large train stations - and many small ones - have a taxi stand out
front. In small cities and towns, where taxi drivers are unlikely to find another fare
anywhere near where they let you off, one-way and return trips often cost the same.
Tariffs are about 30% higher at night and on Sundays and holidays. There may be a
surcharge to get picked up at a train station or airport and a small additional fee for
a fourth passenger and/or for suitcases.
TRAIN
The jewel in the crown of France's public-transport system - alongside the Paris
métro - is its extensive rail network, almost all of it run by the state-owned SNCF (