Fri 8 Feb 2008 12:16 French motorways at night - Mapmaker

Ghastly. No cats eyes. Very very hard work. Imagine them with UK levels of traffic. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 13:14 French motorways at night - rogue-trooper

yes, well we know why they don't have cats eyes. (or at least the urban myth) Having said that I have driven in France quite a bit (as I spent 3 years living there) and think that the posts to the side of the road are much better than in this country and make night time driving quite easy. However that is until it rains. Having said that even during daytime in the wet, it would be nice tohave cats eyes as the white lines just blend in to the wet road Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 13:51 French motorways at night - boxsterboy

As least they are well-surfaced unlike ours. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 14:09 French motorways at night - Mapmaker

They are well surfaced (generally), but that's no help when you can't find the surface... Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 14:17 French motorways at night - Lud

Funny, I never missed cat's eyes when driving in France, although last time was a few years ago now. The roads are marked differently from the ones here, but just as well. Indeed there is a refreshing absence of redundant road marking there, although the mayor of Paris may have been splashing paint around like his London colleague.. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 19:08 French motorways at night - PhilW

"Funny, I never missed cat's eyes when driving in France" Nor me - must be terribly unobservant since I go there several times a year (don't do a heck of a lot of night driving mind you). On Brit motorways aren't catseyes only at edge of road and at slip road entry/exit rather than between lanes? If so do they make a great deal of difference when (say) in middle lane? Must check when in France next week! Always found (almost all) French motorways a pleasure to drive on and most Brit ones much more stressful because of the difference in congestion levels. Bon voyage Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 19:13 French motorways at night - Alby Back

Just goes to show how unobservant I am. I regularly drive overnight through France and had never noticed the absence of cat's eyes. Someone alluded earlier to an urban myth as to why they don't have them....what is it please? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 19:19 French motorways at night - Lud

They obviously have something else just as good, or nearly. Small reflective studs perhaps. I can't really remember. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 19:42 French motorways at night - BritishBeef

I had to reply when I saw this topic. A couple of years ago I drove from Northern to Southern France and having driven for the best part of 8 hours (with a couple of breaks of course) I was eventually driving at night. Anyway, it was about 1am and it started to lash it down with rain. I was extremely tired and desperate to find somewhere to spend the night. With there being no cats eyes and the motorway covered in surface water, there was absoluely no way of telling where I was on the road. I'm not exagerating when I say it was impossible to make out whether I was within my lane. I just had to follow the lights of someone in front but it was so dangerous. On top of that, if I remember rightly, there was no lighting on that particular stretch of motorway either. It was terrifying! So that's why you need cats eyes. Edited by BritishBeef on 08/02/2008 at 19:43 Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 20:16 French motorways at night - PhilW

"With there being no cats eyes and the motorway covered in surface water, there was absolutely no way of telling where I was on the road. I'm not exagerating when I say it was impossible to make out whether I was within my lane." I take your point BB, (though not experienced the problem when driving in France - or Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and all points east to Greece) but are there catseyes between lanes on Brit motorways? Someone must have noticed - I can't say I have noticed them. Why is it easier in Brit? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 20:25 French motorways at night - PhilW

Blimey, just realised that I've been driving for 42 years and can't remember whether there is a "thunk-thunk" as a I change lanes on a British motorway. Draw your own conclusions. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 20:41 French motorways at night - Alby Back

Sometimes I get so bored on a long M-way journey that I try to change lanes without hitting a cat's eye. Quite difficult but it can be done! The other challenge is to see how far or long you can go without touching the brakes or changing gear. Personal record was a night time run from Glasgow to Somerset. Put the car in top gear on the M8 coming out of Glasgow and eventually had to change down and slow when getting off at Jct 23 on the M5. Sad but true ! Must get some new music for the car. ;-) Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 20:49 French motorways at night - Billy Whizz

>>try to change lanes without hitting a cat's eye & see how long you can go without touching the brakes... I have done both those (not just me then)!! but cannot hold a candle to your record. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 09:25 French motorways at night - james86

>>try to change lanes without hitting a cat's eye & see how long you can go without touching the brakes... doesn't work so well with all the roaworks these days! People slamming on their brakes for every average speed camera and I have little choice but to do the same! I used to do a lot of runs York - London leaving at around 4 in the morning and could only ever hold off the brakes until the speed cameras started appearing on the A1! Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Fri 8 Feb 2008 21:21 French motorways at night - Lud

Bit like not treading on the cracks between pavement slabs, so that the awful thing won't get you. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 08:31 French motorways at night - drbe

Well go on then. What's this urban myth thing? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 09:37 French motorways at night - Alby Back

Prompted by this thread I began to wonder why some people seem to have noticed this French cat's eye issue and others have not. Coincidentally, I was chatting to a friend last night who is an optician and we strayed on to this subject. His opinion was quite chilling in that he told me that there is clear evidence that some people who have excellent day time vision have real problems with their night vision. Furthermore, that those who have to wear glasses or contacts for driving often have very poor night vision. Quite a thought ! Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 14:53 French motorways at night - Lud

those who have to wear glasses or contacts for driving often have very poor night vision. I've been wearing distance (as well as reading) spectacles for quite a few years now. My night vision certainly isn't what it used to be - an effect of age surely? - but it's still quite serviceable. But I've never had the infra-red, X-ray or supernatural vision some people seem to have. I still remember a lift in the very early sixties, in a sidevalve Ford Anglia van in dense fog on the Hatfield stretch of the A1, whose driver slid the tail out on every bend and never hit anything. I couldn't imagine how he was doing it because I couldn't see a thing, but he seemed very relaxed. My wife, a few years younger than me, has always hated driving in the dark. I never have. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 15:03 French motorways at night - Alby Back

Oddly enough if I have to make a rural journey I feel more comfortable in the dark as you can often see the glow of approaching vehicle lights long before you would otherwise have seen the vehicle in daylight. Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 17:37 French motorways at night - Zippy123

>>yes, well we know why they don't have cats eyes. (or at least the urban myth) Well I don't ;-) Its not because they eat all parts of the animal, including the cats eyes is it? Being a lover of urban myths, you don't care to enlighten us do you? Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 9 Feb 2008 18:11 French motorways at night - retgwte

yea chuck yeager put a lot of his success down to exceptional eyesight and he used to race motorcycles in the dark but claimed to be able to see very well certainly my night vision was much better when i was 21 to about 26 and has been going down since then Reply | Report as offensive | Link