Drink driving and bad habits

WE ASKED you about drink driving and motoring habits in France in advance of courteous driving day (March 24) and following the news that drink, drug and extreme speeding offences had risen.

OBVIOUSLY drink driving is not to be encouraged. Here in Toulouse the transport system is not too bad, but taxis are expensive (I think this has something to do with the money the drivers have to pay for the licence. I have two taxi friends) and you have to order one in advance.
It would be great just to be able to flag one down in the evening and maybe this should be considered, in particular Friday and Saturday night. Public transport stops at midnight (0130 on Friday and Saturday) so you are pretty limited.
Michael Jones

I THINK this is a major problem in France, especially in Paris, and as for being courteous I don't think the French drivers in general know the meaning of the word.
On numerous occasions I have seen people driving motorbikes and scooters on the pavement.
Has nobody told them that they need to stay on the road? I saw something the other day I never thought I would see in a million years: a guy driving a motorbike with a child sitting on the handlebars. That is totally insane. If the child had fallen off, it would have been killed instantly.
These people, if caught, should have their license revoked, the bike crushed and the person put in jail.
These people have no concerns about the repercussions of this sort of disgraceful behaviour. I never see the police do anything about them on Champs-Élysées.
A person was nearly knocked over when the lights were on green. A police officer saw what happened and when the person complained the officer just said 'you must be careful'.
They have to get a serious grip on the attitude of drivers here.
Ian Campbell

FROM what I have seen since I moved to France five years ago, the French seem to regard drinking and driving as the norm.
I have been horrified by the number of times friends have driven home with three to four times the safe limit to drive.
Taking a taxi just doesn't come in to the equation, it's never considered. I don't think that the price has anything to do with it. It's just not French.
When we go out as a couple, if we take the car, one of us doesn't drink.
Our French friends find this very commendable, but don't follow our lead.
The French authorities view seems to be that if you have an accident, then a test is done, but otherwise it's every man for himself.
Michael Ambrose

I LIVE in a rural area of Bourgogne. What annoys me is that there are two laws on drink driving; one for the firemen/gendarmes/local doctor and their friends, and one for the rest of us. My licence is vital for me so I drink at home.
Name withheld on request

I THINK that a lot English people tend not to worry about drink driving laws in France. We have seen a few flaunting the law. My wife and I usually take turns in driving if going out for a drink, as we did in England. Normally it's not the drink driver that really gets hurt in accident, but the innocent people in the other vehicle(s).
Dave Lowe

I FIND one of the most discourteous things with French drivers is that they hardly ever signal at roundabouts even though people are waiting, often at a busy junction, to get out.
R S Harding