Know your way around Paris
Page 51
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ROUTIERS MEMBER Gerry Daley was looking forward to getting home. It was 11pm
DAS service
NO MATTER how good a driver you are, the time can come at home or abroad when you need legal assistance, to pursue an injury claim following a motor accident or defend a motoring prosecution. Unfortunately, however good your case may be, the fact is that defending yourself can be an expensive business.
A great number of Routier members have discovered the benefits of DAS legal expenses cover. For a small outlay (less than 20p a week for standard cover), if they are prosecuted they are covered for expenses and solicitors fees also those of barristers, expert witnesses, court costs and the opponent's costs if awarded against them, up to £25 000.
The typical offences covered are: *Driving without due care and attention, *speeding, *excess weight, *exceeding hours, *failing to comply with a traffic sign, *defective tyres, *manslaughter, *European bail bond, *and £15 discount on standard cover.
Not only is this terrific value for money but Routiers members enjoy the advantages of: *Fast and efficient personal service (through the Club).
*Expert solicitors. Transport law is a specialised subject, and Routiers' close contact with specialists ensure that the member's chances in the courts are improved enormously. Sunday night as he hit the south of Paris on his way to the 3.30am ferry at Dieppe. There was nothing between him and breakfast except a few miles of autoroute.
Unfortunately, Gerry had miscalculated, and he was stopped by the police at RisOranges on the A6. They pointed out that even if he was on the way home, he had to obey the special Paris autoroute hgv restrictions which includes a ban from 22h to 24h on Sunday nights entering Paris.
He was finally released at 10am the next morning — because there is another restriction from 6am to 10am on Monday mornings! So much for an early breakfast.
Routiers received a call from Gerry and his boss, asking us for details of these bans around Paris — they are generally little publicised. Even the Department of Transport had to check with their opposite numbers in France for specific details.
A Department of Transport spokesman told Routiers that they would be looking into the problem, as the lack of information on these regulations had caused drivers much delay and aggravation. They would be contacting the Trade Associations on the subject, and would raise the matter when they next meet the French in September!