The Le Mans 24 hr race

The Le Mans 24 Hour Race starts today, 11th June at 14.00 hrs and runs through to tomorrow at the same time. The race itself is on roads which are normally open to the public.

The cars are driven continuously through day and night by a rota of three drivers. The cars themselves actually cover more distance in the one race than a Formula 1 car does in its lifetime ! The cars can reach a speed down the straight of 20 mph faster than a Formula 1 car and yet are 40% more fuel efficient.

Watch out for Alan McNish, the Scottish driver who has won previously in 1998 and 2008.  He is driving for Team Audi and their main competitors are Team Porsche.

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New Road Safety Measures in France

As a result of an increase in road deaths seen so far this year on French roads (an increase of 20% in April and more than 10% overall since the start of the year), the French government has decided to tighten up on road safety and appears to have introduced the following measures. (from my translations of French websites - please correct me if I am wrong !) If you are planning on driving in France this summer then its important to be aware of these as they may affect you. The most severe sanctions are against alcohol and speeding, 

Using a cell phone while driving will be penalised and if you are caught holding a cell phone and using it while driving will now mean you get 3 points on your license instead of 2 points.
Drink-driving will be severely punished due to its being responsible for many traffic accidents. If a driver is arrested with a blood alcohol above 0.8 g / l, 8 points will be put onto their driver's license, currently it is 6 points. The alcohol limit is also to be lowered I believe to 0.2 g / liter. So basically avoid drinking if you plan to drive.

Fixed Speed camera position will now not be publicised on roadside signs and detection radars are to be banned in cars. I believe this excludes the type that is integral to a sat nav or gps system though. However any radar equipment which is purely for speed camera detection is now banned and also banned from sale.
It will now be regarded as a crime if break the speed limit in a 50 km/h limit zone.

Reference : http://www.tf1.fr/auto-moto/actualite/securite-routiere-nouvelles-mesures-et-plus-de-sanctions-6451188.html

Update at 25th May 2011 : Confusion reigns about whether to remove the speed camera/radar warning signs from the roadsides in France. A number have already been removed. However they often have the effect of acting as traffic calming measures although I am sure we all know how drivers slow down when they see these signs !
http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/le-gouvernement-cede-sur-la-question-des-radars-24-05-2011-1334416_23.php



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Le Mans

The Le Mans 24 hour race took place this weekend and there were lots of British people camping right next to the track !
If you love cars then why not plan this for next year  ! You probably wont get much sleep but if you are into your cars and racing then this might be for you. Or maybe you would prefer to camp somewhere nearby and just visit Le Mans to sample the atmosphere.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i0GzJ6bn67N4aOl596KOX7EQk7CQ
However if you like getting a good nights sleep and just visiting Le Mans then there is a great campsite in the Loire Valley at Chambord which is 1 hr 45 mins from Le Mans and another Chateau le Brevedent in Normandy which is 2 hours from Le Mans. Both these campsites are reviewed at http://www.bestfrenchcampsites.com/

Hire Car Charges Discussed on You and Yours

There was an interesting discussion about Hiring Cars abroad on Radio 4's You and yours today. People have been hit with hidden charges but there are now some new EU regulations. To hear more please listen again at :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/02/2010_11_fri.shtml

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